TuneLab
Nina Kraviz
Tomorrowland 2023
Nina Kraviz at Tomorrowland 2023 is an act of beautiful subversion, a dose of raw, uncut techno for a crowd perhaps more accustomed to melodic crescendos. The atmosphere is darker, more focused, a welcome pocket of intensity on the festival grounds. This is hard, hypnotic techno, operating at a relentless 143.2 BPM average, with the key of 12A providing a hypnotic, looping foundation for her sonic explorations. The energy is dominantly low-end (0.58 avg), a deep, rumbling current that pulls you into its vortex, while precise percussive hits in the mid-range dictate the rhythm.
Kraviz’s style is eclectic and cerebral, often letting tracks like Alessandro’s 22-minute ‘Picky’ unfold as immersive, evolving landscapes rather than club tools. Her crate is a treasure trove of underground gems. The opening ‘Analemma - Plunging Asymptote’ is a stark, atmospheric warning shot, while ‘Barcode Population - Barcode Population’ is a lo-fi, jacking workout. Vladimir Dubyshkin’s ‘just a happy song’ is a brilliantly ironic title for such a twisted, acidic loop, and Exos’s ‘Infrared’ is a masterclass in minimalist tension.
Her own ‘tarde’ offers a moment of eerie, melodic respite. The journey is a deep dive: it begins with the abstract ‘Plunging Asymptote’, peaks within the sprawling, rhythmic maze of ‘Picky’, and closes with the pounding, tribal call of ‘White Horse’ with Indira Paganotto. It’s a set that demands and rewards attention, a reminder that the weird stuff is often the good stuff.