TuneLab
Anfisa Letyago
Awakenings x X ADE 2023
Anfisa Letyago’s Awakenings ADE 2023 set is exactly the kind of high-octane, no-nonsense techno that leaves you with sore legs and a blank mind—in the best possible way. We’re all guilty of chasing that feeling, and this full tracklist is the map to that particular state of obliteration. Imagine a dark, packed room where the strobes are violent and the bass is a physical entity, a pressure wave that commands movement. Letyago drives a hard techno and melodic techno hybrid here, with a blistering average BPM of 139.4 and a key signature dominated by the driving, energetic 12A.
The energy data is fascinating: a whopping 0.72 average on the low end tells you this is a bone-rattling, sub-bass-heavy affair, with the mid and high frequencies used sparingly for accent and release. Her style is aggressive and percussive, building tension through rapid-fire loops and acid lines, using modulations into 3B to introduce a darker, more sinister edge before snapping back to the main thrust. It’s a controlled demolition of a dancefloor. The track picks are a mix of viral edits, classic rave, and her own productions.
She opens with her own 'Gravity', a statement of intent with its warping bassline. The bootleg of Gotye’s 'Somebody' by FISHER & Chris Lake is the inevitable, brain-dead-fun moment that unites the entire room. DEADWALKMAN’s 'Rhythm 11' is a masterclass in loopy, hypnotic pressure, and the inclusion of Gigi D’Agostino’s 'Bla Bla Bla' in a dark mix is a wonderfully irreverent nod to rave history. The set rockets from the opening salvo of 'Gravity', builds to a chaotic peak with the acid frenzy of KI/KI’s '5 Mins of Acid', and finally comes down—relatively speaking—with the epic, trance-tinged journey of Nu NRG’s 'Dreamland'.