- Hardcore techno loaded with personality, tension and melody.
- You can't shake a stick (or browse the YouTube algorithm for DJ mixes in that fluorescent green bathroom) without hitting an ultra-fast, distorted kick drum these days. It takes a certain kind of producer to stand out among the fray. Lithuanian-born, Netherlands-based Somniac One has already been impressing a wide spectrum of hardcore techno heads, crossing over between underground clubs and some of Western Europe's longest running hardcore parties, even remixing the chilled-out techno producer Heathered Pearls on Ghostly International. The name of her new label Somniverse is illustrative: this is her world, a place for her to stretch out and explore the furthest edges of her expansive techno sound. Deer In The Headlights offers just that, with two adventurous and complex tracks that reward close listening and mindless stomping alike.
Cuts like "Arp Track #1" have a cinematic sweep that elevates their scorched earth kick drums—imagine if John Carpenter came up in Rotterdam in the '90s. But just as her style of industrial techno is not purely punishment, the grandiosity isn't overdone either. Instead, there's a thrilling sense of movement and adventure to "Arp Track #1," with its crazed arpeggio yet measured build-up, sinks its teeth in and doesn't let go. Each new element—a reinforcement of the kick drums, a full-steam-ahead hi-hat—ratchets up the energy until the whole track spills over into a seasick passage where the main synth sounds like it's melting.
"MNDTRK," armed with a brassy heart-in-mouth sci-fi breakdown, is pure '90s hardcore worship with panache. My favourite part is an offbeat squark that re-emerges throughout the track, as if it were an errant kick drum that fell off the rails. By the time the full rhythm crashes back in after the breakdown, it's hard not to be swept up by Somniac One's rushing energy, which emphasizes raw power but leaves space for detail and feeling, too—this is hardcore that a house head or IDM nerd could enjoy.
Tracklist01. Arp Track #1
02. MNDKNTRL