Aiken – Third Chapter [Archaic Print]

Archaic Print is a label linked to one of the most famous podcast series, 12 Inch, which hosts sessions by techno geniuses such as DJ T-1000, Sleeparchive, Emmanuel Top, Antonio De Angelis, Esteban Adame, Cristian Varela, Zadig and a huge list of more than 400 sessions by different established artists, both on the international and national scene. As a label, Archaic Print only bets on one direction, which is to release all their material only in vinyl format and staying true to their style.

In their third reference they have the Spanish producer Aiken, an artist we have seen working with such respectable platforms as Semantica, M_REC LTD or Key Vinyl, and who has a very identifiable style, as he usually adds a mental atmosphere to his music, either by the timbre of his sequences, by the harmonic combination or by the elaboration of linear patterns.

Third Chapter is a heterogeneous EP, with three tracks by the author himself, which very well represent Aiken’s ideals as a producer. Side A opens with the track of the same name, a track with a cosmic character that is marked by the great energetic dose that the arpeggio provides, as it increases the dynamism with its rapid execution of notes. With Endless Battle, Aiken returns to the sequential formula of the melodic chord, this time with a tighter tonal tessitura, but just as invigorating and intense.

The B-side opens with a remix of Third Chapter by Robert Witschakowski with his great project The Exaltics, to which he gives a band treatment, although the only member is Robert himself. And as we might expect, his version adapts to his style, maintaining the hegemony of the arpeggiated sequence but giving it an electronic sound environment with a brilliant rhythm and textures more typical of genres such as electro. Strategy is the cut that closes the album and the most cerebral track on the EP, as the author divides each rhythmic parameter into multiple spaces, where he strategically places different elements with the intention of placing the listener in a false sense of balance.

Release date: February 25th, 2022.