With his most recent release, “Back To The Island,” Belgian producer Phil Monday makes a comeback to the house and techno scenes. The 4-track EP is a culmination of Phil Monday’s original songs and remixes by fellow producers Nico P and Heckman, creating a dynamic and hypnotic kaleidoscope of electronic colors.
Back To The Island by Atle, a psychedelic melodic house and techno creation that encompasses layers of electronic synthesizers and gloomy rhythms serve as the EP’s opening track. With its energetic textures and ominous atmosphere, “Back To The Island” comes to life with sweeping synths, plucked guitars, and deep sub-bass. Dissonance creates capAvaAng tension, a chaotic and intense intensity that makes the distinction between reality and fantasy difficult to discern. The hypnotic presence of the track is a stirring result that paves the way for the EP’s remixes.
Nico P and Phil Monday
DHB artist, Nico P, seizes “Back To The Island” with his afro-house aesthetic, maintaining a steady pulse all through. The remix adds dancing synth rhythms and a bass line that hardly ever stops to create the background of this soundscape, which is built on the foundation of drums. Utilizing panning deftly creates spatial awareness and elevates the bass line above its original prominence. The plucked synth becomes a wild frenzy of shadows and textures, choosing moments of space to provide a sense of release, before the full force of instrumentation strikes again.
Heckman, a DJ, and producer, stays true to Phil Monday’s original house and techno style, using four-to-the-floor beats and a shaker to direct the groove. The pulse was established at a careless speed by the blipping synths. Heckman embraces melodic house and infuses ‘Back To The Island’ with lighter energy through the use of alternate chords that emphasize the steady pace. As the drums fade out, Monday’s original composition’s distinctive melodic hook enters, relying on the pulsating synth to control the beat. A crescendo builds, only to follow with an impactful drop that upholds its trance-like characteristics.
The EP Back to Island
The EP’s second original song by Phil Monday, “Bloom,” has a flowering quality to it, as the title suggests. This track combines organic house production to create an atmosphere, making it less menacing than “Back To The Island.” The dream-like quality has euphoric moments through expressive house beats and texturized synths with an array of synth sounds. The captivating setting of “Bloom” captivates the listener with its magnetic draw.
The “Back To The Island” EP, which combines many house music subgenres, has a mind of its own. Its compositions take listeners on a magical journey through each producer’s individual interpretation.
