Young-blooded Johannesburg-based house & techno producer Avation is carving out a name for himself on the night scene with powerful cuts that walk the frontier between peak-time genres. For his part, Dean Fuel is one of Cape Town’s most seasoned exports, having rocked South Africa for the past 16 years with intuitive performances that inspire, connect & ignite dancefloors around him. Now, the pair is linking up for ‘Can’t Stop’, a high-octane EP, representative of the sound heralded by SMAAK Music.
The EP opens up with Avation’s ‘Can’t Stop’, which is built around a black pearl of a groove, thrashing from the onset before an infectious vocal line takes hold, echoing between livid percussive patterns and futuristic synthwork reminiscent of the raving heyday. Halfway down ‘Can’t Stop’ the machinery slows its pace, showing its core thrusters before coming back in a true rampage that is bound to make sweatdrops hit the scorching dancefloors.
The second track finds Dean Fuel reworking the narcotic vocal hook on ‘Can’t Stop’, placing it front and center over a throbbing bassline that compels listeners to get down in gritty flair. Hypnotic throughout, rolling snares, clever arrangements, and delectable bassline changes keep the motion in a perpetual state before the breakdown, only to come back for a final act with renewed energy and prowess.
For record closer, ‘The Depths’, the pair come together to tread over the outskirts of Melodic Techno in anthemic fashion with a showstopping vocal that soars over resonance-fulled synth swells that inject color into the stark landscape imagined. Maximizing impact, the collaborators device a powerful break that deserves to bathe under festival lights.
Avation & Dean Fuel’s ‘Can’t Stop’ stands tall on its own, boasting raw, unadulterated energy, perfect for those seeking to find thrills in the darker rooms of electronic music.
‘Can’t Stop’, by Avation & Dean Fuel, is out now via SMAAK Music. Pick up your copy here.
