Anjunabeats’ second release of 2024 offers a subtle eyebrow raise to the trance standard while evoking feelings of yesteryear courtesy of SØNIN.
Finland’s Anton Sonin might not be a household name in the trance scene, but he’s been around in some capacity for the better part of a decade and a half. It was in 2010 when he first graced Anjunabeats with the groovy, unorthodox modern classic “Black Is The New Yellow” alongside fellow Finns Super8 & Tab. Now, going as simply SØNIN, he’s continuing to flourish with stunning releases on the label he first called home years ago.
Last year, SØNIN released “Let You Go,” a collaboration with his brother and Odd One Out label head Yotto. He then went on to release the emphatic Affection EP, including the appropriately named collaboration “Passion” with long-time Anjunabeats mainstay Oliver Smith. It was a quiet year all in all, but that seemed to tip the Finn for even more refinement and success.
Enter 2024, and while Oliver Smith continues Anjunabeats’ yearly tradition of being the first release of the new year, the second release has been handed to SØNIN with his intriguing Nano / Nightlife.
The A-Side of Nano / Nightlife is anything but small. “Nano” measures up at 136 BPM. That’s right, 136 on Anjunabeats in the year of Our Lord 2024. As a label that has both built its reputation on faster tempos and sustained it by leaving it, this in itself is a good sign, as Anjunabeats has been very picky on releasing tracks that fast for the last decade.
“Nano” is a very cheeky nod to the mission of the early days of Anjunabeats: High energy trance with unique sound design. The track’s percussion gives it a groove that most modern trance tends to shy away from at that tempo but absolutely catches the ear here. Modern sound design polishes “Nano” throughout, but the riff nods to that classic Finnish style of trance that graced the label throughout the early 2000s with tracks like “Rush” and “First Aid.”
On the flip side, “Nightlife” sees SØNIN present the other angle of the answer to the modern trance question in a more progressive package. More tech-oriented than “Nano,” this brooding progressive dance track doesn’t feel subdued in its simplicity. The sound design of “Nightlife” is the star here, and the melody perfectly showcases that. It doesn’t set out to be dynamic by being over the top but states itself through the hypnotic nature of the drop.
As for the modern trance question mentioned earlier, what I mean by that is that there’s a staleness in trance’s sound design at times because of an overly strict adherence to the “classic” sound in order to not water it down. The question becomes, “How do we overcome that staleness while keeping the spirit of trance in this day and age?”
SØNIN answers this twice over in Nano / Nightlife. “Nano” offers a high tempo with groove and dynamism while retaining its heart. Meanwhile, “Nightlife” shows off a different side with a simplified melody and sound design that evokes that classic, hypnotic feeling.
Nano / Nightlife represents looking towards the future while keeping a hold of the past in a way that modern trance needs to so that it can shine in the current era of the scene. Give it a listen on Spotify or your preferred platform, and follow SØNIN to see what else he has in store for us sonically.
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