On the back of his breaky Grand Prix 2049 anthem ‘Midnight Ride’, techno shaman MAIKE DEPAS (Michelangelo De Pasquale) travels between dark and dreamy regions of the underground on his EP ‘Euphoria’, coming out on 24 November via The Innovation Studio. One foot in stoic schranz techno of Chris Liebling’s CLR, the other one in eschatological goa trance of Dragonfly Records, never going below 134 BPM, Depas strikes a fine balance between raw energy and subtle melodic hooks. “This is my idea of what the ravers want to listen inside the club,” Depas estimates.

“Euphoria has two sonorities: the dark vibe, and the dreamy one. This is my idea of what the ravers want to listen inside the club.” – Maike Depas

With the complex arrangements of the past Depas-releases left out and the trusted workhorse – in line with the theme, a pitch black Roland TR-909 from 1983 – responsible for doing the heavy lifting in the drum sections, ‘Euphoria’ is a beat-first record that draws its relentless drive and rhythmic richness from merging polyrhythmic patterns with streamlined melodies and nifty vocal samples – such as the double entendre ‘quiero jugar una horas mas’ (Engl. ‘I want to play one hour more’) in the no-holds-barred hard trance number ‘Techno Appeal’, or the riveting juxtaposition of siren song female vocals and handclaps of crowds in hypnotic ‘Inner Voices’.

“These demoniac figures resemble human transformation and the idea of achieving euphoria through dancing.” – Maike Depas

However, when it comes to Depas, there is always more to him than merely being dead set on setting the dance floors on fire. The antler-wearing figures and witches’ circles depicted in the artwork hint at Depas’ invitation for the clubbers to let the music move them far beyond the physical world. “These demoniac figures resemble human transformation and the idea of achieving euphoria through dancing.”

 

Tracklist:

A1 – We Move

A2 – Techno Appeal

A3 – Inner Voices

B1 – Midnight Ride

B2 – Green Hornet

Follow Maike Depas: Homepage | Spotify | YouTube | SoundCloud | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok