Mako has been busy in the last couple of years, running his imprint, Utopia. With past releases on Metalheadz, Soul:R and Samurai, Mako’s also been working on a massive album for which he returned to Headz to release. Per its title, Oeuvre is meant to be the seminal album traversing Mako’s career and body of work.
Oeuvre, which will release this Friday, plays almost like a compilation, showcasing all of Mako’s different styles and influences over the years. From ambient-flavored darkstep like “The Window” to liquidy get-down jungle to fully ambient, almost beatless tracks like the album’s closing track, “Passive Aggressor,” the album shows both where Mako’s been and where he’s going. With his base of classical D&B beats, he experiments with sound and sound design in Oeuvre, so while it feels like a compendium of drum and bass history, it also has a central theme that’s very modern.
There are a couple of collaborations on Oeuvre: a liquid groover called, funnily enough, “Liquid Groover” with Villem & Fields and a deep, ambient darkstep viber he made with Andy Skopes before he passed. “Light Cycle” must be a very important track for Mako to include on this LP, and Your EDM is honored to premiere it.
For those unaware D&B producer Andy Skopes passed away last January after a long battle with cancer. One of his last EPs was on Metalheadz as well and shows his own style a a solid match to Mako’s. “Light Cycle” is a beautiful homage to the late artist with a punchy darkstep bassline and a beat that has that perfect balance of kick to snare that both Mako and Skopes do so well.
The intro to “Light Cycle” contains some melodic ambient tones but also some interesting sound design in the background, with whisper samples fading in and out. Far from being eerie or creepy, the sounds lighten up the track along with a melodic synth as the drum track layers in. Mako and Skopes must have played with the tones and drops of each layer in the track quite a bit to get all the pieces to flow together in the way they do.
It’s clear Mako was sitting on “Light Cycle” for quite a while, waiting for the right time to release it on Oeuvre. It fits right in with the rest of the tracks but there’s definitely something special with this collab as well. “Light Cycle” is a highlight in an album of highlights and really underlines both Mako’s and Skopes’s “body of work.”
Oeuvre drops this Friday, April 10 on Metalheadz. Click to here pre-save or pre-order on multiple platforms.