Returning this September with Vol. 2, mau5trap and Insomniac Records present 12 new tracks from the likes of Kyle Watson, Tommy Trash, Jay Robinson, and more. With an alternating track list from start to finish, both of the labels go back and forth taking turns highlighting established and up-and-coming acts from their respective rosters. Showcasing the electronic sounds of house, hybrid techno, and electro, this compilation brings a little something for everyone.
On the mau5trap side, the compilation kicks off with the highly anticipated “Badder Things” by No Mana, a follow-up track to their 2018 collaboration. Tommy Trash also makes his return to the label with “4U”, alongside some graduates from the acclaimed ‘we are friends’ series including Speaker Honey, Bentley Dean, HVDES, and SVNF8.
Holding it down on the Insomniac Records end, South African phenom Kyle Watson offers up “Way Down,” which sees him utilizing his wonky house sensibilities on a stunning label debut. Steve Darko circles back around after his previous IN / ROTATION appearance, this time teaming up with Plastic Robots on their dark and ominous collab “Time’s Up.” Filling out the rest of the Insomniac half are cuts from Jay Robinson & MASTERIA, Body Ocean, Casmalia, and NOISES.
“Really happy with how this track came out, and I’m pumped for it to be my first feature on Insomniac,” says Kyle Waston. “I’ve always enjoyed the label, so it’s great to finally be a part of it.”
“‘Within Reach’ is about feeling like you’re almost where you want to be, experiencing the rush of euphoria, as if you’re already there,” explains the anonymous newcomer, Body Ocean. “Maybe now is where you want to be, always almost there.”
“When I was writing ‘Four Letter Word,’ I set out to capture the emotion of love and all of the other four letter words wrapped up in it: pain, fury, fear, envy, hope, life,” states San Diego’s Casmalia. “The song is especially intimate for me because I produced it, wrote the lyrics, sang, and recorded it alone. ‘Four Letter Word’ represents a significant achievement for me as an artist: not only for being included on this collaboration with my two dream labels, but also as a representative of my fully developed sound.”
“Had a blast working on this record with Plastic Robots,” says Steve Darko. “I did a remix for them four years ago and we’ve been meaning to get on a track together ever since. We’ve been sitting on this one for a while, so I was able to play it out at some club and festival shows earlier this year and it was always a highlight of my sets. I’ve wanted to do a record on both Insomniac and mau5trap for a while now, so I couldn’t be happier about where this landed.”
“We had been working on this track for a few months,” adds Plastic Robots. “It was a very interesting combination for us. It is a line of sound that is perfectly between Plastic Robots and Steve Darko. And it made us happier with it being launched by mau5trap / Insomniac. Now it’s time to enjoy.”
