Support from: Moxie (NTS), Kassian (Rinse FM / Faux Poly), Ben Gomori (Turned On / Monologues Family)

For his latest transmission on Brooklyn/London's Future Signal, Los Angeles-based Akumen reflects on our frenzied modern lives and channels timeless house motifs filtered through his uniquely contemporary lens of textural, atmospheric production to remind us that the antidote is creating good times with our favorite people.

With assists from kindred producers Byron The Aquarius and Fortune Signal's own D.D. Curry rounding out the offering, Natural State EP is a captivating contribution to the modern house music canon.

The speed garage-inspired "Let It Roll" sets the scene with its skipping hats, filtered piano, and chopped vocal samples. The skittering drums reflect the uneasy feeling of relinquishing control - but the irresistibly breezy groove ultimately wins out.

Locking into an expressive groove anchored by a chugging bassline and hypnotic piano chords, "I Need You" evokes elemental dancefloor euphoria. Crunchy synths collide with classic house thump and piano stabs in this love letter to club music.

The album's introspectively-titled centerpiece, "My Natural State," contemplates our increasingly artificial existence. Drawing from the artist's observation of our use of technological stand-ins to mimic organic comforts, sci-fi samples sit amidst a melancholically austere acid groove.

From there, "Timecrunch" ramps up the anxiety with a repetitive, clock-like persistence. Pressurized drums, 303 basslines, and a vocal sample urging you to "come on," this one lives up to its name.

On the remix side, Alabama astro-house sage and TALKNOI$E label boss Byron The Aquarius provides an enchanting dub perspective on “I Need You”, reworking the original with layers of evocative keys and hazy, syrupy atmospheres. Fortune Signal Co-founder D.D. Curry offers his high-octane take on “Timecrunch”, forgoing the original's 303 but pushing the groove with his kinetic garage-infused overhaul.

As a whole, Natural State EP is a body of work that reveres the foundations of house music while still pushing into new dimensions to offer moments of collective club catharsis, expression, and exploration.

Natural State EP arrives on Fortune Signal on May 3rd, 2024.