New year, new Lane 8, apparently. While the German DJ/producer’s 2015 releases might have suggested that he’d firmly resigned himself to department store house, his Midnight EP – which marks his first release through Spanish record label Suara – showcases an unexpected creative tangent.
To be sure, the title track in the SoundCloud player above doesn’t stray far from the deep-ish sound associated with his Anjunadeep releases. Carried so dominantly by instrumental samples that you almost don’t even notice the four-four beat by the time it finally starts kicking, the song builds ever-so-slowly to a drowsy peak that, while not particularly lousy, isn’t particularly memorable either.
On the other end of the EP’s spectrum, “Under My Skin” sees Lane 8 jump on the techno bandwagon as its filtered bass lines and dissonant synth melodies make for a markedly darker groove than anything he’s put out recently. However, “Under My Skin” ultimately comes across as an experimentation; the sound design elements hint a bit more strongly at the use of sample packs than they ought to even though the track is conceptually solid.
Nevertheless, Lane 8 earns points for clearly stepping outside of his comfort zone as an artist. His willingness to try out new things makes him somebody to pay attention to in 2016 even if the Midnight EP won’t be remembered as one of the year’s most impactful releases.