In June, System Records launched the System Summer Series, a kind of slow-motion V/A project of singles that drop each and every week until September 1. The track, artist and even the title are a secret until the day of release, culminating at the end of summer with a full compilation available digitally and on System-branded USBs, with the addition of two secret tracks.

Sophie Glynne, co-founder of System Records with Dance System explains that they found “each track on the compilation so strong and single-worthy that we wanted to make sure they all got attention, with their own release window.”

We are a month in with a month still to go, and right in the middle is a release we just love — “Dense Metaverse” by Elisa Bee. I was late until Posthuman’s Balkan Vinyl label turned me on to Elisa’s tracks with 2020’s Orbit EP and her stripped down, stomping remix of WTCHCRFT’s “All D Time On Mi Mind” on I Love Acid.

An avid record collector whose interests range from multiple genres within electronic music and several outside of it, “Dense Metaverse” was actually conceived of as “something more UK Garage oriented,” Elisa tells us, “but in the end I kept the UKG vibe only for the break.”

For “Dense Metaverse” Bee selected “one of the most beloved breaks (we all know what I’m talking about!) and chopped it up on Ableton Live. This way I’ve been able to bring back the ’90s taste I was looking for. I like how the roughness of the breaks mixes with the mellow chord stabs.”

Bee was first introduced to the label via System artist His Majesty Andre (her best friend, she says), and the label originally planned to release an EP.

“I absolutely love all of her stuff,” Dance System says. “Her tracks have been staples in my sets since then. Elisa sent some demos earlier this year for the label, we were planning on doing an EP at first but when we came up with the Summer Series concept I thought ‘Dense Metaverse’ would be perfect for it. We will definitely be following up with an EP soon though!”

Dance System says that this, like all of the tunes from the Summer Series, has been “heavily road-tested by myself over the last few months. Platforming new talent is what running a label is all about for us, and I can’t wait to share all this music with the world!”

“Dense Metaverse” is out now from System Records. Follow the series on systemrecords.uk or systemrecords.lnk.to/sss.


 

Originally published in 5 Mag issue 200 featuring Ron Trent, Bedrock Records, Black Loops, Todd Edwards, Rebecca Goldberg, Elisa Bee & more. Help support 5 Mag by becoming a member for just $1 per issue.


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