With producer Ian Carey at the helm, it’s no surprise that Aubergine MACHINE’s new track “Hostage” has a polished infectiousness ripe for climbing up the charts. After all, Carey has two multi-platinum, one platinum, and two gold sales-certified records, in addition to an MTV Music Video award. He has also toured as a DJ in over 60 countries, with performances alongside Diplo, Basement Jaxx, Swedish House Mafia, and Avicii. Now, Carey is trying his hand at glistening electro-pop with Aubergine MACHINE, a project he formed with vocalist Shanti Ellis.
“Hostage” is an accessible effort fit for both late-night dancing and retrospection. For the track, Carey explains that the duo “went back to the future and used our favorite ’90s trip-hop/neo-soul influences to produce a fresh, deep, ultramodern song. We really enjoyed working on this one because it felt very natural to leave a little space to make it a little bit dark.” The dark yet contagious electro arrangements, combined with Ellis’ angelically ardent vocals, remind of the excellent collaborations between Röyksopp and artists like Robyn and Lykke Li, like “The Girl and the Robot” and “Miss It So Much“, respectively. Such a sound is bound to make waves in the electronica sound.
