- The Dutch producer pushes trance to new heights.
- In a 2021 interview for Patterns of Perception, Spekki Webu describes his mix for the magazine as a portal to leave "this planet and [move] to the next dimension," recommending the ideal listening setting as "the border between the forest and mountains," where listeners can "float away into the next realm." This paints a vivid picture—of lush rolling hills perhaps, or igneous pyramids shrouded in a mist extending to the heavens above. On the Delft-based producer's latest EP, we're transported once again to an alpine vista, with Tenzan the Japanese word for "heavenly mountain."
Spirituality is a driving force in Webu's output, from the pagan occultism of his first solo EP, to the transcendental animism put forward in Tenzan. While many releases in recent years have leaned into trance's trademark euphoria and melodramatic arpeggiation, he's experimented on the more meditative and esoteric side of the genre—goa, tribal, psychedelic and tekno.
Tenzan opens with "Okada," a track so dark it's practically subterranean. It's a hell of a way to open the EP, effectively pushing the listener into the sonic deep end without so much as a pool noodle. "Solaris," a spell-binding acid trance roller on the B-side, continues to astound. The hats are never where you expect them to be, but that's part of the charm. The track's off-kilter rhythm draws you into a delirium, a foggy disorientation that doesn't feel all that different from altitude sickness. By the time you reach the EP's closer, you're gasping for levity, for air. And "Eion" delivers. It's held together, as practically all of Webu's tracks are, by a muscular low end, but here, it's balanced by sweeping gated synths that feel like taking flight and soaring through the heavenly mountains the EP's title describes.
Noticeably absent on Tenzan is the extensive atmospheric world-building and intricate sound design that made Webu's previous work sound closer to interdimensional travel than your average club weapon. This isn't to say that his latest is devoid of ambiance or soul. Rather, this stripped-back approach reads as an assertion of clarity, of focus, of an artist who knows that the fastest route to nirvana is above 148 BPM.
Tracklist01. Okada
02. Horizon
03. Solaris
04. Eion