By DCist Contributor Dalton Vogler
What does techno even mean?
It’s a word that’s frequently referenced and alluded to, sure, but is it actually what we’re listening to? Techno has gone from being a relatively specific subgenre into a blanket term describing electronic music as a whole. We’ve reached oversaturation, the point where techno’s original meaning has warped into something completely unrecognizable.
Strange as it may seem, techno can best be described as a communal experience, a connection that occurs between those listening and the producer. The genre is often about slowly building in fervor, with a beat that can keep you floored as everything else begins to dissipate away. But for a genre of music whose “roots” originated in America, the product feels like it’s always been European. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Unbeknownst to a majority of D.C. residents, mysterious and anonymous producer Pentamon has been quietly producing solid tracks that are challenging the perception that good techno can only come from abroad. The producer’s newest release, The Afterworld EP, continues what’s become a signature style—dark, haunting Berlin-influenced techno that leaves the listener simultaneously lost and transfixed between a sprawling beat.
Released by Teenage Riot Records, the EP is comprised of two tracks that pay homage to Roman/Greek mythology, “The Afterworld” and “Virgil”. Anchoring “The Afterworld” is an oozing, acidic beat that permeates throughout as Pentamon pipes in a celestial sounding voice that utters the track’s title. It’s a brooding opener with two distinct breakdowns, possibly alluding to respite during a long journey (a subtle reference to The Aeneid?). By contrast, “Virgil” is a frenzied trek through Pentamon’s conceptualization of the underworld, blending a variety of distorted vocals to give the track a sense of foreboding.
Though Pentamon’s EP alludes to the world that comes after life, the same music can be seen as a revival of what was once a dead and forgotten genre. Pentamon remains faithful to older techno tracks that provided inspiration, while still managing to create a uniquely complex work that invites listeners to enter a realm of ominous sound.
Pentamon’s The Afterworld EP is currently available for preorder and will be officially released on April 28th. Pentamon will open for Scuba at Flash on May 20th and for Victor Calderone on June 5th at U Street Music Hall.
