VA - Fuga V (2024)

With eight fresh tracks for the modern dance floor, Token writes another chapter of the Fuga series. Challenging new faces to complete the label’s sound, Fuga V is another focused compilation that balances spatial detail and rhythmic bite.

Bubbly yet cosmic synth work opens the VA convincingly, a record for true Token fans. Dissonance, delay, slithering pads, and the occasional thundering 909 clap make ‘Partenope’ by Singular Anomalies an obvious choice as an opening, retaining the label’s original sound with a nice twist. With Singular Anomalies staying light on rhythm, Ketch quickly turns up the intensity with his contribution ‘Whispers’. Plowing through the ambiance with a heavy kick, the producer lines up a track of percussive melodic harmony with a moody groove. The followup by Justyn Nell, ‘Amaranth’ employs a classic, distorted bassline that runs persistently throughout the track with playful 909 work for the drums. A full force club controller now passed, the followup by DHÆÜR delves back into vast open spaces for a close-eyed, mental experience. ‘Sculpting the Mind’, appropriately named, breathes through with opening and closing background textures along a loopy lead. The introspective quality of this track is continued by Maasym, who takes things in an almost tribal direction with hypnotic wooden textures. ‘Intermediate Direction’ is a progressive addition to this edition of Fuga that serves as a dancefloor brain-soother. Taking things back to the roots with some old school machine work, we have ‘Black Hole’ by Ray Kaijoka. A nice psychotic arp leads the listener along into a surprisingly melodic arrangement supported by infectious drums, all of which is expertly crafted for club movement. Taking a dive, Kameliia gives us ‘Point of View’ which boasts a powerfully round low-end and an intense progression with far off strings that add a warm cinematic feel. Serious and effective, ‘Point of View’ is a track communicating tone and mediation. To close Fuga V, the dup Kashpitzky & Casual Treatment take matters into their own hands with a very high intensity record ‘Diffusion’. Huge cut transitions, saturated drums pushing the limit with a loud clap, and laser-like lead make for an impressive last chapter of Fuga V.