Oscar Mulero - The Stranger [Token]

The first track on the record, ‘The Sweat and the Salt’, is a representative introduction to the rest of the project. Mulero holds nothing back with his bleak, dark style, and instills a measure of rawness into every detail he can. Hypnotic at its core but noisy and saturated enough to give it an industrial edge, the intricacies of this first track are maintained and continued onto ‘The Reddish Glow’. Here, we have more of a melodic back-and-forth between synth sequences. With a good dose of reverb to open up the dimension of the track, the incessant pounding of sounds from high to low frequencies make it a disorienting mental journey of a club record. Complete with dizzying hi-hats and his characteristic kick, Mulero plays with his elements to ensure depth in disorientation. ‘Why Are You Holding a Gun’ flattens the space a bit, creating more of a two-dimensional atmosphere and taking synth distortion to a new level. A jumble of analogue sequences that whistle in the highs are accompanied by metallic rides and short hi-hats, making for an effective dancefloor instrument. As powerful as ever, the PoleGroup boss controls his chaos with rhythmically questionable elements that add to the general delirium of ‘The Stranger’. As the final chapter, ‘The Sunlight Blinded His Eyes’ is the perfect arrival to a hard-hitting EP. A meditative pad floats in the background as a rhythmically centered track forms, alternating between drum patterns and an infectious bassline. Still with force in the kick, this last song takes us to the cosmos after an intense exhibition of high-pressure club music by one of the most respected contributors to Spanish techno.