Live Review: DJ Life builds his underground catalogue with 'Neural Oscillations' EP

30 August 2019 | 2:47 pm | Parry Tritsiniotis

Melbourne’s DJ Life is continuing his already strong underground dance discography with his latest release, ‘Neural Oscillations’.

 

Melbourne’s DJ LIFE is continuing his already strong underground dance discography with his latest release, Neural Oscillations. The EP comes off the back of neat releases on European labels Earth Plates & Gestalt Records. This time, he links with small Finnish indie label, Echocentric Records with a four-tracker that’d work equally well on peak time dance floors as it would concentrated headphone listening. 

The EP opens on heavenly terms. ‘Peia’ is a friendly welcome to the sonic world of Neural Oscillations. Dreamy synth washes dominate this track as they wash over the simple, yet effective breakbeat drum pattern. The peaceful then turns into the aggressive. A wobbly bass line, an alien-like top line and vocal chants harmonise the track, creating an ethereal mover. 

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Then follows another highlight in ‘Hierophant’. This one is ever building, as key elements enter and fade seamlessly. It’s a lesson in creative arrangement, forging a thrill-seeking, dance worthy experience. A fast tempo acts as the undercurrent for its progressive elements. Haunting synths and a bass line set to encourage debauchery take the track into second gear. 

Neural Oscillations’ closes with the standout track ‘Abduction’. Acidic 303 meows combine with a heavy hitting, syncopated beat to create a dance experience like no other. Wonky percussion and growing synths dominate the rhythm. You always feel a couple of steps behind the track, as it so effortlessly moves into different phases as it changes sonic direction. 

DJ Life’s Neural Oscillations is almost best described by its simple tags on Bandcamp: ‘303’, ‘breakbeats’, ‘acid’, ‘atmospheric’, ‘dreamy’ are all used to simply describe the EP. My favourite of the tags though, and my final conclusion on the exceptional project has to be ‘bangers’. 

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