Blanke

Emergence

By Gabriel Matias Castilho

On March 22nd we saw the emergence… No this is not the start of a science fiction novel, it is actually the day the Australian music producer and DJ John Paul Orchison—otherwise known as Blanke—terraformed the landscape to introduce us to his new EP. The plant-based DJ’s new EP consists of six very diverse songs: some incredibly heart-warming, others incredibly heart-ripping.

The EP starts really, really well. The first song “Heaven”, which also is my favorite from the compilation, is a collaboration with German music producer Rival and singer/songwriter from Nashville KC. The track not only incorporates Rival’s signature strings, pondering melodies and dualities on the first drop, but also Blanke’s passionate and colorful melodies on the second part, a true counterpoint. KC did an incredible job at calming things down when they needed to be, as well as hooking the audience on the introduction with her angelic voice, but when the guitar strings come along, we know we are there for a ride: the start of the apocalypse.

After this song is when we discover how Blanke’s colors have been really changing, as he steps into his new era. There are no more colorful melodies on “Alphane” and “Data”, just an immersion into death and destruction. The annihilation is finalized with “Turmoil”, a collaboration with the Denver-based “wizard of the bass” Au5, razing buildings to the ground and leaving up a new landscape.

This landscape is filled with love as “Heavy Heart”, a collaboration with Canadian producer Grant and singer Your Friend Polly, takes over. Flowers and trees grow on this new landscape as “Crashing Hard”, a collaboration with LA-based vocalist Casey Cook, ends the compilation.

The world is now a new place, in this adventure guided by Blanke.