I think I can’t think of a more skeler thing to do than releasing, without any clamor, a track the fandom has been waiting for almost three long years. Apart from a recent exception to announce he’s playing Rezz Rocks on the 31st of August, the Aussie producer continues to fly low, limiting to the very minimum, any kind of online presence. Not that there’s any need for it, given the legendary status he always enjoys among fans of both wave and hardwave and phonk, but it’s always interesting to see an artist with such “numbers” choosing an approach that goes against any business best-practice.
‘Control’ is the title chosen for what was, up until now, universally baptized as “the opening track of Night Drive vol.1.” While ‘Arcadia’, ‘Tel Aviv’ and ‘Tokyo’ are his biggest hits, as the opening track of his iconic first all-ID mixtape ‘Control’ has been the soundtrack that welcomed legions of listeners into the skeler universe. It definitely lacks the epicness of the aforementioned classics, but I consider unfair the critics I’ve seen spread around. Put in a context like 2020 where “drift phonk” wasn’t this overcompressed, stereotyped subgenre, ‘Control’ was for many (me included) an innovative sound. Not only that, compared to what can be found in the most popular playlists of the genre today, ‘Control’ is still in a league of its own. It may be presented with a dark, punk aesthetic, but its sound is incredibly soft and gentle, almost a massage for our eardrums. It’s a beautiful, hypnotic lullaby that will hardly light up the dancefloor, but still will be the perfect soundtrack for more meditative and cathartic moments.
Stream ‘Control’ below or buy it on Bandcamp and be sure to also check skeler’s new remix here.
