We’re less than three months into the year, but British Cairo-based producer, Shunus, has already released two EPs in 2021. Continuing the same direction as the January-released Reshape, Parasite takes a deeper dive towards the organic/downtempo spectrum of electronic music.
Released on Cairo/Berlin-based label, Shagara Records, the five-track EP sees Shunus look to the raw and organic elements that have come to define much of his sound, while remixes from TenRom and Stephane Salerno (and Shunus himself) add a twist to proceedings.
The EP kicks off with the title track, ‘Parasite’, and sets the tone for the mellow record, with soft vocals, bouncey tribal drums, tight sub-bass and an acid-like melodic lead coming together in perfect unison. There are more vocals in ‘Far Away’, while similar drum sounds run throughout the track, but balanced by metallic, almost hostile, lead stabs.
In Shunus’ remix of the track, the vocals are taken out of the equation, though the tribal drums drive the track further into an ambient abyss. It's Max TenRom’s remix of ‘Parasite’ that switches things up, though not completely, with the more house-orientated beat adding a different energy to the track. Stephane Salerno, meanwhile, finds a middle ground between downtempo and organic house to create arguably the most sumptuously mellow track of the EP.
For fans of Shunus, who had gathered momentum on Cairo’s nightlife scene before the pandemic, the EP offers the warmth of familiarity. What will be really interesting, however, is Shunus’ other project, Wolf Fang Midi, alongside Egyptian ambient/trip-hop experimentalist, J!n. An unlikely pairing, maybe, but with the duo self-describing it as a synthwave project, it’ll be interesting to see what comes of this most fascinating of Venn diagrams.
Follow Shunus on Instagram and Soundcloud.
