Intriguant and Aya Sekine share ‘Memory / Deiji’ today

Today (September 6, 2024), ‘Memory / Deiji’, by Intriguant and Aya Sekine releases on all streaming platforms.

The double-single is the Singaporean producer’s first release of 2024, having dropped an EP and tracks on SPRAYBOX and 83 last year. Collaborator Aya Sekine is a Japanese jazz pianist and visual artist who is also responsible for the release’s delicate artwork.

‘Memory / Deiji’ hatched out of conversations between the artists last year in Kyoto, where Sekine was then based, Intriguant tells Mixmag Asia. “We talked about working together for quite some time and the direction of the tracks, or I would say the feeling in the tracks, resonated with what we talked about during my [Kyoto] visit: about where we were in our lives at that time and where we would love to see them go.”

Sekine is now based in Detroit and Intriguant is moving to Berlin next month.

“I came up with these two tracks from jamming with my gears and sent it over to her to have a listen. After that, I had the opportunity to have a recording session with her when she was back in Singapore late last year,” Intriguant says of the creative process. “The idea was always to create two different styles of music but yet still able to coexist within a similar realm.”

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‘Memory’ takes its time to build, opening with Sekine’s keys effervescing above airy pads. Then, a syncopated hat is introduced before a bouncy broken kick brings an understated drop. Over the next four-and-a-half minutes, synths, textures, and bass all become denser as Sekine’s improvisations continue to develop before tapering off and deconstructing again in the outro.

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‘Deiji’ begins with astral synths before dropping suddenly into emotional melodic breaks that stir such warmth that it came as no surprise when Intriguant shared that the track is named for his dog Daisy—at Sekine’s suggestion.

Purchase ‘Memory / Deiji’ here.

Mengzy is Mixmag Asia’s Music Culture Columnist, follow her on Instagram.

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