Kim Durwael aka K-Deey‘s Awake emerges like a signal in the fog—sharp, shadowy, and impossible to ignore. Making the fourth release on Belgium’s Gravitational Forces imprint, his excellent back catalogue includes Marco Bailey’s MATERIA, Arnaud Le Texier’s Children of Tomorrow, A.Paul’s Naked Lunch, and Paula Cazenave’s Combine Audio.
The title track, “Awake,” pulses with a primal urgency. Metallic claps cut through a twisted melody, each element circling the listener like a warning. It’s not clear what’s been awakened—but it’s coming.
“Pay Day,” delves deeper into the underworld, driven by a throbbing bassline that seems to echo through an abandoned industrial complex. There’s a cold introspection in its dystopian textures, like the soundtrack to a revelation best left undiscovered.
Marc Faenger‘s remix takes “Pay Day” even further from the light. A darker, more cerebral descent, it feels like wandering blindfolded into a mechanical dream. You don’t know where you are—but something does.
“Ring Twice” summons the ghosts of warehouse raves past. Its stabbing chords and relentless rhythm crackle with kinetic electricity. But it’s label boss CMPND (BE)‘s remix that steals into stranger territory—a spacious, hypnotic rework that hovers in melancholy, slowly tightening its grip.
The closing track “Mistral,” is pure propulsion. Relentless, percussive, and unflinching, it barrels forward with ruthless clarity—like a storm that doesn’t need thunder to make its presence known.
Awake isn’t just a title—it’s a state. One that leaves you alert, haunted, and ready to return to the dark, listing DJ support from artists like Pfirter, Jonas Kopp, ANNĒ, Henning Baer, Kangding Ray, and Alexander Kowalski, to name only a few.
- Reviewed by Jack! Who? for deathtechno.com
