Kaurna/Adelaide-based producer Strict Face shares new EP Age of Burnout, out today via NLV Records, celebrating with an EP launch party at Milney’s in Naarm/Melbourne tonight. LISTEN HERE + RSVP HERE

Led by the release of “anthem for gym bros” ‘Ode To The Meatheads’ with a Mixmag ANZ exclusive premiere, Age of Burnout sees Strict Face reflect on the 9-5 grind, politics, digital overload and online culture, drawing from the legacy of Thomas Bangalter’s Roulé, the forward-thinking nature of labels like Timedance and Fever AM, and continuing the traditions of the British bass continuum, kuduro, batida and bubbling music.

Joining new tracks ‘SSB Italia’ and ‘Cortisol Run’ is the focus single and optimistic closer ‘The Fires Still’. Carried by bittersweet flute and synth chords running through an overheated laptop, Strict Face‘s mission statement carries an open-ended conversation: do the fires still rage on despite the sorry state of affairs affecting the world, or do the flames of optimism and energy eventually fade to a wisp?

First cutting his teeth in the world of instrumental grime during its second wave in the early 10s, Strict Face emerged as a versatile producer with a no-holds-barred approach to club music. Upon its inception in 2015, Nina Las Vegas drafted him to join the ranks of her label NLV Records, resulting in a fruitful working partnership that’s continued to this day. The run of releases under the label mapped out the producer’s ever-developing craft, and now with over fifteen years of producing music and regular touring, Strict Face has weathered an ever-changing clubbing landscape to leave his own stamp.

Previous lives have seen him behind the boards (albeit remotely) for Le1f, Cakes Da Killa and Cadence Weapon, while Vv Pete and Dawn Richard have both had their music re-shaped under his idiosyncratic ear for production. He’s gotten the seal of approval from selectors as varied as DJ Plead, Anna Lunoe, Mincy locally, and Jamz Supernova, Skrillex and Lena Willikens over the years, and the notches on his radio belt are continually growing, having graced the studios of NTS, Rinse FM, fbi.radio and triple j and being part of the team behind Adelaide community station duck! Radio.

Strict Face has undoubtedly left his mark on the Australian landscape of underground dance music, establishing unexpected connections between contemporary electronic music and its predecessors, and the inspiration he finds around him won’t be in short supply any time soon.

Age of Burnout is out now, buy/stream it here.

TRACKLIST
SSB Italia
Ode to the Meatheads
Cortisol Run
The Fires Still

AGE OF BURNOUT EP LAUNCH
Fri 7 Aug – Milney’s – Naarm/Melbourne
RSVP HERE