Cristian Varela – Prognosis EP [Materia]

Debuting on Marco Bailey’s revered techno stronghold, Materia, Cristian Varela’s latest work is a certified tour de force. Acknowledged as one of Spain’s pioneering techno producers, Varela’s 30 years career has seen him cement his name in the underground community. 

Over three decades, as you would come to expect, his passion for carving out explicit dancefloor destroyers has only grown stronger – as shown in his latest release, ‘Prognosis’.

Quite similar to what you would expect from an album, the release contains both intro and outro tracks – ‘Fifth’ & ‘Nous3’. Both pieces of music are expectedly sinister and somewhat infernal, with energy worthily strong enough to envelop the three gargantuan tracks that live between them.

‘Har5’ is the first of three hard techno drivers, teeming with analogue grit and vicious drums. An arpeggiating acid sequence rips through the middle of the track, with a pulsating arsenal of kicks, hats and snares ricocheting off the inside of the storm it creates. This one is dark, fast and will send you deep into a hypnotic stomp.

Next up, ‘Yssy’ keeps the pace at a pleasantly exhilarating tempo. Rippling hat grooves and a tonal kick/sub combo lay the foundations for the eerie bell-like synth line that marauds behind the beat. The track progresses with offbeat hat slaps, piercing rides and steel snares striking rhythmically. High-energy late-night techno – done right!

‘Prognosis’ makes up the last of three techno treats. Thrilling from the first bar, it’s a rambunctious pressure cooker of pounding kicks, racing hat sequences and long, sweeping horn notes. Rave inspired and bordering on hardcore techno, Varela finishes the trio of dancefloor numbers on an almighty hammer strike. 

Cristian told us:

“The first release on my brother’s label. I am proud to release on one of the most prestigious techno labels in the world.

Prognosis is one of my favourite tracks created with sequences all done with my beloved Roland sh101, with some acid distorted sound and an industrial percussion. Lots of atmospheric layers to give energy!

Yssy is a hypnotic track with one of my characteristic bases; I created it with my TR909, and I tweaked the low toms to create a techno groove structure but more underground, with some synth sequences created with the Roland beast SE01″.

Cristian Varela’s ‘Prognosis’ EP is out now on Materia.