Cousin – Wake the Town

Australia has become one of the most vibrant hubs for contemporary club music. In a way, it feels like the gravitational center has shifted from Europe to Canada and the Southern Hemisphere, or rather that this dual axis has developed a sonic identity strong enough to stand alongside the Old Continent. The wave of Australian artists emerging in recent years is staggering: from Roza Terenzi to Tim Jackiw, from Lou Karsh to Rings Around Saturn, all the way to Priori and Reptant. It’s a movement shaped by clear artistic principles: a mindful use of technology, nurtured by art schools and a constant evolution in sound, now far removed from the minimalism that defined the club scene of the 2010s.

What makes Australia’s electronic landscape so compelling is its stylistic range, driven by a curiosity for the genre itself rather than strict adherence to any single current. Cousin is no exception. While some have explored progressive territories or remained faithful to the purist synth work of electro or ambient techno, he moves between dub techno and UK bass, creating a warm, post-tribal sound—both immersive and shadowy, atmospheric yet rhythmically intricate. Based in Sydney and active since 2020, with over ten EPs to his name, Cousin now delivers six hypnotic tracks through his own label, Moonshoe Records. Here, post-techno meets post-dubstep, revealing a clear pursuit of new sonic languages.

The soundscapes of “Wake the Town” are crisp and dusky, unfolding like a journey through a sacred forest, where percussion, reverbs, and delay effects ripple in a constant state of motion: never static, never predictable. Cousin’s ability to craft such textures was already evident in previous releases like “Overtime” (2020) and “Hudson” (2022), both hovering between ambient-dub and distant, exotic influences. This time, however, the imagined landscape is distinctly terrestrial: an ecosystem where dense jungles intertwine with human-built technology, where the darkness of the mountains hides remnants of a futuristic world. Six tracks designed for forward-thinking DJs, guiding the listener to a space suspended between organic nature and synthetic future.