Meditation Tunnel - Sunrise EP
‘Sunrise’ is the first 12 inch from Meditation Tunnel, the new electronic music project from former The Rapture frontman, Luke Jenner. The Rapture emerged in the New York post Strokes boom in the late 90’s and the band's previous releases had generally been met with a fair amount of critical acclaim, as they managed to carve out a niche for themselves by combining post-punk sound with electronic and dance elements.
In more recent times, Luke has found himself working on music with Joakim, with whom he shares a studio in Brooklyn. He has lent his vocals on Joakim's shimmering 'Bring You Love', which hails from the Tropics of Love album. Luke also delivered his first remix under the alias Meditation Tunnel for Joakim’s 'Samurai'. Not only has Luke Jenner contributed to DJ Tennis’ ‘Local’ EP released in 2014, but the two have actually put their heads together for another collaboration project that will hopefully soon see the light of the day.
The opening track ‘Sunrise’ kicks things off with a throbbing kick beat that is paired with a closed 4/4 hi-hat pattern and a medium pitched bell lightly striking the hours every two bars. A plucky bassline enters alongside with vocal chops that first supersede one another in two different pitch-levels, but soon after a single, eerie synth note dives into the track, they are given a vocoded treatment for an electrifying effect. While the now stretched vocal cries the words ‘sunrise’, the track rides on a wave of dynamic drums interlocked with flourishing synths melodies, bells and dashes of acid modulation into a smouldering finish. The production is full and suspenseful, plodding through a fleet-footed opening section before turning into a frenzy dancefloor filler.
From there, ‘Dreamsequence‘ strips the voyage down to flickering micro-melodic spheres and sonic flourishes. While pinprick sharp shards of claps lead us through the jungle on a galloping bassline, atmospheric synths and dubby chords continue to grow and build. As soon as the major synth melody enters, it becomes clear that this track is serving simultaneously hot and cold, murky and uplifting moments of brilliance.
Meditation Tunnel's rethinking of ‘Sunrise‘ picks up and accentuates the slow burning, hypnotic vibe of the original and proves you don't always need a kick drum to create a subtle afterhours flair. The Ambient remix drops down the BPMs a bit while retaining the best parts of the original: fluorescent bells arising from the background, slow slung vocals that oscillate into the next morning and a throbbing bass that explores the outer reaches as it tunnels out with pulsating acidic groove.
Comprised of three suspenseful tracks, Sunrise EP is released via the vinyl only dance label Crowdspacer run by Joakim.