Pan Daijing - A Satin Sight EP (2017) Hi-Res

Pan Daijing, a Chinese artist now based in Berlin, discovered techno on her first trip to Europe, when she was 20. But unlike many who have had a similar epiphany in Berghain's dark halls, Daijing didn't suddenly dedicate herself to dance music. "It's not so much 'music,' but 'sound,'" she told RBMA last year. "Sound has always been the thing I've been the most interested in." Or maybe "noise" is a better way of putting it, as her interests in industrial and experimental music have been a major part in the intense, sexually charged performances she's become known for. All of which is to say that Daijing has taken a roundabout path to making techno, which gives her second release an interesting angle.

A Satin Sight isn't light on rhythmic force, but the drums are sometimes utilized more for their sonic blasts than time keeping. "What I like about techno is the energy," Daijing said in that same interview. "Whether you're making it, playing it, listening to it or dancing to it, it's an energy exchange." Sure enough, there isn't a lull throughout this EP. The excellent "Tenderloin Tanz," seemingly a tribute to her time studying and going out in San Francisco, is all searing noise and raging drum machines. Despite eerie synth tones that border on kitsch, "Exile"'s shuddering throb has some rhythmic charm. There's a booming 4/4 at the core of "A Season In Hell," but lopsided synth sequences and hissing, off-kilter snares set it uncomfortably askew. The blown-out, Container-esque beat driving "Nomenklatura" has been minimized to make room for much stranger—and more interesting—sound design. But in one of Daijing's captivating performances, or played for certain dance floors, it could send onlookers into a frenzy.