Artwork by K095C
The Sydney-based DJ and producer Ryan O’Rourke aka Obelisk (he/him) is an emerging name in the Australian contemporary underground club scene as an organizer of the experimental dance event series Nexus and as an artist, holding releases on local compilations (Deep Scan Technologies and MEGANESIA), and showcasing performances as both a solo artist and with the Winged Mantis duo, alongside Sydney-based DJ Index. The work of Obelisk focuses on the interaction between heavy laptop electronic music and jungle/breakcore influences, mediated by a taste for raw aggressiveness and emotional grandeur that have been arranged in his debut release “Meta Bliss”, out on December 28th on our platform.
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Composed of three original tracks, the release collects sharp, crystalline, and bursting compositions that feature fast and broken rhythms brilliantly juxtaposed with disfigured synths. While often indulging in the belligerent fury of knife-sharp percussions and booming distortion, the EP often crosses into spacious, euphoric melodies accompanied by frantic but cathartic, tempo-shifting drum work. Obelisk’s goal has been to investigate various ways of experiencing ecstasy and euphoria, whether by means of extreme, overwhelming rhythmic aggression, or breathtaking melodic refrains. While going through the 20-minute EP, one is brought to witness a daring descent into rush. “Meta Bliss” is the heavily cinematic sound commentary to some fast-paced, epic-scale, high fantasy encounter with angel-shaped, all-powerful beings of light under an immaculate sky.
Meta Bliss EP is completed by two remixes by the Sydney-based musician, producer, and DJ Ptwiggs (she/her) soundcloud.com/ptwiggs and the Perth-based producer and DJ SUS1ER (he/him) soundcloud.com/sus1er. Ptwiggs provides additional tones of darkness to “Illidan Bass” by crafting a 170 BPM deep drum and bass rework rich with clangy breakbeats, and diving deep into the obscurity of the industrial bassline. On the other hand, SUS1ER delivers the perfect closure to the release by re-arranging the opening track “Echoburst” into a 178 BPM hardcore anthem that preserves the emotional impact of the original all the way through the rawstyle finale.
Tracks 1-3 produced and mixed by Obelisk. Track 4 produced, mixed, and mastered by Ptwiggs. Track 5 produced and mixed by Sus1er. Track 1-3, 5 mastered by Wim Dehaen soundcloud.com/wimdehaen. Artwork by K095C instagram.com/k095c/.
Obelisk – Illidan Bass (Ptwiggs Remix)
Hailing from Sydney, Australia, Ptwiggs otherwise known as Phoebe Twigg is a producer and qualified audio engineer. Morphing audio into pulsing waves of emotion, Ptwiggs delivers a delicately detailed yet powerfully destructive sound, swinging between constant poles of tranquility and turmoil. Weaving an organically forming tapestry between the external and internal world, Ptwiggs smothers the senses leaving drippings of various genres, references, and styles.
Obelisk – Echoburst (SUS1ER Remix)
SUS1ER (sus-one-er, he/him) is a DJ and producer based in Perth, Australia meddling with hardcore, invigorating basselines, and hybrid club outlets. He has made an impact in the local hard dance scene with his fun and chaotic style, culminated in his debut self-released EP, RECONSTRUCTOR, where he explores a myriad of different genres and styles – all coated in futuristic and metallic drum patterning.
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We are a non-profit organization registered in December 2018, operating since late 2015 as a webzine and media website. In early 2017, we started our own event series focused on arts, experimental, and dancefloor-oriented music. We reject every invocation to “the Future” meant as the signifier for capitalistic “progress” and “innovation”, fully embracing the Present instead; we renounce any reckless and ultimately arbitrary division between “high” and “low”, respectable and not respectable, “mind” and “body”; we support and invite musicians, artists, and performers having diverse backgrounds and expressing themselves via variegated artistic practices.