PREMIERE : Axefield – Power of Resonance [Atomnation]

Atomnation has been home to some of the most vivid and striking records in the DIY electronic music space since 2012, stretching across albums from it’s renowned founder Applescal, to the melancholy EPs of Amsterdam stalwarts, Weval. As they prepare for their 49th outing, Atomnation doesn’t stray far off the beaten path, all the while deepening their trademark palette of swirling and enduring flavors with the release of “Pressure Drop”, written and produced fully by Who’s Susan label head, Axefield (soundcloud). The Dutch producer has a few EPs to his name for kindred labels like Dream Raw; however, his work on Pressure Drop carries a very special missive—a journey through sound so-to-speak as Axefield navigates listeners into the depths of a dense jungle, filled with lucid tones and kaleidoscopic percussive breaks.

The end of this journey is our premiere, the endearing and wistful Power of Resonance. Meant as a bookend to the Pressure Drop project, Power of Resonance utilizes various strains of tried-and-true styles within the dance music continuum, arranging them in exciting and novel ways to effectively guide us back from the brink of our own sanity. Just as the track sets its stage with gas stove hats, submerged kicks, and pinpricks of acid, these all give way to viscous piano stabs and declarative synth-work that doesn’t sound too far away from the heyday of the early rave scene. These yearning melodies are re-coupled with the track’s driving gallop, as Power of Resonance continues to take turns immersing itself in the swelling emotions it summons, and the absolutely breakneck pacing of it’s drums, goading the listener to further explore the sonic pathways the EP has laid out in front of them.

As the final track off Pressure Drop barrels to a close with force and vigor, something most welcome arises—or rather, falls away. The brush and forest of noise that Axefield has been building throughout the track gives way to an open field of placid tones, debilitated samples, and a release from the cacophony that preceded it; an opportunity for calm and serenity to come flooding back to the fore. This final minute deposits the listener somewhere far away from where they started, and drifts off into the distance like a lost balloon, receding deeper and deeper into the sky until all that’s left is a desire to hit repeat and take the journey all over again.

Danny