Saniel Woods, with the support of his girlfriend, SpacePea, and collaborator Sandro, invites us into an immersive, multidimensional odyssey with Techno Village – a record that challenges the boundaries of perception, frequency, and the spiritual intersection of sound and psychedelia. Each track is a portal into an ever-expanding auditory cosmos, pulsating with hypnotic rhythms, celestial textures, and a tangible sense of movement through time and space.
1. Black Sea
The album opens with Black Sea, an initiation into a heightened state of sonic consciousness. An astral synth shimmers over minimalist percussion, setting the foundation for what feels like an intergalactic awakening. The dimensionality of the track expands like an unfolding lotus, each petal revealing new layers of percussive texture and spectral resonance. The neotenous voice – “Hello, I’m here for party…” – acts as both a guide and a disruptor, embodying the paradox of innocence within the vast, adult expanse of techno spirituality. The orgasmic ad-libs, woven into cerebral melodic elements, add an almost tantric quality to the composition, culminating in a finale that introduces a subversive, whirring bass – an organic, pulsating force.
2. Discovery
Picking up where Black Sea left off, Discovery teases us with the familiar laughter from the previous track, establishing a thematic cohesion that permeates the album. This track embodies techno futurism, pulsating with reverberating drums and an evolving soundscape that feels both industrial and ethereal. Chopped-up vocals flicker through the mix like spectral echoes, creating a cerebral tension that is both hypnotic and thrilling. The expansive nature of Discovery makes it feel as though it’s unfolding in real time, guided by an unseen cosmic force.
3. Shooting Star
A woodblock percussive motif opens Shooting Star, anchoring the track in an earthy, tribal rhythm before launching into pure techno transcendence. The fusion of textured dynamism with futuristic precision makes it a track suited for both the dance floor and introspective journeys – whether hiking through landscapes, lifting weights, or navigating neon-lit highways at night. The meditative loops, punctuated by the sudden burst of gunshot samples, create a gripping contrast, a push-and-pull between tranquility and chaos.
4. Neptune
A celestial meditation unfolds in Neptune, where frequency and rhythm exist in perfect harmony. The track begins in an almost prayerful state, an ethereal calm upheld by intricate percussion. As the piece crescendos, synth risers lift the composition to a higher vibrational plane, hinting at something deeply spiritual. A cinematic quality emerges, making this track feel like a soundtrack to a Matrix-like awakening – where the listener is neither fully present nor absent, but suspended in an enigmatic in-between.
5. Strange Planet
Strange Planet begins with a countdown, a moment of grounding before we are launched into uncharted sonic terrain. The track introduces warped alien soundscapes, reinforcing the psychedelic nature of the album. Woods constructs a sound world that feels like a DMT-induced hallucination – colours, shapes, and textures twisting into auditory forms. The piece is hypnotic, challenging our perception of time and space.
6. The Army Who Goes Party
Here, the record dives deeper into progressive techno, blending glitch-pop elements with a relentless driving force. The rhythm is militaristic, a structured march towards ecstatic oblivion. Fragmented, digitized vocals glitch in and out, adding an unpredictable edge to the track. It’s a reminder that Techno Village is not just about danceable beats – it’s an experiment in controlled chaos.
7. Mario
One of the most dimensional tracks on the record, Mario is a masterclass in techno futurism. The boundless energy surges through bouncing cerebral synths and chopped ad-libs, creating a rhythmic feedback loop that feels infinite. The production is layered with meticulous detail, making it feel less like a track and more like a living, breathing entity. It’s a hypnotic simulation of movement, a kinetic playground where sound exists in a perpetual state of becoming.
8. Hot Drops
Opening with a peaceful frequency, Hot Drops builds its tension with warped woodblock motifs—a signature of the album. What makes this track particularly genius is the use of sound design to evoke literal imagery: the dripping of molten lava, the sensation of heat dissipating into air. Woods proves here that sound design isn’t just a technical aspect – it’s an artistic statement, capable of bending reality itself.
9. Towelie
If Hot Drops played with elemental textures, Towelie sends us into orbit. The track’s cerebral opener simulates the experience of boarding a spaceship, with an attention to sound design that is both exquisite and daring. In the modern electronic landscape, where overproduced simplicity often dominates, Woods reminds us that meticulous, unique sound design is what separates the transient from the timeless. The track also embraces a marijuana reference, reinforcing the album’s connection to altered states of consciousness.
10. Roger’s Concentration
With an 8-bit aesthetic fused with rich dimensionality, Roger’s Concentration feels like a trip through a glitching video game. Slurping sounds, trippy transitions, and pulsating rhythms create an auditory maze, forcing the listener to let go of expectations and surrender to the surreal. It’s playful yet cerebral, a sonic riddle with no clear solution.
11. Fear and Loathing
Opening with German spoken-word ad-libs, Fear and Loathing leans into its cheeky, hallucinogenic aesthetic. Drug references are woven seamlessly into the track, serving both as humor and social commentary. It’s a testament to the poetic creativity of Woods and his collaborators – balancing playfulness with a deep, underlying intensity. The strong melodic synth contrasts beautifully with the chaotic spoken elements, creating a track that is as introspective as it is provocative. The fact that every track on Techno Village is around five minutes long is refreshing in an era oversaturated with TikTok-friendly, bite-sized productions. Woods challenges us to sit with the music, to let it unfold naturally.
12. Limitless
The album closes with Limitless, a pulsating culmination of the past eleven tracks. This piece takes elements from earlier moments – warped percussion, ethereal ad-libs, celestial synths – and fuses them into a grand finale. It is bolder, more experimental, infused with a fuzz-laden drama that sets it apart. Tempo shifts add a thrilling unpredictability, as if the entire record is dissolving into its final, ecstatic form.
Techno Village is a journey, a sensory experience that transcends the limitations of genre. Saniel Woods, alongside SpacePea and Sandro, has crafted a record that is at once hypnotic, cinematic, and deeply spiritual. Tracks like Towelie and Limitless showcase Woods’ ability to push the boundaries of sound, creating music that doesn’t just hit, it elevates.
As a testament to techno’s limitless potential, Techno Village stands as a significant release in the electronic music landscape. Whether played in a packed club, on a solitary hike, or in the deep recesses of the subconscious, it remains an electrifying, multidimensional adventure. We have added Hot Drops and Limitless to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TRIPPY playlist, whilst we continue to explore Saniel Woods‘ wider discography, including Rainforest, and Be Mine.