STM 296 - ENA

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Yu Asaeda aka ENA of Horo label

Photo by Jimmy Mould

Tokyo experimental d’n’b mastermind ENA crafts a physical and trippy selection from his own unreleased material recorded between 2018 and now.

ENA is the moniker of Yu Asaeda, a Tokyo-based music producer, who fuses the influence of UK rave continuum, darker and more abstract forms of drum and bass as well as cold monochrome ambient. His sound bridges UK dancefloor heritage with futurist Japanese experimentalism. Being one of the key players in Japanese underground dance music scene, he took influences from genres ranging from rave to hip-hop and thus crafted his own original sound. He releases his records on such labels as Samurai Horo, 7even Recordings and Latency. He is also notable for his collaborations with Felix K and Rashad Becker and immersive live sets melting intense bass sensibilities with abstract soundcapes.

Secret Thirteen mix 296 embodies all these aforementioned elements. It is compiled from unreleased ENA’s material recorded between 2018 and now. It starts with shards of grittier pulsations drowning the listener into hypnotic, yet tense state. Later on monolith beats kicks in echoing the industrialized version of early drum’n’bass. While the mix showcases more atmospheric side of ENA, its pulsating nature and precise density maintains the rhythmic backbone throughout. Sometimes these sounds remind distorted echoes of an underground d’n’b party in some distant basement. Their atmosphere varies from claustrophobic to spacious creating diverse states and moods for the listener. It is a trippy sonic affair with hidden physicality of darker forms of rave music.

Reveal Playlist
The mix consists of ENA’s unreleased material recorded between 2018 and now.

About Author

Paulius Ilevicius is a Secret Thirteen journalist, editor and occasional DJ focusing on more dreamy and melancholic soundscapes. Born in post-industrial town of Pavevezys, currently he lives and works in Vilnius, Lithuania.

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