Sense Fracture returns with “Drastika,” the lead offering from their forthcoming EP Tyrant Sun, marking the debut release on their newly minted label, Sounds Of Paimon. Rooted in the alchemical purification of volatile energy, “Drastika” channels the environmental and socio-political turmoil of the artist’s native Italy. Drawing a line from the country’s seismic landscapes—volcanoes, earthquakes, and scorched earth—to the chaotic undercurrents of modern Italian society, the track functions as an act of sonic defiance.
At the core of “Drastika” is an explosive collision between Italian folk heritage and modern sound design. Birsa Alessandri (Sense Fracture) dismantles traditional Mediterranean rhythms—borrowing structural cues from centuries-old genres like tarantella, pizzica, and saltarello—and recontextualizes them for the contemporary rave floor. Acoustic elements including frame drums, tambourines, accordions, and mandolins are stripped down and reconstructed alongside monstrous basslines and relentless, colossal kick drums. Rather than leaning into classic Mediterranean brightness, “Drastika” flips the script, delivering a heavy, digital ritual designed for collective release on the dance floor.
Sense Facture shares: “‘Drastika’ was born from the mixture of two very distinct musical genres. One ancient, one modern, both originating in Italy.
The first one is Saltarello, which is a traditional style of folk dance music that’s widespread in central and southern Italy, and is also related to more strictly southern dances like Tarantella and Pizzica. It is said to have existed since Roman times, but in the part of Italy I’m from, legend claims it was created by an immortal witch called Sybilla, who lived in a cave in the Appennini mountains and taught the people how to dance. At night she would leave her cave and dance with fairies and satyrs, luring young shepherd boys into joining in. So we could say it’s an expression of that rural paganism that is still somewhat present in our culture, I guess. There are many medieval tales of knights being lured by her and resisting through prayer, but I say why resist? I’d rather dance with the fauns than fight with knights, honestly.
The other one is Lento Violento, also known as Slowstyle, created by legendary DJ and producer Gigi D’Agostino in the late 90s/early 00s. Gigi is mostly known for his mainstream hits like L’Amour Toujours or Blah Blah, but at one point in his career he decided to experiment with this weird kind of halved-tempo hardstyle, which I love because it sounds massive and relentless, but also very playful. It had largely remained unknown until fairly recently, when it resurfaced thanks to artists like Vipra. It’s one of the very few genres of electronic music that were actually born in Italy. Using it, for me, is not really a matter of national pride, but rather of being authentic to what of the culture I was raised in I have absorbed.
I’ve always thought Italian EDM and folk have some weird thread connecting them. Like, I think those huge sawtooth synths from eurodance are direct descendants of the accordions and bagpipes used in saltarello or tarantella. So that’s why I use them interchangeably and why Drastika has an accordion hook. In the other tracks from Tyrant Sun I have channeled my folk influences into higher tempos, but with Drastika it felt right to go slower. I call this mixture Saltarello Violento, half seriously, half as a joke. My music is a bit darker and heavier, but always has positive goals. In this case I wanted that slow mammoth beat to feel cathartic and energetic, like a ritual, a cleansing by fire. We summon the Sybilla to a warehouse rave.
The vocal sample that recurs throughout the track says “I don’t need forever”. The tech oligarchs now talk of ‘digital immortality ‘. I actually want the opposite. I wanna burn, I wanna feel.
Lastly, the title: it’s a nod to one of my favorite artists in the Japanese Gorge scene: Yusuke Kimura AKA Drastik Adhesive Force. When I first started the track, there was a sound that reminded me of his work. I ended up removing that sound, but I kept the title cause it sounds cool and fits the track.”
Sense Fracture’s Tyrant Sun EP is out Oct 9th on Sounds Of Paimon. You can catch him play this Sunday, September 20th, at the Giardino Segreto in Milan, playing a b2b DJ Set with Piezo.
Pre-save Tyrant Sun here: https://sensefracture1.bandcamp.com/album/tyrant-sun
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