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Darth Athena took us into the depths of techno’s shadow with ‘Black Mojo’

Posted on 25 January 2024

Dark Athena’s tempestuous latest release, Black Mojo, plunges into the depths of techno’s shadow. With its monochromatic palette, this piece from the Atlanta-based producer is a bold foray into the heart of darkwave electronica, where precision and chaos dance in a delicate balance.

Darth Athena, the architect behind this auditory odyssey, weaves a tapestry of sound that reflects his eclectic musical upbringing. From the pulsating beats of EDM to the haunting echoes of darkwave and the rhythmic complexity of jazz and R&B, Black Mojo is the culmination of a lifetime spent in the company of diverse genres.

The track’s progression is a masterclass in tension and release. Each beat is meticulously crafted, ebbing and flowing with a rhythm that seems to sync with your heartbeat. For seven minutes, you are lost in a world where time bends to the will of the music. The laser-like strobes and sci-fi motifs add a layer of dynamism, yet it’s the relentless, hypnotic beats that anchor you in Darth Athena’s universe.

Black Mojo will do more than just fill dancefloors; it will command them. It’s a siren song for the night, calling out to those who find solace in the pulsating heart of techno. As the final beat fades, you’re left with an insatiable hunger for more – a testament to the enduring power of Darth Athena’s musical alchemy.

Black Mojo was officially released on January 19; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Suli Hyuga orchestrated the ultimate soundtrack for seances with the soul with the luxe ambient garage house grooves in his seminal track, +24. BLEED+

Posted on 22 January 2024
https://soundcloud.com/sulihyuga/1-24-bleed/s-5KjwcE5ryxh?si=05a53fe911f54c438f399988397e154c&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

The timbres and textures within Suli Hyuga’s latest release, +24. BLEED+, may feel comfortingly familiar, but the London-based artist’s approach to synthesising UK Garage with House and Rap pushes the sonic flavours into arenas that few other artists have seen the potential within.

Perfect for late-night seances with the soul, this seminal release is a reverberation of pure incandescent hypnotism, with every progression, a new subjugation to its luxe atmosphere. With Suli leaving no one else’s imprint on his work as the sole architect of his soundscapes, the mark he will leave on the UK Garage landscape will be definitively his distinctive own.

+24. BLEED+ is the title single pulled from Suli Hyuga’s 5-track EP, which promises to dive deep into a cavern of cathartic dance-influence hip-hop. With rich resonance set to spill from the atmospheric synths between his smooth vocal flows as they groove through dynamic bars and around alchemic arrangements of raw basslines and intuitive percussion, the EP is primed to become an aural phenomenon in its own right.

Stream +24. BLEED+ on all major platforms, including SoundCloud, from January 19th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Arden – I Don’t Sleep: A Poignant Alt-Pop Symphony of an Exposed Heart and Soul

Posted on 7 January 2024

The London-based alt-pop pioneer, Arden, found the inspiration for his latest single, I Don’t Sleep, through the fear that once you have laid your soul bare, there’s no covering it up to the ones you exposed your vulnerability to.

There’s sweetness in the sentiment “there will always be a part of me that’s yours” but the bitterness of that part of you becoming redundant in the wake of a breakup is a cutting juxtaposition. Lyrically, it is powerful enough to make you view relationships through a brand-new cautious lens. Still, within the blossoming swells in the piano melodies and the orchestrally carved crescendos, there’s a scintillating atmosphere, full of spirited passion – stirring enough to make you want to take the dive into inevitable pain.

I Don’t Sleep is a testament to Arden’s ability to blend poignant lyrics with lush musical arrangements. The song achieves a cinematic quality, panoramic enough to be part of a blockbuster soundtrack, yet intimate enough to tug at the heartstrings with every note. Arden’s cultivated songwriting, reminiscent of Owl City, shines through in I Don’t Sleep. His soulful vocal performance, memorable melodies, and sophisticated production showcase a maturity beyond his years.

As he opens 2024 with this energised and refined sound, Arden solidifies his place as an artist to watch, captivating audiences with his honest and witty songwriting.

