"The title 'Forward' is our battle cry: never give up, keep pressing and working hard, and never surrender." Strong, stirring words from Grammy nominated, Billboard dominating quartet Fatum. "We only move in one direction", and their opening EP, a five track surge of audio and emotional resonance brainstormed over 12 months, can only be heading skywards on the wings of Armada Music's highest flyers.
"This EP represents the next phase in our musical evolution" say the four man gang of Daniel Davis, Bill Hamel, Bruce Karlsson and Chad Newbold, who have planted their flag deep into scene setting imprints such as Anjunabeats and Ultra, and received support from only the best. Respect from David Guetta, The Chainsmokers, Calvin Harris, Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Above & Beyond and Paul Oakenfold, means Fatum are fast-tracking their way to making the world's arenas their own.
The band's name translates from the Latin for 'Fate', a most appropriate description for when 'Mowgli' delivers builds and breakdowns that decide dancefloor destinies. "The EP is very 80s, post apocalyptic inspired with dark undertones, but at the same time beautiful and orchestral" - never better illustrated on 'Comet', a mixture of sprawling attack and soaring clarity. "We want to project a cinematic experience, with a story being told through all five tracks."
'Spiral' sets off a cavalcade of synth rockets from a launchpad of clipped, stop-start beats. Dubstep blades coloured 'Violet' hack a path for jubilant dance music freedom. 'Only Hope', featuring vocals from Angel Taylor in the role of fallen spectre, mixes Oriental-themed vibes and a dropping of BPMs that give an extra 10% boom on the beats. All live up to Fatum's assertion that "we aren't your typical trance act". Keeping your eyes wide open as much as engaging your ears in battle, "a lot of our inspiration comes from film scores, which is why we wanted to have a special visual element with our artwork to help tell the story of the world we've created".
Influenced and expanding on the standards set by Armin van Buuren, Eric Prydz, Adam Beyer, Nils Frahm and the accompanying elite, Fatum's 'Forward' thinking moves beyond typical trance formulas and opens the door to a world that is completely different, yet reassuringly familiar. "We won't stop until we get to where we want to go." Just you try and hold them back.
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