Xixa Balance EP (APA002) Abstract Places Audio Elusive producer Xixa delivers the second Abstract Places Audio release. Balance is a three-track EP where the co-founder of the label packs a solid techno sound drowned in complex and evolving atmospheres. As first label’s release (Clip - Gebre, 2016), this is not a 100% club record, we can hear ambient and IDM influences, but A1 and B1 are perfect tracks to keep a techno set full of rhythm and tension, and will get its place on any DJ record bag. A1 Balance is built around a distorted but controlled techno beat. Patiently, a wide palette of drones and other-worldly artefacts are growing next to carefully crafted percussive sounds. 1984 opens the B side of the 12”, with a 4 to the floor overdriven bass drum and a reverse reverb announcing its main synth sequence, accompanied by organic hi-hats and clap sounds. A collection of ethereal drones and noises is also used, giving the track a sense of cohesion and gluing its different parts. Life Inside A Snow Ball is Xixa s personal take on ambient. Some of the drones and artefacts from A1 are now mixed with new quasi- harmonic emotional textures and subtle noises emerging from a deep unknown space and forming a complete new sonic experience. Balance EP is a very solid second release by Abstract Places Audio that confirms the label sound and philosophy.