Alok Takes Aim at the Club on First Hellbent Records Release, 'My Own Thang EP'
The project cements Alok’s vault from mainstage maximalism to pure club command, with help from Walker & Royce, Sophiegrophy, and InntRaw.
Rachel Narozniak
Alok and Hellbent Records aren’t names you’d expect in the same sentence, but one rinse of the Brazilian dynamo’s My Own Thang EP quickly dispels any surprise. Taut, compelling, and clearly built to bang on dance floors, the two-piece project cements Alok’s vault from mainstage maximalism to pure club command, with assists from Walker & Royce, Sophiegrophy, and InntRaw.
“This EP is me reconnecting with the club in a more direct way. I’ve spent a lot of time playing big stages, but there’s something special about focusing purely on the dance floor and that energy between the DJ and the crowd,” Alok tells Beatportal.
“Working with Sophiegrophy, Walker & Royce, and InntRaw brought different perspectives into the process, and releasing it on Cloonee’s Hellbent Records felt like the perfect home for that raw, club-focused sound.”
We’ll say. Both “My Own Thang (To The Beat)” and “Grip Slippin” invite sweat-inducing body work – or a steady head bob, at minimum. With creative contributions from Nigerian hip-house songstress Sophiegrophy, tech house tastemakers Walker & Royce, and fellow Brazilian force InntRaw (who previously worked alongside Hellbent head honcho Cloonee on “Stephanie”), the My Own Thang EP is a formula for movement. Listen below.
The project further fuels Hellbent's momentum, following Cloonee's hotly anticipated January single "XTC" and Joshwa's recent label debut and Beatport #1, "Out Of My Mind."
