Priori and Ciel team up for a record of high-definition trance bangers.
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At the risk of overstatement, I think it's fair to say that Francis Latreille AKA Priori and Cindy Li AKA Ciel are two of the most important figures in their respective cities (Montreal and Toronto). Li was instrumental in reinvigorating Toronto's scene in the mid-2010s, first as a promoter and DJ bringing everyone from Object Blue to Batu to the city, and later through her productions and label, Parallel Minds, where she continues to support up-and-coming local artists. Latreille is just as important in Montreal's milieu—he's been a huge inspiration for rising stars like Maara and his synth work is all over Regularfantasy's new record, to name two recent examples. It was only a matter of time before these two pillars of the underground shared some studio time together. The resulting project, Lunagenesis, is technicolor techno trance shaded with New Age and tech house elements,
Both Latreille and Li are versatile producers, moving across dance music eras and genres with ease. You can hear that reservoir of knowledge across Lunagenesis, particularly on the two versions of "The Light," featuring another Montreal legend dust-e-1. The "2018" mix starts with a brooding breakbeat that has a hint of '90s downtempo, before a 303 comes storming through the rafters to wrestle it away from the chill-out room. (If that wasn't enough, the track finishes with a piano melody that could've been taken from a New York house record.) On the "2022 Mix" the duo invert the structure, leading with the acid but turning the original version's ferocity into wanderlust as they pitch the breaks low in the mix and add some New Agey chords. It's as if the 2018 mix spent the intervening Covid myears at a spiritual retreat.
If the B-side sounds like the two of them jamming in the studio, it's a bit easier to hear who did what on the A-side. On the "2019 mix" of "A World of Swirls," you can pick out Latreille's likely influence in the trance lead line and how the mixdown sparkles in futuristic hi-def. But it's also unmistakably a Li track, as it starts amidst a mechanical maelstrom of whipping synths and drum programming somewhere between UK techno and tech house. The "2022 mix" is faster and closer to straight-up techno, but Li's penchant for bounciness is in the bassline and the delay. Lunagenesis, then, has a little something for everyone taking that long Megabus ride down the 401 just a bit easier.
Tracklist01. A World Of Swirls (2019 Mix)
02. A World Of Swirls (2022 Mix)
03. The Light (2018 Mix) feat. Dust-e-1
04. The Light (2022 Mix) feat. Dust-e-1