A genre-bending deep dive into iNKOGNiiTO’s shapeshifting new EP ‘iNKOMPLETE TERRiTORY,’ where surreal storytelling, glitchy electronics, and existential wanderlust collide.

‘iNKOMPLETE TERRiTORY’ – iNKOGNiiTO

**Based in North London, experimental artist iNKOGNiiTO has crafted an immersive electronic soundscape with their new EP, iNKOMPLETE TERRiTORY.**

Transporting listeners to another realm, their genre-defying sound blurs between past and future, fact and fiction, offering a glitchy soundtrack to what it means to feel disconnected. Creating a world that reflects the chaos of trying to find a neutral ground in a world that never stops spinning, the six-track release is refreshingly relatable.

Each track on the EP peels back another layer of that world. Refusing to follow traditional structures, the result is something that feels part sci-fi, part inner monologue. We delved deep into the EP below, with iNKOGNiiTO offering their own analysis of each song.

iNKOMPLETE TERRiTORY - iNKOGNiiTO — iNKOMPLETE TERRiTORY – iNKOGNiiTO

Vertig0

The EP kicks off with a visceral plunge into the unknown. “Vertig0” feels like stepping off the edge of reality, sonically bold and emotionally chaotic. A dizzying mix of cinematic synths and industrial textures make it both thrilling and disorienting, setting the tone for the unpredictable journey ahead.

“A portal opens, the start of a downfall. An experimental electronic debut to iNKOMPLETE TERRiTORY. Vertig0 is an ominous introduction to a ‘call of the void’ a phrase that describes the thought or urge to take a risk even if you don’t intend to do it – a ‘vertigo of possibility’ e.g. jumping off a ship, closing your eyes while driving. With lyrics like: “Release the latch on all my worries, The worst is first no second guesses,” Vertig0 is like a Pandora’s Box of everything kept within that no longer aligns with my internal landscape – fearing hope and using that energy to test the possibilities of recarving an alternative future. Immersive film score highs and crunchy industrial lows, the song takes musical ventures in its synths, drums and bass line that texturally portray falling into a spiral. It is fun, uncertain and freeing. I was thinking a lot about a loss of time when writing this song. Taking inspiration from The Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D era, Ludwig Göransson’s Score for ‘Tenet,’ Bloc Party, James Blake’s self titled album and of course, Hitchocock’s ‘Vertigo.’ Also holding similarities to ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ Kanye West and Tame Impala. It is as encouraging as it is morbid, Vertig0 defines its own safety with the boundaries it breaks into an unknown.”

Satellites ??

Slick and shadowy, “Satellites ??” plays like a game of psychological cat and mouse. Driven by a hypnotic bassline, the track channels defiant energy, capturing the moment you decide to stop pretending and start confronting.

“The groovy yet menacing Satellites ??, an intrepid song with villain undertones about looking revenge in the face. The idea came to mind during a music making session with this looming bass sound: it felt like something was approaching and the first lyrics ‘got that feeling inside, acting like you never lied’ came to me straight away. It reminded me of moments I’ve had when you’ve caught someone lying and they pretend it never happened, but underneath you know the truth. Facing fears is an important part for self-growth. And sometimes processing or describing things you wish could forget is part of that. The single draws sonic inspiration from Timbaland, Rihanna’s ‘Disturbia’ / ‘ROCKSTAR 101’ and Kanye West’s ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.’ Also inspired by Films/TV shows like: Retour A Seoul and Donald Glover’s Atlanta.”

Oddity Effect

With its pulsing beats and cinematic intensity, “Oddity Effect” is a rallying cry for the misfits. It celebrates individuality with gritty elegance, balancing vulnerability and resistance in a way that feels both empowering and electrifying.

“Theory predicts greater risk of predation to individuals more conspicuous to predators by difference in appearance from the group – the ‘oddity’ effect.’ An anthem for the outsiders to embrace your difference. Cinematic and angsty, part alternative, part electronic: ‘Oddity Effect’ has thought provoking lyrics reflecting on feeling held back by your environment and bass heavy instrumental breaks for release, finished with ethereal harmony stacks – an experiential musically driven survival & escape from start to finish.

What happens when you are made out to be an image that you are not, do you have to accept that in order to get out? This song is about being different and knowing the feeling of being targeted for being different. But I say embrace the difference, someone is always going to target someone anyway. Might as well expose them with your integrity.

Seeping with Sci-fi mystery inspired by movies like: Annihilation, They Cloned Tyrone and Attack the Block; ‘Oddity Effect’ shares similarities with 070 Shake, Aphex Twin, Labrinth and 808s & Heartbreaks Kanye West.”

