Amelie Lens has released AURA, her debut album, out now on her own EXHALE imprint.Full-length albums are a rarity in techno, and AURA arrives after more than a decade of relentless touring, global festival appearances and the rise of EXHALE from a label into a global event series.
“When I was younger, I would disappear into nightclubs and create my own world in my head,” Lens said.“Being in the nightclubs gave me this feeling of belonging somewhere, I felt connection and freedom I had never experienced before.
That feeling changed my life completely.“So this album really reflects that whole journey.
From playing tiny local clubs and driving myself through the night for gigs, to standing on huge festival stages, becoming a mother, building EXHALE and learning how to balance it all in life.” The 11-track project is sequenced like one of those nights out, and told through sound.It opens with a dramatic percussive intro that introduces the central mantra, “Aura.
Activate.Frequency.
Elevate.Body.
Resonate.Aura.
Dominate,” before plunging directly into ‘our frequency,’ which features Lens’ own vocals layered over pulsing production.Meanwhile, Lens flexes with the dark, warehouse-driven sound of ‘the only one,’ the acid-drenched intensity of ‘falling into acid dreams’ and the after-hours Berlin energy of ‘4am at RSO,’ an ode to the underground techno club of the same name.
She then stuns with ‘the energy is us,’ a track whose peaks and valleys feel designed to carry a crowd’s energy along with them, before closing with ‘whatever you do,’ a bright and dreamlike coda.The album shares its name with Lens’ immersive live visual concept, developed in partnership with High Scream.
To celebrate the release, the Belgian techno superstar will perform in front of a 14,000-capacity crowd at Antwerp’s Royal Museum of Fine Arts on September 5 before heading to the US for shows in DC, Denver and Los Angeles.Scroll ...