One of the artists that has stood out in Lebanon’s electronic music scene in recent times, and whom SceneNoise has recently featured, is Samer Etienne, aka ETYEN. The fact that Samer didn't seek to make dance music, but rather focus on all textures of electronic, had definitely been a contributing factor to that. But as of recently, ETYEN has been dabbling more and more with dance music to mixed results.
The artist's latest release is an EP entitled Bebe on Brazil’s Not Another and features three originals and two remixes. The three original productions are the title-track, 'Elephant in the Room' and 'Real Talk' with remixes for 'Bebe' and 'Elephant in the Room' coming courtesy of Petar Dundov and Stelios Vassiloudis respectively.
The standout track amongst the originals, and perhaps the entire release, has to be 'Elephant in the Room', as it’s not only the most hypnotic and fresh-sounding production, but the most out-of-the-box in terms of concept and implementation, carrying more of ETYEN’s true essence. The rest of the EP unfortunately leans towards a more outdated sound that does little to make the release memorable, even Dundov and Vassiloudis’s remixes do very little to take the EP anywhere new or interesting.
'Elephant in the Room' also comes with a pretty cool DIY music video shot in the Swedish countryside and by directed Adrienne Hurtut and Samer himself. The video does very well in capturing the hectic, chasing and looping aesthetic of the track.
Follow ETYEN on Facebook, Soundcloud and Instagram.
Main image by Cynthia M.