I Don’t Sleep will hit the airwaves on January 5th; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bear witness to the Avant-Garde finesse in Sairen’s Branca-esque post-rock instrumental score, Délivrance

Posted on 5 December 2023

The post-rock artist and composer, Sairen, created the embodiment of cinematic tension in his seminal instrumental score, Délivrance. This seven-minute piece flourishes distinctive avant-garde flair, marking it as a standout creation in the realm of modern instrumental music.

The track’s progression is a journey through the artist’s intricate vision, characterised by eloquently moody tones and a sophisticated use of musical elements. Sairen’s expertise in blending diverse musical influences is evident here. From the harbingering guitars that siren through the track to the tenaciously placed cymbal crashes, each element is carefully crafted to contribute to the overall narrative of the piece.

One of the most striking features of “Délivrance” is the introduction of chamber strings, which seamlessly complement the sonic spectacle of the crescendos. This inclusion not only enhances the track’s emotional depth but also showcases Sairen’s ability to fuse classical sensibilities with modern post-rock aesthetics.

The middle-eight of the track is particularly noteworthy. Centred around the motif of a ticking clock, it builds a palpable sense of drama, leading to a break into an arcanely all-consuming sequence that can only be described as filmic ingenuity. This segment demonstrates a touch of Glenn Branca in its composition, highlighting Sairen’s skill in creating complex, layered soundscapes.

Sairen’s background, with his early introduction to music and his affinity for baroque, romantic, dark metal, and post-rock, shines through in this creation. He bridges these seemingly opposite genres, crafting a unique sound that is both haunting and enchanting.

Délivrance was officially released on November 7th; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jake Speikers captured a daydream of longing with his 80s-swathed new wave single, Nostalgic.

Posted on 17 November 2023

With music fans clinging to nostalgia like there’s no tomorrow, the Minnesota singer-songwriter Jake Speikers has shown them the future of 80s-integrated pop with his choral dream of a new wave single, Nostalgic.

With Phil Collin-esque drum fills punctuating the dreamy atmosphere of the release which finds the middle ground between The Midnight and Cigarettes After Sex, the nostalgic pop wheel wasn’t reinvented, but it was creatively reimagined in this impassioned earworm that captures a daydream of longing in panoramic picture that you’ll want to expose yourself to time after time.

If you can’t get enough of the DIY pop artist’s achingly sweet sonic signature, you won’t have long to wait for the release of his debut, which traverses his experiences of coming out, heartache and coming of age. We’re already invested.

Nostalgic will hit the airwaves on November 17; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Basil Babychan cast a spectral shadow over his latest filmic score, Insentient Nature

Posted on 10 November 2023
https://soundcloud.com/basilbabychan/insentinent-nature/s-Zo5Ovv7zuQl?si=5165905864934628a4c17bc22fe9047c&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Insentient Nature is the latest cinematically sombre neo-classic score from the avant-garde ambient composer Basil Babychan, who has garnered international critical acclaim for his phantasmally affecting work, which entwines futurism with touches of classical orchestration to create profoundly reflective sonic spaces.

The darkly compelling minor key progressions against the spectral shadows cast by the classical strings and glitchy synths lead the instrumental soundscape into a brand-new depiction of dystopia; one which allows you to see the beauty beyond the consternation. Harbingering the age of the machine and a sense of detachment from the organic world, Babychan taps into our fears, while demonstrating everything has its place and a right to belonging and freedom.

Insentient Nature is due for official release on November 10th; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Melancholia spills into the cosmos with Sub Caesar’s melodically progressive tech house cocktail Into the Oblast (When Will You Be Home) ft Brunetti

Posted on 4 November 2023

Some EDM anthems drop, others make a collision that will make an ever-lasting impression; Sub Caesar’s latest orchestration, Into the Oblast (When Will You Be Home) ft Brunetti, is luxe enough in meaningful momentum to scorch the airwaves on its arrival.

The dark and melancholic anthem, which is drenched in enough yearning and desperation for security and sanctity that it spills pensiveness into the cosmos, pulls together with a cohesion that makes it impossible not to surrender to the mellifluous instrumental layering and the searing soul in Brunetti’s glassy vocal lines. If her timbre sounds familiar, you may have heard her in her tracks featured on Netflix shows, including Selling Sunset, Love is Blind, and The Circle.