Nowhere

“Nowhere” lingers in the space between dream and dystopia. Echoing with surreal unease, its layered textures and shape-shifting structure pull you into a hauntingly beautiful limbo, where nothing feels quite real and that’s the point.

“Prepare to be transported into the enigmatic realm of Nowhere, this evocative single offers listeners a journey into the unknown where “nothing is real and nowhere is safe.” Nowhere masterfully melds unconventional, cinematic sounds that echo the hazy fog after a still, rainy night, all refracted through the lens of Sci-Fi surrealism. Finding inspiration in the atmospheric 1997 PC game The Space Bar, the cinematic nihilism of Gregg Araki’s movie Nowhere and a visceral sense of abduction. Nowhere is a story about something that never happened or could never have happened, but I saw it with my own eyes. It sucked me right in and I never saw the world the same again. Cinematic and allegorical, this song slowly unveils the feeling of being alienated in society on a daily basis.

Oozing with extraterrestrial mystery and an elusive sense of foreboding, the track draws listeners with an unsettling yet captivating soundscape, beckoning them to confront the unfamiliar, embrace the strange and find solace in the realisation that alienation may be the most trustworthy ally of all. With deep, existential lyrics and chaotic jazz-inspired structural shifts, Nowhere is paced by a chorus that swells like a space choir, hauntingly reminding us that we’re headed “absolutely nowhere.” The discombobulated outro hints at video game dynamics, echoing the song’s inspiration and propelling us further into a sonic otherworld.”

Chemical X

Minimal yet loaded with meaning, “Chemical X” simmers with quiet existential weight. Its machine-like structure and melodic flow make it feel both clinical and deeply human, delivering a reflection on mortality, futility, and defiance.

““Everybody’s got a hidden thing that they are running from.” The perfect ingredients for a disaster: Chemical X. A tune that redirects a futile path towards an unknown conclusion. I think about dying every day and how it doesn’t scare me — I wanted to write a song about that. I was inspired by James Blake’s instrumental production in the initial creation points of this song, which you can hear in the synths and machine-like sound effects, implemented with my producer Jericho. I started creating it in 2023 and there was a wide space of time where I stopped working on it, then a year later I added in some 80s drum beat influences that truly characterised it. I was listening to a lot of 80s music at the beginning of last year: New Order, 80s Michael Jackson, Blood Orange [not an 80s artist, but his drums have clear 80s influence]. But still, instrumentally it is the most minimal song on the EP. It is fluid and mechanical. The fluidity is in the harmonies and the mechanical qualities are in the percussive textures.

The structural framework is set into 3 parts:

Part I: Disputing clichés [e.g. everything happens for a reason] Part II: motivation fueled by positive nihilism
Part III: Obliteration

I can’t wait for you to listen to Part III.”

Requiem for a Loner

Closing the EP on a haunting note, “Requiem for a Loner” walks a delicate line between isolation and clarity. It’s introspective, strange, and quietly devastating, resulting in the perfect finale for all the emotions left unspoken.

“A tale of a loner with the dream of being left alone when discovering they’d rather be lonely by themself than lonely around other people. Sombre and bleak, the tone beautifully encapsulates a paranoid feeling of what’s left behind you when making a difficult choice. A requiem in music is a composition, usually sung by a mass or choir – it’s an act or token of remembrance to repose ‘the souls of the deceased.’ I wanted to use this idea to express a bittersweet experience of Lonerhood. It is my most vulnerable song yet in the sense that the honesty of the lyrics are more obvious & say it how it is, no subtlety or metaphors.

Requiem for a Loner was intentional from the start in its sonic vision, time was taken to take digital & space sounding instrumentals to build an electronic orchestra. What sets this song apart on the EP is that it’s in a 3 / 4 time signature, which is what makes it so eerie and waltz-like. Yann Tiersen is one of my favourite composers and I hear a lot of my inspiration from him in this song. For finishing touches, an electric guitar and saxophone were also included, these instruments for me are what hold the mystery of the song, taking the listener back to the roots of my original vision for this EP – retro futuristic nomad spy. It may also be possible that the “eyes in the back of my head” tune here, is at the end of another song on iNKOMPLETE TERRiTORY if you do some digging.

Overall, the song captures the essence of endless corridors, empty hotel foyers, choirs and bus stops at twilight. When I listen to this song I either feel like I’m in a dark hotel corridor or on the spaceship from the 1979 movie ‘Alien.’ A reflective transition that confronts the loss of compatibility in friendships and what it means to overcome sorrow in meaningful connections. And so, the spiral ends?”

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