Hans Kim

Hans Kim is a cultural criticism writer and teaching candidate in Chicago. After graduating with a BA in cultural anthropology from the University of Illinois at Chicago, he is now completing a double BA in English and secondary education at Northeastern Illinois University. His publications includes several album reviews, contributions to list articles, and literary criticism. You can reach him on twitter @hans_kim
Konx-om-Pax’s ‘Ways of Seeing’ Returns to the Optimistism of Berlin Techno’s Origins

Konx-om-Pax’s ‘Ways of Seeing’ Returns to the Optimistism of Berlin Techno’s Origins

On Ways of Seeing, electronic producer and visual artist Konx-om-Pax moves away from dark ambient and rave to melodic electronica, alluding to the roots of Berlin techno.

Jambinai’s ‘ONDA’ Reminds That Korean Music Is Diasporic and Ever-Evolving

Jambinai’s ‘ONDA’ Reminds That Korean Music Is Diasporic and Ever-Evolving

Jambinai's ONDA finds cross-cultural influences from traditional Korean music, post-rock, and atmospheric metal, but their ethos is certainly more complex than a fusion or hybrid project.

Holly Herndon’s ‘PROTO’ Thoughtfully Challenges Our Conceptions of AI, Tradition, and Progression

Holly Herndon’s ‘PROTO’ Thoughtfully Challenges Our Conceptions of AI, Tradition, and Progression

On her third full-length PROTO, electronic experimentalist Holly Herndon wonders how AI can contribute to the longstanding human tradition of shape-note hymnals, exploring the possibilities and ethics of present and especially future AI protocols in art.

UNKLE’s ‘The Road: Part II (Lost Highway)’ Is an Epic of Collaborators

UNKLE’s ‘The Road: Part II (Lost Highway)’ Is an Epic of Collaborators

As a vast collective of collaborators joins for spoken word, orchestral ballads, and nostalgic trip hop cuts, UNKLE's The Road: Part II (Lost Highway) compiles as many ideas as it does features.

Joni Void’s ‘Mise En Abyme’ Is a Shattering Reflection of the Self

Joni Void’s ‘Mise En Abyme’ Is a Shattering Reflection of the Self

On Joni Void's second full-length Mise En Abyme, plunderphonic electronica is not only a technique for sound construction but also a deconstructive method for shattering and reordering the self.

Angel-Ho’s ‘Death Becomes Her’ Introduces Her Voice and Amorphous Trans Identity

Angel-Ho’s ‘Death Becomes Her’ Introduces Her Voice and Amorphous Trans Identity

On her debut full-length Death Becomes Her, Cape Town artist Angel-Ho introduces her voice and amorphous trans identity, dismantling the colonial imaginary and its supposed binaries.

SPELLLING’s ‘Mazy Fly’ Revels in a Celestial Imagination, a Consciousness in Accordance with Afrofuturism and Wake Work

SPELLLING’s ‘Mazy Fly’ Revels in a Celestial Imagination, a Consciousness in Accordance with Afrofuturism and Wake Work

SPELLLING's second full-length Mazy Fly escapes present genres and ages, from witching primeval ballads, sultry alternative R&B, to intergalactic disco. Simply, it's celestial, Afrofuturist, and wake work.

Lee Gamble’s ‘In a Paraventral Scale’ Explores the Sensory Overload of Urban and Virtual Spaces

Lee Gamble’s ‘In a Paraventral Scale’ Explores the Sensory Overload of Urban and Virtual Spaces

On In a Paraventral Scale, the first chapter of the "triptych sonic documentary" Flush Real Pharynx, experimental electronic composter Lee Gamble explores the semioblitz of urban and virtual spaces.

Kid Koala’s ‘Music to Draw To: Io’ Enlivens Creativity in This Midwinter Torpor

Kid Koala’s ‘Music to Draw To: Io’ Enlivens Creativity in This Midwinter Torpor

Kid Koala returns with the second volume to his ambient-vocal collaboration series. Music to Draw To: Io, featuring Trixie Whitley, is an album that does not provide background music but an active participant of the listener's creative process.

Oneohtrix Point Never’s ‘Love in the Time of Lexapro’ Is a Brief, Pleasant Aside

Oneohtrix Point Never’s ‘Love in the Time of Lexapro’ Is a Brief, Pleasant Aside

Oneohtrix Point Never's latest EP Love in the Time of Lexapro supplements his prior 2018 full-length Age Of, with a small collection of exclusives and collaborative reworks.

Vessel’s ‘Queen of Golden Dogs’ Paints a Gripping, Over-Saturated Opus

Vessel’s ‘Queen of Golden Dogs’ Paints a Gripping, Over-Saturated Opus

After a four-year absence, Vessel's Queen of Golden Dogs leaves behind desolate beats for stunningly over-saturated electronic and chamber compositions.

Mr. Mitch’s ‘Primary Progressive’ Continues to Reimagine Grime for New Expressions

Mr. Mitch’s ‘Primary Progressive’ Continues to Reimagine Grime for New Expressions

On Primary Progressive, experimental producer Mr. Mitch reflects upon the contradictions of grime music and MS, "making the club both move and think".