The Belgian techno powerhouse launches her archival label with a savvy remix of a 1998 trance classic.
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Techno trends are so cyclical that newer fans might not realise that some of their favourite sounds are actually rooted in the past, which is what makes Belgian megastar Charlotte de Witte's newest project both welcome and intriguing. Époque is an archival outlet of her label KNTXT, meant to shine a light on her forebears from Belgian dance music history. The first release features a de Witte remix of one of the country's iconic trance tunes, Push's "Universal Nation" from 1998. The original was written as a B-side, and sounds like it—the track takes its sweet time to get going, before spending almost five minutes in its second half slowly unwinding.
de Witte answers the question of "what's the point of remixing an old classic" with, well, the right answer. She soups it up just enough to make it land for contemporary techno audiences: the kick drums are heavier, the tempo is faster, the structure is more straightforward. But the pulsating sequencer lead—which predates Darude's "Sandstorm"—and little flecks of ethereal acid and strings are still there. It has the feel of late '90s trance, complete with robotic voices, but it's presented with the steroid-strength muscle of techno in 2024. Sure, you could play the original—and it might have been nice to have the original on the new release. But as far as digging out old classics goes, de Witte's version of "Universal Nation" is expertly done.