Teen Daze - Natural Movement (2023) [Hi-Res]

Less than a year after the release of his neon dreamscape house record INTERIOR, Teen Daze returns with his first in a series of EPs slated to be released over the next year and a half. Sonically, the first EP, NATURAL MOVEMENT, picks up where the REALITY REFRESH series left off: four songs that can function in a wide variety of contexts, while all maintaining a consistently cool temperature. Whether you’re in the club, at a sunset beach party, by the pool, in the car, making dinner, running a trail; this is music that aims to meet you wherever you may be in life.

BACK 2 IT starts the EP off with its floating, elegant intro, and leads us into a rolling, rhythmic afternoon-house number. The bassline is guaranteed to get people asking, “Who’s walking who here!” Ethereal, yet rooted at the same time, this one feels like it could work at sunrise or sunset. The choice is yours!

Next up is the title track, NATURAL MOVEMENT, which fast forwards and jumps tempos into a deeper, more late-night feel. This one’s all drums baby! A sneaky Rhodes loop guides us through waves of breathing synths and a bouncing 303. Is this the first “peak time banger” is Teen Daze’s catalog? Consult your local DJ to find out.

EFFECTED takes us straight into orbit, right off the bat. Disco toms, swingin’ 707 hats, phased out Juno chords. A nod to the great Todd Terje perhaps? Will this tune become a staple of the hip wedding DJ? We can’t predict the future, but we can dream.

Finally, we settle into the softest track of the lot, ONE FOR PARADISE, an ode to the Best Club in Vancouver. An intimate space requires an intimate tune. But of course, we’re still in the club, and it’s time to dance. But where a tune like NATURAL MOVEMENT throws it’s in your face, crispy drums towards you, this one slathers vaseline on the hi hats, congas and snare. It’s 12:30 AM on a Saturday night in Vancouver’s Chinatown, and you are in paradise.

NATURAL MOVEMENT is the first EP in a series of new releases planned for 2023. Thank you for coming on this ride with us. See you soon, with the upcoming release: FOUNTAINS OF THE WORLD.