The Midnight Project #221

Midnighters, The rooftop session at Tomorrowland was last night. Thank you to everyone who came up. That crowd made the last hour of the night feel like the room was playing itself, and a good part of what you hear this week is what worked up there while it was still warm. We open on Drumcode. Volkoder and Korolova with "Waiting For You" sets the temperature straight away, no ceremony, just the pull. Tim Kollberg follows on Gain Records with "Pleasure State," which is one of four Gain records in this episode. That was not a plan. It is just where the good stuff kept landing this month. Then something a little sideways. Victor Ruiz took Liquid Soul and Captain Hook and pulled "Liquid Hook" out of psy territory and into something with real floor weight. It is the widest moment in the first half and it earns its place. "Retriever" sits at fifteen minutes in. My own, named after the dog most of you have already met on Instagram. It has been in every set since I finished it and it keeps doing the same thing to a room, so it stays. The middle of the show is where the groove takes over. Sisko Electrofanatik and Katerino go straight for the low end. Devid Dega on Second State brings the kind of old school devotion the title promises, and Jil Tanner keeps the pressure honest without ever raising her voice. Monika Kruse's "Morgana" in Patrik Berg's hands is the moment I would point a new listener to. It breathes. From Norvis onward it climbs. Jay Lumen's "Dance4Life" on Arcane is unapologetic peak time, digi.codes answers it with something colder and sharper, and Melvin Spix with TimeKube strip it back to exactly what is needed. That strip-back is the part I care most about. Give people less and they lean in. Procombo's "Unknown Force B" is the last hard turn before Franco Smith closes it out with "Anthem" on Natura Viva. Big title, and it holds up. Full tracklist is on 1001Tracklists as always. Hit reply and tell me which one hit hardest. I read everything. See you at midnight, Sebastiaan