EP Review: Ainonow – Lilt / Break It
Ainonow is a sonic alchemist, blending electronic beats with raw, untamed imagination. His sound defies easy labels—morphing between shadowy drum & bass, fractured halftime grooves, and bass mutations that push boundaries. Drawing from a kaleidoscope of influences, his productions feel alive, pulsing with earthy, tactile layers. The new double-sided single is no exception. It's crafted to make your body move and to surprise your mind at the same time. Let's listen together and see how it works.
Lilt is the A-Side. It starts with a snaky stuttering hi-hat groove that feels equal parts rhythmic and textural. And then the beats drops. It's crisp. It's heavy. The bass morphs, mutates and shapeshifts like an evil-minded djinn. The more active hi-hat pattern appears, adding a dusty flavour to the track. Textures swirl in the background like echoes of a distant sandstorm.
The track paints pictures of cruel deserts and magical beasts, much like the classic "Organic" from Kryptic Minds, minus the flutes. Which makes the effect even more impressive.
Closer to the end beat grows richer and more nuanced, creating an impression of reality starting to break into fragments. The lamp is shattered. The djinn won't get back inside. Now the magic is part of this world. What we see and what we feel has been altered forever...
The altered reality is presented on the second jam – "Break It". Crazy psychedelic textures paint surreal and unwelcoming pictures, while the breakbeats provide a pleasantly uncomfortamble, distquietingly grounding feeling. Nothing is going to be same again – not your surprised mind, not the reality that surrounds it and attacks it. But we've got to learn to live with it. As the beat progresses, you learn to embrace the ghostly echoes and hazy, smoky bass and synth textures. A peculiar percussive sound appears closer to the end of the track. It sounds like a demon laughing. Are we going to run away from the beast, fight it or embrace the evil and magical part of our existence? The music leaves the question open.
Lilt is the A-Side. It starts with a snaky stuttering hi-hat groove that feels equal parts rhythmic and textural. And then the beats drops. It's crisp. It's heavy. The bass morphs, mutates and shapeshifts like an evil-minded djinn. The more active hi-hat pattern appears, adding a dusty flavour to the track. Textures swirl in the background like echoes of a distant sandstorm.
The track paints pictures of cruel deserts and magical beasts, much like the classic "Organic" from Kryptic Minds, minus the flutes. Which makes the effect even more impressive.
Closer to the end beat grows richer and more nuanced, creating an impression of reality starting to break into fragments. The lamp is shattered. The djinn won't get back inside. Now the magic is part of this world. What we see and what we feel has been altered forever...
The altered reality is presented on the second jam – "Break It". Crazy psychedelic textures paint surreal and unwelcoming pictures, while the breakbeats provide a pleasantly uncomfortamble, distquietingly grounding feeling. Nothing is going to be same again – not your surprised mind, not the reality that surrounds it and attacks it. But we've got to learn to live with it. As the beat progresses, you learn to embrace the ghostly echoes and hazy, smoky bass and synth textures. A peculiar percussive sound appears closer to the end of the track. It sounds like a demon laughing. Are we going to run away from the beast, fight it or embrace the evil and magical part of our existence? The music leaves the question open.