Na Cellar

Cellar, the second solo EP from NA (Daniel Pineda of Nguzunguzu) on Fade to Mind, is a kinetic and brooding journey through the ominous side of club music, a personal vision of dystopia and angst. With 5 tracks that showcase NA’s wide-ranging musical influences, the record provides a personal manifesto for Pineda’s vision of club music for darker times. His previous releases as NA and Nguzunguzu have received support from Pitchfork, FACT Mag, Resident Advisor, Fader, Dummy Mag, Red Bull Music Academy, Pigeons & Planes as well as radio play from Benji B, Diplo and B Traits on Radio 1, as well as Tom Ravenscroft and Tom Robinson on BBC 6Music. Texturally, all tracks on Cellar Theme are drawn together by aggressive metallic manipulations, crisp percussion and devastating low-end. Highlighting NA’s technical skills as a producer, there is a careful balance between distortion and direct sound, resulting in highly atmospheric yet club-ready experiments. Thematically, each track is imagined as a different room in a dungeon complex with it’s own distinct challenges and dangers to dismantle. Evoking both pain and pleasure, each discovery may lead to a new wonder, or descends into a fresh horror. Though not his first solo project, Cellar Theme has allowed NA to follow certain individual impulses, hone in and craft his own brooding sound. “The Claw spawned me to make the drum kit and the MPC sequences that formed the basis for Cellar Theme, which was the jump off for this whole record concept,” says Pineda, referring to the collaborative live act featuring himself, Asma Maroof (½ of Nguzunguzu), Ezra Rubin (Kingdom) and Ashland Mines (Total Freedom). A summation of his influences and an insight into his personal sonic environment, Cellar Theme sets the tone for Fade to Mind’s 2016 releases and a follow up to his previous Xtreme Tremble EP.