Los Angeles electropop duo Made In Heights will release their sophomore album, Without My Enemy What Would I Do, on May 26th. Made In Heights comprises Sabzi, famed producer from Seattle hip-hop act Blue Scholars and Das Racist collaborator, alongside vocalist Kelsey Bulkin. The two have been collaborating since 2010, initially considering it a side project as they released a string of EPs and singles. In the fall of 2012, Sabzi could no longer deal with the grayness of the Northwest and opted to move to Los Angeles. After he reunited with Bulkin in California, the two decided give the project their full attention.
On Without My Enemy What Would I Do, the sunniness of the golden state seeps into every sputtering track. Bulkin’s voice makes a perfect counterpart to Sabzi’s minimalist beats. The two meet in the middle between the realms of pop and hip-hop without ever venturing into Top 40 aesthetics. There’s a playful back and forth between the two, or, as the band describes the album, “an epic of perfectly opposed forces.”