UPFRONTBEATS

Crosstown Rebels welcome Tochno Techno label owner Yulia Niko to release her first full EP, Paradise, a captivating three track EP featuring jazz bossanova vocalist Sil Romero and Italian talent Cioz on remix duty. The aptly named Es Vedra can be heard as a digital bonus track.

Russian-born DJ, producer and label owner, Yulia Niko learned her trade in the clubs of her hometown before moving to the US to work as a resident DJ at Verboten, Brooklyn and Heart in Miami. Now touring the world, she is based in Berlin and runs a vinyl only label, Tochno Techno. She has also released on other esteemed labels such as Get Physical Music, Nervous, Heisenberg, Natura Viva and Dee-P-erfect.

Opening track Caminando encapsulates Yulia’s inspiration from walking on the White Isle of Ibiza where she spent the last year living. The hypnotising deep house melody of swirly synth pads and Sil Romero’s beautiful dreamy vocals wash over skipping percussion in an emotive composition. Niko described how the track came together – ‘I sent demos to my friend and great jazz Bossanova singer Sil Romero and told her about my emotions after Ibiza. She also loves the island and goes there every year. The words Caminado are from Spanish – walking around, and she says ‘I feel good!’. Cioz puts his own melodic stamp on the remix, creating a progressive club piece with bright keys over a reshaped bass line.

Paradise continues the warm, ethereal atmosphere of the EP, bongos dance on hats as lush, relaxing tones fade in and out. Digital bonus track Es Vedra is comprised of a minimal groove, with melancholic synth and subtle acid reflecting the mysticism Yulia discovered there – ‘I found this island not like a party home, I think it’s a more spiritual place, especially if you go to Es Vedra! I feel so weird when I get closer to her, I can’t stop looking at it.’

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• Beatport: beatport.com/artist/yulia-niko