- Dan Ghenacia and Tolga Fidan indulge in the psychedelic side of breakbeats and electro.
- Dan Ghenacia and Tolga Fidan's new project has its roots in a 1950s device called the Dreamachine, invented by Brion Gysin and William S. Burroughs to recreate a hallucinatory experience Gysin had while riding a train in France. The dream machine was designed to trigger moving patterns behind the eyelids by shining and flickering light on closed eyes, with the hope of fostering a new and mind-expanding form of entertainment, or even therapy. Ghenacia, a French producer best known for making excellent, often tasteful tech house (also as part of Apollonia), took inspiration from the Dreamachine for a 2020 installation, soundtracked by ambient music he made with fellow Lisbon artist Tolga Fidan. AOW, and its debut EP Hear The Light, builds on the installation music and makes for a welcome departure from their usual fare—deeply psychedelic, melodic electro and breakbeat.
It's no exaggeration to say that Hear The Light sounds almost nothing like anything either producer has released before, but it isn't entirely unfamiliar. The loose, swinging breakbeat of "Boa" fits in with today's wave of trance-baiting records, though it's more midtempo, content to breezily amble along. "Red Alert" dips into electro, with bleepy, early Submerge-style synths offset by anxious chords and chunky, satisfying tom-toms that contrast the brittleness of everything else. It's these textural touches that make Hear The Light more than just trend-chasing—it has the sumptuousness of '90s trance and downtempo, an influence made clear in the closing track, "Organico."
"Organico" might be the EP's best track, and certainly its most singular. This is Balearic but just a little off, its breakbeat wading rather than propulsive, its bassline ominous, pitched-down vocals and cawing crow samples adding an edge. It reminds me of old Hardkiss tracks—think "Pacific Coast Highway No. 1"—but slowed and dazed, music made for sitting down instead of dancing. Ghenacia name-checks the '90s San Francisco scene that birthed Hardkiss as an influence here, and it feels obvious, though not direct. Instead of pastiche, Hear The Light features timeless, gentle dance music sounds that glow with the warmth of psychedelia and move with the ease of someone setting their mind free.
Tracklist01. Boa
02. Red Alert
03. Organico