TuneLab
Clara Cuvé - Awakenings x 9x9 Invites ADE 2023
Clara Cuvé's set for the Awakenings x 9x9 Invites at ADE 2023 is a furious, high-velocity lesson in modern hard techno, a genre that has embraced speed and aggression without sacrificing nuance. This audio recording captures the moment the BPM counter becomes a badge of honor, and the crowd's stamina is tested to its limit. The vibe is relentless, a warehouse pressure cooker where breaks are a myth and the only release is in the next punishing kick drum. Technically, it's blisteringly fast, averaging 155.8 BPM and touching 162, making it a true hard techno excursion.
The harmonic preference for the tense, minor key of 3B (7 tracks) over 12A (4 tracks) underscores the set's dystopian, urgent character. Energy is fascinatingly split: a dominant low-end (0.58 avg) provides the engine, but a significant high-end presence (0.23 avg) means shrieking synths and piercing hi-hats cut through the mix with alarming clarity, while mids (0.19 avg) handle gritty textures. Mixing is aggressive, using quick cuts and overlays to maintain a frenetic pace. For the tracklist obsessives, 'Kunai Crew - On My Throne' opens with menacing, trap-inflected swagger, instantly setting the tone.
'2 Waveform - Pulsar' is a textbook hard techno weapon with its distorted stabs, while 'Luciid & Per Pleks - We Show Up' is a collaboration built for maximum impact. 'simone lupino - Pit' lives up to its name with cavernous, industrial sound design, and 'Alex Farell - Dancefloor Murderer' appears again as a certified floor-clearer (in the best way). The surreal 'DJ Ghoster - I Follow Rivers (Remix)' is a glorious, chaotic flip of a pop song, and the marathon 'Byorn - Shivaya' is the set's hypnotic, centerpiece epic. The journey is a sprint: it launches from the throne, peaks in the chaotic middle, and concludes with the brutal, four-on-the-floor hammer of 'Dj Moncho - 5 Seconds (Hard House Version)'.