Nkisi – Patch Notes

Across releases for NON Worldwide, UIQ and her own INITIATION label, Nkisi has crafted a unique style of club music that draws its influences from her Congolese heritage, as well as gabber and hardcore, which she was immersed in as she grew up in the Belgian town of Hasselt. Nkisi’s visceral live performances push her hardware setup to the limit to create high-energy sets that blur the lines between polyrhythmic techno and experimental composition. In July 2021, Fact travelled to Italy’s Nextones Festival, where Nkisi was performing alongside Caterina Barbieri as part of her new light-years platform. While we were at the festival, Nkisi performed an exclusive Patch Notes performance for Fact, set amongst the rocks of the Roncino quarry in the Ossola Valley that is home to Nextones. Nkisi’s setup was one of the most unique we’ve seen on Patch Notes, with a strange electronic wind instrument providing eerie textures. “[I performed with] a couple of drum machines and FX pedals (this time I took