by As someone who, throughout the summer has not had the opportunity to attend even a bass music show, let alone a festival, in recent months I have focused even more on listening to and buying long-playing formats such as albums and compilations. I discovered so many superb, weird, eccentric projects, but what was still missing at that point, was a good, old-fashioned wave compilation. Lucky for me, the amazing guys at IMMINENT took care of filling this void with not just a simple collection of tracks, but nothing less than one of the most gargantuan wave and hardwave albums of the last few years. For comparison, it has the same number of songs as the colossal Wavepool 3 album released one year ago, a result that I considered unmatchable.
Arcadia in fact brings together 33 tracks and 36 artists among which there is only the embarrassment of choice. From the now-ubiquitous Deadcrow, Heimanu and Remnant.exe to superstars as skeler, Kareful and Ytho, Juche (just to name a few) to new names that I’ve been getting to know lately like OSIAS and Affectwave. With its nearly 2 hours run time, Arcadia is not an easy and practical listen. Sure you can pick a track here and there or do some binge listening, but as I like to argue, the one way to appreciate these projects is to go from start to finish in one breath. In this case, a listen-through also proves to be very spot on given the exceptional work that went into the curations. All the songs are linked with each other in a very specific and immaculate mood, and there’s not a single moment when you get out of this flow and where this magic is broken. The homogeneity of this compilation is truly remarkable, and it’s at the same time both its strong point and its weak one. For wave, and especially hardwave fans, Arcadia is a premier journey that expresses and celebrates the suggestive and seductive power genre. On the other hand, I can see more casual listeners being put off by this specific stylistic choice, unhappy with being “trapped in the same loop over and over.”
Although it is not easy to summarize 33 tracks in a few lines, here I’m going to highlight the favorites moments of my personal experience with Arcadia. First of all, having the elusive skeler. on opening duties isn’t a common feat, and for that, I give full props to the IMMINENT’s crew. Being that it is skeler., the expectations were obviously extremely high. ‘kensho’ can’t be counted among his best creations, but works well as an introduction to the Arcadia world as it incorporates both the electrifying and melancholic moods that characterize the album.
Next in line is the segment that goes from barnacle boi’s ‘Trust’ to Deadcrow’s ‘Bang With Uz’ which is absolutely jaw-dropping. While ‘Trust’ and ‘AWAKENING’ by Sidewalks and Skeleton brings to the series a more mellow and atmospheric break, the other fours tracks are just banger after banger. The following pair, ‘Skywalker’ by Sibewest and ‘Between Love and Rage’ by hidden jayeem are two of the true surprises of this compilation. The 4/4 drop of the first and the happy hardcore vibes of the second one really caught me off guard making me jumping on my chair.
Alongside the just-mentioned tracks, others that immediately struck me at first listen were Ennja’s ‘Supernova’, Kim & Affectwave’s ‘Underline’ and OSIAS’s ‘To The Star’. Probably the most euphoric piece in the tracklist that closes the compilation in a very uplifting way. A special mention goes to Kareful, who proved once again to be at the top of the game despite not being very prolific. His stunning ‘What You Gonna Do’ is saturated with dark wavey vibes and it’s ready to bewitch those who are into the more intimate, obscure, and hypnotic side of wave.
Even if it doesn’t include any instant hit or chart-topping single, which would have been the icing on the cake, I believe the quality and care that has been put into the selection makes Arcadia a true milestone for the scene and a compilation that deserves to be remembered. You can stream all the 33 tracks below or on your favorite platform here and cop the Arcadia-related merch on IMMINENT’S Bandcamp.
