Don’t mess this up DJ
Elninodiablo’s newest EP, Spirit, follows previous trends in the musician’s discography. While Elninodiablo has never released a full-length album, EP’s have continued to be a trend for the artist. Spirit contains two tracks, and the whole EP is roughly fourteen minutes. There is some serious potential within the time allotted to each song however, they feel quite stagnant throughout their run times.
Elninodiablo has proven that his remixing and sound design can excite, as his 2021 EP Shadowdancer is a showcase of three completely different takes on a similar track. There is something within these sounds to be admired, as Elninodiablo uses various non-electronic instruments and overlays them with complex sounds to create a separated tone. This same style is present within the first track on Spirit. “Illusions” has an incredibly strong opening that builds off a club-style beat. A few claps and a deep-cutting electronic bass with ’80s overtones ignite the start of the song. The track is then scattered with a few electronic cuts and DJ scratches building onto the club aesthetic.
It is the halfway point of “Illusions” that shifts away from this aesthetic and begins to lose what made the beginning so engaging. The track halts to a stop, destroying the flow of the beat when a sample of someone discussing the “truth” plays. A beat change ensues shortly after the sample and the track shifts to the previous style as it opened with. The tribal drums and club elements layer together nicely throughout the track. The continuous shift towards and away these elements creates some confusion in the stylistic choices Elninodiablo makes throughout nonetheless, the engaging foundation of the track pushes through the outliers that harm it.
The second and last track of the EP, “Anastasia,” just feels like a less interesting version of “Illusions.” “Anastasia” features Doroteja on vocals as she is quite felt throughout the song’s run time. Practically all the elements of “Illusions” that hurt the song are highlighted in “Anastasia.” The vocals within “Anastasia” are a snooze, filled with “hums” and “yeahs.” These vocals could have been an interesting mix, had they been layered into a diverse-sounding beat. Rather, the lack of any real lyrics leaves them hollow and what feels to be a time filler. Doroteja’s voice has no real belonging within the song, and they do nothing to excite. Where Doroteja falls flat, so does Elninodiablo. The eight minutes feel way too long for a track that does so little to change throughout. This wouldn’t be a problem if the beat itself had anything interesting happening throughout. The beat for “Anastasia” fails both in its ambient influences and electronic sounds. There is a severe repetition issue within “Anastasia,” making it feel lifeless. Not only does the backbone of “Anastasia” feel too similar to that of “Illusions,” but it lacks anything better.
Elninodiablo has demonstrated the ability to create exciting club remixes and sounds that diversify themselves in sound and style. While “Illusion” feels like a possible highlight in Elninodiablo’s discography, there is no doubt that “Anastasia” will be lost throughout his other works.
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