Liam McGrath“I wanted to make something that sounded like a racecar going bananas. I love synthesis and this is a good example of my use of call and response with different synths. Balls to the wall energy. No messing.” Krystal Klear returns with a high energy teaser from his upcoming EP Cyclia Two.
2019 proved to be a big year for Krystal Klear. The Dublin-born, NYC-based producer and DJ – real name Dec Lennon – completed a lifetime ambition when he unleashed his Essential Mix for Pete Tong, earning airplay along the way from the likes of Annie Mac (Hottest Record) and Danny Howard (Friday Fire). Following the release of ‘Cyclia One’ on Gerd Janson’s esteemed Running Back last November, Krystal Klear returns with some fresh fire in the shape of ‘Future Fantasy’.
The track previews the new EP ‘Cyclia Two’, which follows on 10th April. ‘Future Fantasy’ extends Krystal Klear’s dual skillset. On one hand he’s a sonic alchemist, blending house, techno and trance in a mix of 80s style, 90s flair and forward-thinking fluency. On the other, he’s a dancefloor instigator: raising the tempo, pushing the energy past boiling point and always guaranteeing that dance music is sheer, unadulterated life-affirming fun.
“The title is funny as it was inspired by a girl who was in some regard a future fantasy,” he says. “I wanted to make something that sounded like a racecar going bananas. I love synthesis and this is a good example of my use of call and response with different synths. Balls to the wall energy. No messing.”
Those traits inform the rest of ‘Cyclia Two’ without limiting its scope. ‘Dutch Gold’ keeps that playful vibe hurtling forward in a track that takes Krystal Klear back to his teen years – sitting in a Dublin park with his friends, sinking cheap cans of Dutch Gold lager to a soundtrack of hi-NRG trance.More cinematic, moody and progressive,
‘One Night in P Bar’ switches the atmosphere. After playing a set at Berghain’s Panorama Bar, Dec was still too adrenalised to sleep and instead wrote the track deep in the post-show haze.
Finally, his love of a killer melody is very much in evidence in the closing track ‘Genesis’ – a track which he describes as “a plumber of a tune because I can imagine the Mario Brothers doing a Morris dancing march to it up a set of Nintendo bricks.”The two parts of ‘Cyclia’ combine to create an extended vision of Krystal Klear’s joyous, multi-faceted style across 50 minutes and eight tracks.
It was recorded during sessions at his studio in Dublin and in his hometown NYC, home of some of his key influences such as Larry Levan and DJ Kool Herc.He explains, “‘Cyclia’ was an idea from Jim Henson in the late ‘60s to make a nightclub that was enhanced by intense visuals created using projected images on sculptures within the club. It’s a concept which now is fundamental, but for me what really resonated was that I wanted to make tracks that leaned more on the cinematic end of what I can do with club tracks without being too ‘over sensationalist’ about it either. They’re two EPs of pure club music crossing all tempos for all moods but made entirely from a cinematic perspective.”
Krystal Klear first emerged in 2010 with releases on Dublin’s All City label. His sound evolved with subsequent tracks issues on Rinse, MadTech and his own Cold Tonic label, while a residency at Manchester’s Hoya: Hoya kickstarted his international touring. Things really exploded with 2018’s ‘Neutron Dance’. It took on a life of its own as it hit 15 million streams and was named as one of Resident Advisor’s best tracks of the year. A stellar selection of remixes followed, including Paul Woolford, Mano Le Tough and Running Back label boss Gerd Janson.But there’s more to Krystal Klear than just that track, as evidenced by ‘Euphoric Dreams’ and now ‘Cyclia’. He’s also an in-demand remixer, with recent credits including Octavian, Georgia and Mark Ronson.
Check out ‘Future Fantasy’ below!