- Manuka Honey's second EP is the most club-ready her provocative, emo style of reggaeton has ever sounded.
- The term deep reggaeton has only really been used to describe DJ Python's music (since he coined it for an EP in 2016), but a 2022 article argues there are other producers making something similar—people like Coffintexts who underscore reggaeton's infectious dembow riddim with chest-rattling basslines and 4/4 kick drums. In Coffintexts' case, the term fits: their music has hints of vintage techno, built to go long and "deep." But where does that leave artists like Manuka Honey, whose approach to reggaeton is even more provocative and experimental? Her most recent EP, 3Eternities Beneath You, pits tempos against one another, thrusts high-pitched FX over gruelling low-ends and sometimes does away with rhythm altogether.
Manuka Honey's style is for "sad girl reggaeton" singers like La Favi who like their lovers bad on "I Like It," as well as dance floors that crave extremes in tempo. "Inconsolable"'s blaring sirens work double time against its seismic kick drums and crunchy basslines giving you a choice—either wind to its weighty 100 BPM swing, or jump around to its streaks of 200 BPM hardcore. "Miniskirt" doesn't offer a choice, jolting the listener from rave pads at 168 BPM to growls of sub-bass in halftime with the abruptness of a garage DJ working the crossfader.
3Eternities Beneath You reflects the new normal of sudden switch-ups and jarring transitions on dance floors across the world. Manuka Honey's understanding of cutting-edge club culture combined with her unique emo-leaning flair makes her new a vital and accomplished record. She marries the moodiness from last year's "Machete" single with the intensity of "Diabl@" off her debut EP. It's something that could soundtrack both the warm-up and peak-time slots on a night out.
Tracklist01. Sinners Dirge
02. I Like It feat. Safety Trance & La Favi
03. Te Aviso
04. Inconsolable
05. Miniskirt feat. Florentino
06. When Oracles Watch