Metro Vice 313/030 (w/ DJ T-1000 Remix)

Description

When Detroit’s Joshua Tree came to Berlin in February 2026, the connection with ZentaSkai was immediate. What started as a studio session quickly developed into a close friendship and an ongoing creative exchange. Every session since has brought something new to the table, but it is always spontaneous, raw music made without overthinking. Detroit and Berlin have always shared a certain language, but these artists speak it differently across an EP that is sympathetic to both. The tracks were built around analogue drum machines, synths, and echoes; classic samplers rooted in ’90s hip-hop production; and contemporary effects pedals, often made in live, one-take sessions with imperfections left in. Opener 'Our Muzik' soon sinks you into a deep, cavernous world with a quick, hot stepping rhythm overlaid with deft synth details and heated through with sustained, lingering pads. There is a darker mood to 'Free Fair' with menacing pads lurking in the background as icy hi-hat ringlets hang in the air and the marching groove hurries through a distant interplanetary world. Alan D. Oldham, aka DJ T-1000, is Detroit techno’s original renaissance man. A producer, DJ, label head, visual artist, and graphic designer, Oldham’s influence runs deep through the culture’s DNA. His version of 'Our Muzik' pairs jacked-up drums with looser, fluid synths and sweeping ambient pads that encourage inward reflection. Last but not least, 'Later Honey' gets gritty: spoken words fragment through the mix, broody low ends bring low-key threat, and there's a rising paranoia despite plenty of widescreen synth warmth. It's soulful machine music of the higher order.