#never knows

San Francisco’s mysterious Untitled & After imprint returns with the new single from Never Knows, a deep industrial workhorse of a single titled “On & On & On”. So what is known about this artist? A project of Marc Kate, the Never Knows moniker is used to tackle spacey, dark-tinged techno with a variety of influences outside of dance music. Late night dance floor excursions seem to be the modus operandi of Kate’s productions, reaching people at the time their minds become foggy and vulnerable to subversive thoughts. Collaborations featuring characterful vocal narratives have been a recurring staple of Never Knows’ singles, and “On & On & On” continues this run with the contribution of Qzen. Also a bay area native, Qzen is the voice of underground dance music cuts by the likes of John Tejada, 40 Thieves, and Guillaume & The Coutu-Dumonts. On this release her reverberating words are ripe with “what if” posturing: “What if the sun never shone, and if the day never dawned, and if the light were just beyond, would we go on and on and on?” The original mix spaces her vocals out over rolling up-down patterned synth layers, a heavy swing style drum beat, and the rhythmic clash of metal pans. A companion remix comes from Japanese producer Birdcage (Basilic, Somebody’s Story) who lets the vocals breathe more playfully, but in eerie fashion over glitchy, percussive scratches and eroded distorting synths that transition frequencies from high to low and back up to the mid-range as the track progresses. If this single is the soundtrack to never seeing the sun then lots of people could be easily persuaded into signing up for this suspended in time experiment.

Phonogenic (Moodmusic / Cocoon) - “I like the electronic body music vibe of the original.” Mathias Schaffhäuser (Ware Records / Groove Magazine) - “Cool original, cool vocals. A good mixture of deepness and roughness.” Q-Burns Abstract Message - “I think this is quite excellent. Both cuts hit all the right buttons, but I’m favoring the original for its Chris + Cosey-ness. Nice work.” Hardway Bros (A Love From Outer Space) - “Excellent!” Gavin Russom (The Crystal Ark / Universal Consciousness) - “Stellar release.” Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch) - “Loving this … big, beefy, and beautiful all at the same time! The Birdcage remix is a stunner, too.” Al Bradley (3am Recordings) - “I’m digging the Birdcage remix here … great gradual build, with a real release when the bass line comes in. Ace!” Chrissy Murderbot (Planet Mu) - “Amaaazing!” Ulysses (Neurotic Drum Band) - “I like the late night spaced out feel of the original.” Cyclist (Homebreakin) - “The Birdcage remix for me … it will do nicely in late night sets.” Joey Silvero (Distant People) - “Nice, dreamy affair … subtle and hypnotic.” Alinka (Classic Music Company / Greenhouse) - “I’m really digging the Birdcage remix … beautiful!” Leri Ahel (Mutant Disco Radio Show) - “I love both tracks. A brilliant release.” DJ Nova (Rodon FM, Greece) - “Love this moody, cosmic techno hybrid. Qzen sounds like a singer in new wave band spun by the likes of Daniele Baldelli.” Deadbeat Disco Radio Show - “It’s going to be fun to watch the birdcage mix melt some faces this weekend!”