Techno is rooted in collaboration. Whether it be two producers from across the world, or simply an artist at home with their machines, there’s an underlying sense of communion that pervades the genre. Such is the theme of Christian Smith’s forthcoming body of work Synergy, which will see the Swedish veteran release 14 new original tracks, all of which have been created in collaboration with different artists.
The compilation is arriving in installments, with the final edition featuring Smith’s work alongside Brazilian techno stalwart Victor Ruiz. It’s an intriguing collaboration, pitting one of the scene’s longstanding veterans with one of its most consistent new champions.
The two-track EP, titled The Runner, finds the two producers channeling conspicuous sci-fi influence over pummeling techno grooves. The tracks are at once both futurist and funky (a nod to the genre’s roots), and clearly designed with large dancefloors in mind.
The second track, “Drone Sector,” which Billboard Dance is exclusively premiering, places a recurring vocal sample over a gritty, dystopian-like soundscape. It’s little bit like being lost in the mind of Philip K. Dick, only if the author had suddenly discovered a penchant for arena-sized techno.
“We had a lot of fun making this track,” Christian Smith says. “We recorded my voice, pitched it down, and built a powerful groove around it.” Christian Smith and Victor Ruiz’s The Runner EP is due for release on Tronic on Sept. 18.