Imagine that you and your friends are all set for a night out on the town. With a couple of clubs in mind, your shivering-with-anticipation group and you make their way to the first club and pass the I.D. check. You could hear the muffled rhythmic beat shaking the foundations of the club when you were waiting outside but now you can feel it. You enter through the first door way into a hallway that has pulsating, ever-changing neon lights that somehow seem to be going along with the beat of music, which just happens to be getting stronger. You wonder where the neon lights are, but as the stimulating smell of Alcohol, smoke and lust fill your nostrils you no longer care. Your friends make it down the hallway, towards the hypnotizing music, passing a couple who seems to be completely entranced in lust. Your heart beat quicks as does your pace as you feel your anticipation peak and the feeling has now spread to your knees and you can hardly contain yourself. At the end of the hallway is a myriad of lights flashing while smoke, (or is it fog?) enhances the experience. Almost all five senses are stimulated as your group reaches the dance floor and begins to mold with the mass of moving human flesh, all dancing in unison. While your group has yet to have a single drop of alcohol, you can already feel the intoxicating effects of your surroundings. Your mind melts as you find a dancing partner and the unspoken ritual of lust begins as your bodies move in unison and come closer and closer until you are nearly one.
The soundtrack for the above scenario could easily be set with Etnik‘s Neon Daze EP. Freshly signed onto OWSLA Records, the 21-year old German Techno-Prodigy continues to forcibly stretch the boundaries on boring musical perception and uses his ingenuity to create something completely new and emotionally heavy.
Starting off the ardent EP with the title track, ‘Neon Daze‘, you can once more find yourself hypnotized by the alternating pitch of the saw-like synth with the surging beats setting the pace for both heart and body. Continuing the passionate pace set by Neon Daze, the following track ‘Nixon‘ lures your deeper into a trance as the cleverly-controlled blaring synths ring out to the pace set by the impactful bass kicks and hi-hat claps. Many EP’s may have a hidden break within themselves, but Etnik show’s no signs of mercy going into the upcoming track, ‘Vault‘. Just as though you’ve entered a secret catacomb hidden away from time and consciousness, ‘Vault’ locks you away into an eclectic dance floor where there’s no exit and you’re free to dance with the lights all night long. While slowing for merely a moment, soon ‘Vault’s drum kicks rise once more and send your neural synapses into overdrive as your senses overload with stimulation. Going into overdrive with an overwhelming eerie and dark tone, ‘La Nuit‘ robs you of those senses, leaving only you, a dark room, and a mesmerizing beat. While ‘La Nuit’ roughly translates to “the night” it also pulls roots from a Creepy Pasta over a man who recorded himself in his sleep and heard some not so thrilling noises. Midway through ‘La Nuit’ the sounds intensify and you can feel your breath shorten as the synth/basskick combo invades your subconscious you slowly give way to hypnosis. While basking in emotional bliss, you can slowly feel your breath returning as ‘Boaws‘ begins to play. Returning to earth with a slowed down pace akin to a trap tune, Etnik allows the listener to momentarily rest before diving into the remixes portion of the EP. Featuring the musical talents of Modek, Mumbai Science, and TWR72, the remix portion of the EP is set respectively to Neon Daze and Nixon and take you on a extended trip through the dark depths of the dance floor.
If you loved what you heard you can pick up a copy here, and be sure to listen down below. For more of Etnik, be sure to Follow, Like and Listen to receive all the latest from the brooding techno leader.
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Good stuff