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Electronic producer Maffmatix knows all about the psychedelic qualities of copious light. He relocated from Los Angeles to a place that’s even more fiercely illuminated than Southern California: Bangkok. The Thai capital is the setting of “Wake Up,” the clip for his hypnotic deep house single. Light falls relentlessly on the protagonist and his partner alike, but no matter how crisp and clear the street scenes are, it never quite seems like they’re fully awake.
Even without the video, “Wake Up” is the kind of track that can generate some seriously altered states. It’s an example of the type of sonic alchemy that has made Maffmatix an indispensable figure in electronic music – not merely in Bangkok (although his hometown fanbase is a passionate one), but everywhere house and trance are appreciated. Though “Wake Up” is immensely danceable, it’s also a song that encourages the listener to slip on headphones and lose herself in fantasy. The bass is deep, slippery, intoxicating, the synthesizers pulse, blur, and shift, the beats are propulsive, the melody is irresistible, and the vocal sample is intoxicating in its otherworldliness.
That voice belongs to singer-songwriter Atiya, whose distinctive combination of Southeast Asian meter, North American jazz, international synthpop, and electronic experimentation is on glittering display here. “Wake Up” was originally a straightforward pop song that Atiya posted to the Internet; Maffmatix took the track, exposed it to light and shadow, twisted it and shaped it, and transformed it into the mesmerizing single we’re sharing today. He discovered a gateway to a strange alternate dimension hidden between Atiya’s verses, shimmied it open, and let the haunted spirits pour through.
visit Maffmatix.com for more on Maffmatix.