By exploring the most elemental trappings of melodic house & techno and progressive house, Sub Caesar produced an evocatively energising Tour De Force, which should necessitate the removal of the ‘sub’ affix from his moniker.

The independent Dutch producer, Sub Caesar, said:

“The inspiration for this track came from one of these heart-breaking clips of soldiers returning home, hugging their children. Amongst all the terrible news and images of war and war victims, his clip touched me deeply. A strong emotion is a good basis for music! The word ‘Oblast’ means region or province in Ukraine. In this track, it stands for any harm a loved one could be in while also being far away from home and the anxiety and special kind of longing that this causes. Having said that, yes, you can hear the actual Kiev air siren in there, pitched down a semitone to match the musical scale.”

Into the Oblast will officially be released on November 3rd; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The genre alchemist James Urquhart is set to unleash his progressively prodigious hit, The Tearz and the Pain

Posted on 4 November 2023

The genre alchemist and one of the top producers in the UK, James Urquhart, drifted through a melodic menagerie of style in his latest single, The Tearz and the Pain, which is locked, loaded, and ready to drop an atom bomb of ingenuity onto the airwaves.

With all the hooky body-rocking flavour of 90s boyband pop in the deliciously infectious vein of the hit that announced Backstreet’s Back after a mellow 80s RnB opening sequence that Seal fans will give the seal of approval, Tearz and the Pain reaches its high-octane peak in a euphoric intersection of drum n bass before winding the track right down again.

The progressive prodigy left us arrested with every aural transgression and convinced us that labels will be hammering down the door to his professional studio, which he uses to produce his and other people’s hits. Previously, his music has been distributed by Hed Kandi and Let There Be House; there’s no telling who will pick him up next.

Follow James Urquhart on SoundCloud and Instagram to be the first to know when The Tearz and the Pain drops; with the soul it sonically unleashes, it is more than worth the wait.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Riley Rex took her staunch fanbase to ‘The Shadowy Place’ in her hyper-pop Halloween floor-filler

Posted on 6 October 2023

The dance-pop icon Riley Rex asserted her claim to the LA pop crown with her infectiously flawless Halloween hit, The Shadowy Place. It may just be the biggest Halloween hit since Kernkraft 400 delivered Zombie Nation in 1999. It at least stands up to the debauched decadence in Emerge by Fischerspooner while incorporating the contemporary magnetism of Dua Lipa, Ava Max, and Charli XCX.

By contrasting the dark lyrical themes with the hypersonic textures and upbeat pace in the polished production, Rex extended euphoria to those who need it most with The Shadowy Place, which breaks EDM pop boundaries in definitively sensuous style.

The single, which was written while she was enrolled on a course with One Republic’s Ryan Tedder, is a narration of the escapist ideation which consumes you when you’re stuck in a pit of anxiety and depression. The bass-driven electro-pop hit may not have what it takes to cure mental illness, but you couldn’t ask for a more potent sonic serotonin source.

The Shadowy Place hit the airwaves on October 6; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fabian Jeller took his listeners ‘From Zero to Infinity’ in his latest composition

Posted on 27 September 2023

The classically trained pianist, electronic music producer and composer, Fabian Jeller used every modicum of his training and talent honing to mark his evolution towards a more viscerally stylistic, organic, and colourful tonal palette in his most seminal single to date, From Zero to Infinity.

The synthesis of classical instruments in the electronic soundscape embodies the vivaciousness of a full symphony orchestra to take you on a journey of vibrant transcendence via the arrangement of the synths and strings, which work in absolute synergy to ensure you sonically arrive at the destination the Italian virtuoso intended.

Blissful, rejuvenating, and deeply evocative in inexplicable equal measure, From Zero to Infinity captures the momentum of life, and all the stratospherically colossal twists and turns it leaves us with no option to traverse. As Bill Hicks once famously said, it’s just a ride. Jeller proved the intrinsic beauty in that ride. Strap yourselves in and surrender yourself to it.

From Zero to Infinity arrived on the airwaves on September 16; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast