Maurice West – Sky Turns Dark

91%%Overall Score

• Explosive first drop
• A mix of everything: Trance, Tech House, Big Room.
• Ending on a melodic note

Experimenting needs undivided commitment.

This is something I have found soundly present within the discography of the scintillating Maurice West. I won’t mince my words that admire him anyways, as the Dutch act has harkened long ways in the world of EDM; from a newly signed youth synthesizing speaker-smashing Big Room dynamites to a matured act transversing various facets of dance music into one eclectic mix of a trademark, unmistakably associable to his branding. From the former days of Mainstage to Rave Culture’s inception, and then branching out to his imprint “Euphorika”, his meticulous attributes have enthralled long-time listeners many times over. As usual, there’s another top-notch release from him that deserves more attention.

While posting a bunch of WIPs a few months earlier, there was a particularly remarkable ID that caught me off guard. Soon after, it was titled “Sky Turns Dark” for its vocal hook, and my anticipations were set all time high. Why would it not be? “Rollin’” became my endearing target to the heaps of praise I threw towards it. Although the Dutch producer maintained a near radio-silence after its release date, “Outta Control Again” from last year’s dusk provided enough hints that he hadn’t got rusty over the cruel pandemic lockdowns, rather sharpening his mettle by finishing various splendid IDs.

His slogan of Trance House could draw a scoff or two on a trivial introspection, but West has taken it wholeheartedly: “Sky Turns Dark” isn’t engaged to any of the mentioned musical breed. Tech House? No. Then “Tranceroom” perhaps? Negative. The instrumental begins on a subtle note, with a pitch altered vocal atop a broody bassline, gearing towards the mighty drop ahead. Then comes the bombardment in the form of low-end that effectively remains simple, fixated to emphasize on the massive groove that is imparted further by sweeping rave synths and brassy hits, dominated by a Big Room/Trance amalgamation that Maurice established years back. Its an incendiary that deploys mercilessly well!

Not falling prey to the limitations of the style of choice, the mentioned alias doesn’t thwart back and repeat the very same section to cheaply gain ovation. In a twist of events, the second drop, which comes after a harmonic follow-up breakdown, pairs the main arpeggiated riff and bassline into a euphoric and melodic waltz, a surprising and sentimental leap that threw over my previously set expectations, far exceeding them.

Cunningly stepping away from the orthodox artistic inclinations shown by many others, Maurice West instead brainstormed his own debonair solution: blur genres, but not steer away from the roots. “Sky Turns Dark” is a brilliant overture to what we could further await from its proficient creator and his intriguing evolution!