If you dig Shabazz Palaces, you’ll likely flip for Knife Knights, the new project featuring that innovate hiphop ensemble’s rapper/producer Ishmael Butler and studio wizard Erik Blood (both are Stranger Geniuses, by the way). Knife Knights’ music has been percolating for about a decade, tracks cohering between the two artists’ many other endeavors. Their enigmatic songs sound like a blueprint for a brighter yet darker future, encompassing otherworldly atmospheres, eldritch melodies, and atypical rhythms. Trust me: It will be worth the effort it takes you to grasp them.

There are more than 80 musical acts performing at Bumbershoot 2018, which happens this Labor Day Weekend (Aug. 31-Sept. 2) on the Seattle Center grounds. A complete breakdown of Bumbershoot 2018 Critics' Picks here, and the full Bumbershoot 2018 schedule here. Knife Knights perform 5:25–6:10 pm on Saturday at KEXP. A few Knife Knights tracks below.