Maze 28 – Red Lights From Afar [RKP]

Ruben Karapetyan’s RKP continues a strong summer season by welcoming Maze 28 back to the label for a new single. Hailing from Albania, Mario Zefi aka Maze 28 has become one of the most hotly tipped progressive house artists that the underground has to offer. In just three short years the Durres resident has earned support from genre tastemakers Hernan Cattaneo and Nick Warren, while his melodic creations have found a home on Clubsonica, Juicebox Music and Mango Alley, the latter of which operates as his primary home. RKP has also been a landing spot for the talented Albanian, with October of last year marking his label debut with ‘This Is Just a Dream’. Remixed by Hernan Cattaneo and Marcelo Vasami, the track quickly rose to the number one position in both the label and artist’s Beatport sellers, where it still sits today. Now, following his latest vehicle for Juicebox Music, the cross-cultural sounds of ‘Cry of the Deserts’, Maze 28 returns to RKP with ‘Red Lights From Afar’, alongside remixes from Ruben Karapetyan and Nacres.

Maze 28’s craftsmanship reveals itself across the groovy monochromes of ‘Red Lights From Afar’. Muscular kick drums and swing heavy grooves provide a foundation of jet force propulsions, as effects orbit and percussion builds momentum. Striking sonics and woody claps steal the air as the main break approaches, forecasting new found themes to come. Catchy chord stabs highlight the interlude, building a restrained sense of rhythm and melody, before eventually getting washed away in a rush of pneumatic energy for a grooved out finale.

RKP boss Ruben Karapetyan returns to the label for the first interpretation of ‘Red Lights From Afar’. Born in Armenia but now calling Los Angeles home, Ruben Karapetyan has carved out a unique place in the electronic underground. His emotive synth leads and tough, dancefloor minded grooves have made for a resonant worldly sound that is all his own. Following a ten-year hiatus, Ruban made a triumphant return to electronic music in 2020 with a series of the releases via Mango Alley, Movement Recordings, The Soundgarden and Univack. On the strength of his fresh, progressive sound Ruben quickly earned praise from the genre’s trendsetters in Hernan Cattaneo and Nick Warren, while also becoming a regular in Beatport’s competitive sales charts. This resurgence also re-established Ruben’s DJ career, one which saw him share the stage with Sasha & Digweed, Sven Vath and Orbital as part of lineups at legendary events and club nights such as Electric Daisy Carnival, Together as One (NYC), AgeHa (Japan), amongst others. Moving forward Ruben has been a force on the circuit, delighting progressive music fans with his exquisite taste and impeccable programming across the globe, with recent stops in Amsterdam, Armenia, India, London, Mexico, Pakistan and more. Seemingly in constant motion, Ruben continues to be prolific across 2024, now returning to RKP with an acid-laced rendition of ‘Red Lights From Afar’. Taking a fuller and equally effective dancefloor approach, Ruben constructs a tight rhythmic core, complemented with punchy beats, percolating acid lines and reprocessed sonics. Sitting at the heart of the journey is a breakbeat interlude, tactfully building anticipation and tension with each successive pass, as pyrotechnic effects and shapeshifting textures eventually reveal a thumping finale. It's this fusion of sound which ultimately makes for a version that is both versatile and club-effective; one that should crossover to festival dance floors during the summer season.

The release concludes with Nacres returning to the label for the second and final interpretation of ‘Red Lights From Afar’. With a career that spans three decades, Turkish artist Nacres was a fixture of his country’s nightlife for many years, DJing at some of Istanbul’s trendiest venues, most notably Andromeda, Club 2019 (Twenty) and Taxim Night Park. A lengthy hiatus from the industry would see Nacres return in 2018 when his career as a producer would officially begin. On the strength of early tracks 'Nibiru' and 'Grand Jete', the Turkish artist established himself amongst the progressive house community and inturn landed releases via Bonzai Records, Droid9 and his own Soundeluxe imprint. Also calling RKP home, Nacres has the distinction of delivering the label’s second ever release in ‘Naturalize’. Landing in July of last year, it spearheaded a creative swell for the Turkish artist, one which would see him make impressive debuts on LuPS Records and Mango Alley. Now, making a welcome return to RKP, Nacres delivers his first remix for the label, taking ‘Red Lights From Afar’ into deeper territory. The Istanbul resident shows a deft hand and a strong sense of personality, as titanic kick drums and crunchy rhythms become smudged by sweeping sonics and billows of grainy effects. A deep and dark, yet rejuvenating experience, one which not only rounds out the release on a strong note, but adds another summer club tool to your arsenal.

Buy: https://tinyurl.com/s4z7xmp4

Release Date: 15-08-2023

Release Promo: http://releasepromo.com

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