Michael Mlikotic, better known by his stage name, Kotek, is a Vancouver Island-native who burst onto the scene in 2016 when he won Splice’s remix competition for “Anima Mundi”, a track from Gramatik’s album “Epigram”, and earned himself a slot at Mysteryland festival in June. Six months later Mike released his debut EP “Aurora” on Lowtemp Records. His diverse background – studying piano at an early age and then switching to drums and jazz – along with a genre-bending approach to making music earned him praises both from music writers and peers alike. Last year he also put out an excellent remix for fellow Canadian producers The Funk Hunters and a track made in collaboration with Rezz, before returning to Lowtemp with a hard-hitting single “Surface”.
Following the recent track with fellow Canadian west-coaster, Shylow, Kotek is now continuing 2018 with another impressive single that proves yet again he won’t allow himself to be boxed into just one genre or style of music. The new track,“Red Shift”, takes him to trap territories but at the same time couldn’t be further away from the generic form that this genre is often critiqued for. In a track that barely breaks the two minute mark, Kotek still manages to showcase so many interesting and creative ideas it simply demands to be listened on repeat.