Saka, a Hong Kong-born, US-based producer, has signed to Dome of Doom with his Penumbra EP.
Penumbra is an introspective work that centers around the emotional vortex of a past relationship, and each track serves as a chronological representation of each phase. “Lilac,” the opener, represents the sort of initial honeymoon phase; “Prescient” represents starting to realize that things might not be so perfect after all; and “Penumbra” captures that feeling right before the breakup. “Let me Live” marks the period just after the breakup.
“Each track sort of represents a different time period of the relationship, in chronological order,” Saka tells EDMjunkies. “I didn’t really try to make any of these musical ideas fit into any specific sort of overarching genre; I sort of just wrote from the heart in the sonic lexicon that I have.” He wrote “largely without intention,” looking to get his feelings out, so the tunes range from beats to drum & bass to garage, he says. He describes Penumbra as “sort of the culmination of me not really giving that attention anymore” and “really just music I want to hear now that represents how I felt emotionally at the time.”
The release differs in sound design and structural approach to past his previous works, including his Slipstream EP on Bassrush and his Split Punch / Wing Chun EP on Gud Vibrations, in that it’s rooted in the language of songwriter-driven electronic music. It’s the first time he’s presented his vocals on one of his records, and he has also introduced a new collaborator to his catalog with the last track, “Let Me Live” which features Amethyst.
Traklisting
01. Lilac
02. Prescient
03. Penumbra
04. Let Me Live (feat. Amethyst)
Penumbra EP is scheduled for June 4 release. Meanwhile, you can pre-order over at Bandcamp here and stream “Let Me Live” in full below.