Antigone shifts perspectives in latest EP 'Selected Works Zero One'

Antigone has shared his latest EP, 'Selected Works Zero One', via No Pain No Game.

The record marks a shift in his stylistic approach to writing music as he explores a more groove-infused path, stepping away from what he coins the "BPM race" and embracing the techno sounds - with funky percussives in the mix - he wants to hear.

EP opener 'Bahia' was released in December, built around tribal-infused sounds whilst staying loyal to an industrial backbone. It glides between intensifying melodies and vox layers throughout its five minutes, crafting a peak-timer to kick off the record.

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'The Rhythm' follows, heavily reliant on intense drumbeats and more rattling percussives. The added harmonies and punchy bass drives the track onwards, with modulating frequencies interwoven to create an exploratory cut.

Closing the record is 'Your Love'. Taking a darker approach, it's lead once more by percussives with a more minimal sound to it. Vocal injections ebb and flow, building tension and rounding off the EP with a more atmospheric number.

"I feel the techno scene is getting harder and faster with each release," explains Antigone. "This sound has somehow almost become commercially acceptable and accessible. I’m not so comfortable being a part of this ‘BPM race’. I need music to have a soul and for me, that only comes with groove.

"I have got a bit bored of all the very hard music which is coming out at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I love the energy of this harder techno vibe, but I just feel at some point it’s almost become a competition about who is going to deliver the hardest and fastest kick. We kind of lost the melody, the rhythm and all that was funky about techno. I want to see those feet shuffle and hips swinging again. And that’s why I have decided to get back to the groove."

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His first release of the year, French producer and DJ Antigone has previously had work shared via Token, Trip, Soma and WSNWG. He's a regular of HÖR Berlin, and held down a residency in hometown Paris' Concrete club for five years whilst simultaneously playing shows dubbed "career defining" at Berghain, Awakenings Festival and Bassiani.

You can check out Antigone's latest EP, 'Selected Works Zero One', now. Do so here.

Niamh Ingram is Mixmag's Weekend Editor, follow her on Twitter