​Leftfield techno experiments & traditional Taiwanese sounds take centre stage on B E N N’s latest EP

Taipei-based DJ and producer B E N N has delivered a three-track EP of leftfield techno that blends with traditional Taiwanese sounds on Italian-based label Early Reflex.

Entheos takes inspiration from Taiwan’s indigenous culture with its dark yet exotic music selections laden with ancient chants meant to summon the island’s Ancestral spirits. To achieve this, B E N N collaborated with Beat of Kaohsiung, a collective from the south of Taiwan, who can be heard across the EP playing instruments like the taiko and didgeridoo and with the addition of the EPs vocals.

‘Mangaya’ opens the EP, setting the mood right from the first beat with its hard drums and bass. ‘Shan-Yu’ opens with mystical vocals progressions that lead into a darker melody built around a koto melody and a didjeridoo bass. The EP’s title track is the last number on the EP and a gamelan melody is the star attraction alongside field recordings for an altogether 4-on-the-floor carnivalesque rhythm.

B E N N is a Taiwanese artist committed to creating percussion-heavy, hard drum tracks at a furious rate. He is also the founder of Over My Body, a Taiwan-based label focusing on avant-garde sounds, and released on kepasaparadoks and The Collection Artaud.

Entheos is out now on Early Reflex. Purchase it here.