EP Track Highlight: Aeon Black “maskin”
6 February 2024
Aeon Black is intense. As I first listened to ‘maskin’ I felt like I was in a trance, a follower to the rhythmic, hypnotic sound they’ve crafted.
This single is thick in layers, a minimalist and off-centre beat that drives the circular motion of the track, underpinned by a droning bassline that feels like you’re moving even when you’re not. The sound is one of late nights, trance like confusion yet singular focus in the ambiance it creates.
The zoned out atmosphere of ‘maskin’ is unmatched. Punctuating the repeating cycles with heavy synth chords as waypoints in the music. Smaller electronic sounds which buzz here and there. It’s deceptively simple but incredibly hard to pull off. Aeon Black shows enormous creativity but distinct restraint in how they construct their sound, always pulling you in for more with each varying electronic crackle.
The highlight is undoubtedly their vocals, the most mesmeric part of it all. Simple but foreboding lyrics that are delivered with corporate efficiency and quiet desperation. “two blokes in the night – Just another penny in the slot machine” – they are filled with longing, and a sense of being lost.
Aeon Black describes their music as “experimental dystopia tech music for your enjoyment or non-enjoyment” and that’s the best way to surmise it. It feels like music you’ve heard by accident, music that creates a detached, techno-fantasy feel in an effortless way. This is music that seems to go deeper and deeper into forbidden feelings – daring you to follow it.
You can listen to Aeon Black on Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube and Boomplay Music.