Cirez D - Dare U EP

Cirez D
Dare U EP
2018
Spotify

Keeping track of Eric Prydz' aliases is a real mother fucker sometimes. The man will release an album under a different name almost every other time, little care for what that might mean for the listener or someone seeking his music. He doesn't make it easy to find him, and in doing so makes it all the more exciting once you do. I was scrolling the Coachella lineup making my way down the list and I cam across a name i didn't know "Cirez D" I know some die hard Prydz fans are going to be apoplectic that I don't know every one of his aliases by heart but that is just where we are fam. Prydz created Cirez D as an outlet for his more straight up techno endeavors. While his other music can be more EDM-ish and create these soaring transcendent moments, this album favors the dark minimal sounds that only come from techno. The light show dims a bit for Prydz on this and rather than be bombastic He is slick and even. Blistering synths pepper every one of these tracks imbuing them with a seriously unctuous feel. Everything feels tactile and raw, pure dance music for people who love it. "THE GLITCH" has this haunting moment around the 6:30 minute mark where amongst all this techno banging you suddenly have this skittering uplifting synth line come in that raises everything up a notch. The stakes are always so right out in front on this album, everything is laid out plainly and you are left to recon with it. It asks you the question "are you ready to move" and your answer better fucking be yes.

The first track of the album sets up a pace that never lets up. Prydz is not going to allow you a moment of peace while this album is going on. Even the builds are frantic and rushed like we have somewhere to be and we need to get up and get on it. At only three tracks it's not a particularly long EP but each track is well over six minutes with two over nine minutes long. Prydz allows these songs to breathe and move, not constrained by time what so ever. This freedom to roam adds an entirely new dimension to this record. Prydz has never been one to be brief, but here He feels even more emboldened and it works. This record makes me incredibly excited to see this live and really experience what Eric Prydz feels like going full techno. Whatever it is I know I will be in for a really wild ride.

8.0 out of 10