Premiere: Shaun Moses & Aardy’s ‘Maleficent’ is a prime representation of India’s love for techno

Producers Shaun Moses and Aardy hit us with their new single ‘Maleficent’ set to release via Hydrozoa on October 13. The track is accompanied by two stomping remixes from Germany’s Drumcomplex & India’s Tyrell Dub Corp.

All three versions of ‘Maleficent’ have their own spice and flavour while retaining the original's charm and characteristic motifs. They’re all big heaters with buckets of energy in their own way.

The original ‘Maleficent’ is one of those tracks where it shines in its subtleties. The synth-heavy track is a slow burner, with its ominous and hypnotic tone only building and expanding throughout its five-and-a-half-minute runtime.

Although it doesn’t stray too far from its core sounds, it remains exciting and engaging throughout. It sounds like it could be the perfect soundtrack to a forest festival fueled by psychedelics.

Speaking about the project, the two mention “We’ve both been producing together for more than two years, and our collab releases are always very different from our solo ones since we both have different individual styles that amalgamate with each other.”

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“For this release, we wanted to do something that we hadn’t done before and hence decided to go with a breakbeat drum structure layered over a more hypnotic melody, and it’s safe to say that the idea we had in mind was effectively translated into the track,” they continued.

The pair are also going on an EP release tour across India starting October 6, stopping by New Delhi, Hyderabad and Goa.

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Shaun Moses’ distinctive approach to composing dance floor-burning tracks makes him one of the up-and-coming names among the new-age Indian producers. Aardy, label head of Hydrozoa, has successfully run his imprint for almost a decade, boasting a soaring roster with tracks that consistently impress.

The two’s successful collaborations in the past have seen releases on labels like Octopus Recordings and Senso Sounds.

Listen to ‘Maleficent’ below.

Henry Cooper is a Writer at Mixmag Asia. Follow him on Instagram.