Sierra Maestra by Esoteric Circle

The latest release on ICONYC welcomes brothers Julien & Raphaël Piacentino known as Esoteric Circle to the label for a brand-new EP. The French artists are widely recognized for their unique blend of intricate sound design. Their genre defying sound has remained fresh over the years and their discography features releases on Spectrum, Future Romance and Oddity as a result.

Beginning with the 'Eldricht Knight, Esoteric Circle showcase their unique rhythmic structures and bold melodic motifs. Dark, driven and laced with distinctive percussion the first act is beastly, as its deep groove powers forward. Smooth stabs along with an intriguing vocal sample carry the track into the break where stripped beats and a calculated build set up an enormous finale. This is quite big for the duo and no doubt a monster on the dance floor.

The second selection 'Move!' brings a wealth of melodic hooks which Esoteric Circle seems so adept at creating. From its funky foundation, esoteric vocals and a bevy of strong rhythmic elements, everything just seems to click perfectly. The progression is really nice as well, as the vocal narrative expands along with some intermittent percussive splashes all throughout the third act.

The release concludes with the title track 'Sierra Maestra' which is likely the most ominous and of the three. From the beginning the story is laid out through driving bass stabs, haunting vocal samples and gold trails. Swirling effects setup, a mild cross-cultural theme which only adds to its magical tone. The running time is kept tight at just over 5 minutes but the shifts in tonal elements along with subtle twists and turns are such that it blows by pretty quick, making a for a great piece to round out the EP. Three quality tracks from Esoteric Circle which makes for an outstanding debut release on ICONYC.

Tracklist

1.	Move! [Original Mix]	4:54

2.	Eldricht Knight [Original Mix]	5:06

3.	Sierra Maestra [Original Mix]	5:11

Credits

License