Well, the day has finally come. After an excruciating wait wherein fans were left nearly completely in the dark, ZHU’s debut EP Nightday dropped today. And I have to say, it was well worth the wait.
To be quite honest, I was worried that the hype would exceed the actual product. Ever since the tracklist was released, the hype has been steadily rising. And for sure, when Paradise Awaits was leaked, I began to feel that it wasn’t just buzz. In fact, the full release most certainly delivers. With enough weight behind it, this EP could be the next step in taking the wind from Big Room’s sails. Last year, we saw three genres in particular really boom: deep house, melbourne bounce, and big room.
Disclosure, with their difficult to define sound, did a lot for the deep house realm. It brought it into the mainstream via the Grammy’s and spurred many producers to experiment with the sound. ZHU doesn’t quite stick to that deep house sound, with leanings into more ambient or downtempo rhythms. However, my absolute favorite track on Nightday is ‘Stay Closer.’ It’s very reminiscent of Kavinsky in its tempo and sound design, but those synths remind me more of French house producer Danger.
Listen to the whole EP below, or visit ZHU’s SoundCloud.