Blending bass-heavy rhythms from across the club spectrum with soaring pop vocals and gritty raps, Athens-based producer and DJ Autow Nite Superstore re-examines the underground on 'Running Towards the End of the Light', considering how experimental music might sound if its powerful sonics leaked into the mainstream. He's been working on the album for more than three years, in-between producing for other artists, and felt driven to put together a set of honest expressions, not just a dancefloor record that followed the expected direction. Contemplating the music that has shaped him over the years - from formative techno and ambient, to experimental, alt-rap, and 2010’s dubstep and bass - Autow began to wonder which elements could be twisted into a fresh aesthetic. Going back to some of his favorite films and visual diaries - like Sean Baker's real-life world and Charlie Kaufman's absurd realities - he grounds himself with a sense of narrative and sensitivity that stretches across artistic boundaries.
Over the last few years, ANS has built up a diverse catalogue of singles, EPs, albums and remixes, releasing mostly independently, but also collaborating with Gabber Eleganza's Never Sleep on last year's 'ITDOESNTFEAR / CITYHEDZ', working with Athens' KLIK Records and remixing artists like Tama Gucci and Tamta. This time around, he reconciles his entire history while pushing towards the future, bringing in a slew of collaborators he met locally or online, and sculpting the results into a full-length that's as narratively driven as a movie. His concept is immediately evident on opening track 'Crawling on Hands and Knees', a dancefloor-ready rattle of tweaky rhythms that dissolve imperceptibly from trap into drum 'n bass and ballroom while a chorus of sampled voices and euphoric chorals spirals overhead. Rapper Stephen Carter shows up on the kinetic 'Mercedes', initially crooning over ANS's wooly textures and skeletal drill whirrs before the producer shifts into a booming 4/4 and blazes towards the main stage. This duality is the key to picking apart the album; ANS works like a DJ, constantly experimenting with rhythmic forms and arrangements to build a perfect blend, never a static track.
On 'Antìhisi', a collaboration with Durban-based vocalist Lia Butler, ANS highlights his range even further, stripping away the beats completely and letting Butler's soulful cries shimmer in a pool of haunting synths and evocative field recordings. London-born Greek rapper Riskykidd and singer Terselle go toe-to-toe on 'Sadboirave', trading cheeky raps and sultry refrains over Autow's precise cybernetic hits until it blazes into a fiery, synth-led drumless crescendo. And veteran vocalist Sigmataf throws his hat into the ring on 'Albatros', mouthing tense words in Greek while Autow concocts a steppers' elixir of choppy breaks and soundsystem-busting subs. The album's genre-bursting variety is not just a nod towards ANS's experience and versatility, but his interests beyond just music. It's a confident, brassily independent vision of an interconnected world that doesn't quite exist yet, blessed with a positivity has never been more necessary.
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words by john twells