Open Your Mind EP

Description

Duality Trax reaches its tenth release with a defining moment for the label, as label boss Holly Lester steps forward with her debut EP. A personal milestone as much as a catalogue marker, the record channels sounds that have shaped her sound to date - early tech house, the low-end swing of UK garage and breakbeat, the rolling pulse of mid- 2000s European dancefloors, and the emotional lift of ’90s progressive house - all refracted through a distinctly personal lens. Open Your Mind sets the tone with a sense of lift and release: a wide, expansive bassline carries skippy, garage-tinged percussion, while bright piano stabs cut through guided by playful, restless FX. Big Fill pivots into tougher territory, a driving cut built on a rolling sub that pulls you into the groove - equal parts pressure and introspection, with moments of dreamlike suspension between the weight. On the flip, Tanit drifts into more atmospheric space —an ode to Ibiza that still carries a distinctly UK undercurrent. A squelching, elastic bassline and cheeky, garage-leaning wubs provide a foundational groove but everything around it drifts: gated synths shimmer, drums sparkle, half-heard vocals dissolve into the mix and the track unfolds with a blissed-out, cruising energy. It feels just as natural in a dark room as it does out on open water, coasting past Formentera. For the remix, Holly turns to one of her favourite producers of the moment, DJ Life, who draws Open Your Mind into deeper waters. The Berlin via Australia producer stretches the groove into something more hypnotic and submerged, a patient 5am burner that lingers in the air,equally at home in basements, afterhours, and those inbetween moments as night slips quietly into day