Hypna (Insert) and J-Shadow (Keysound, Sneaker Social Club) team up to drop their first ever collaborative EP, A2I (Access To Infinity). The work, a blistering 5-track odyssey, moves at hyper-speed through fragments of footwork, jungle, ambient and sci-fi sound design. Designed to please both listeners at home and ravers listening on club systems, the EP shows off the high-tech, low-end focused sound the two producers have been developing respectively.
A2I is a long time in the making - J and Hypna affectionately refer to each other as their “musical other”. Their relationship goes all the way back to 2018, when they hit each other up with a love for one another’s music. The more they talked, the more they realised they had a shared obsession with sci-fi movies & video games - at that point writing music together was an inevitability. Their aim for the EP was to explore new patterns and tempos, while blending all of their influences together into a shared universe.
The sci-fi influence is evident from the opening seconds of ‘Access To Infinity’, as a sustained drone gradually invites the listener inside the producers’ shared universe. Gradual flecks of glitched particles form, before things coalesce into a climax of weightless bass pulses and skittering hi-hats, reminiscent of Logos and Mumdance’s post-grime explorations.
‘Incubate’ plunges us down into underwater spaces before kicking things off with a spaced-out drum workout demonstrating both Hypna and J-Shadow’s uncanny knack for making hard-hitting, yet atmospheric club music.
‘Automata’ comes in next, opening with isolated granulated metallic textures - a stark contrast to its predecessors. Throwing the listener out of the airlock, it launches into a frantic half time beat defined by stark synth stabs and basses which sound like the aftershock of a futuristic space craft.
‘Motherboard’ pulls us into the deep centre of A2I’s universe, a weightless soundscape of Reese basses and regal arpeggiated synth sequences.
Finishing up the release is ‘Force Lens’. Drums warp into existence, coming into focus and building in intensity before dropping into a sequence of laser-sharp breakbeats and bass pulses. Somehow J-Shadow and Hypna still manage to imbue space into this tune, with synth alarms creeping in and introducing a much more introspective second section. A floating pad gradually oozes into existence, keeping us locked through the final few minutes of this highly immersive universe.
What draws A2I together is a prioritisation of space and atmosphere above all else. These are club tracks, yes, guaranteed to turn heads, yes, but not in the conventional sense - it’s as if Hypna and J-Shadow have rewritten the rules for what constitutes club music, challenging and re-inventing the boundaries to suit the needs of their universe.
