Premiere: Pilo – Endorphins (Original Mix)

by: Will McCarthy May 2, 2017

Though Pilo is a relatively recent inductee to the Boysnoize Records family, he has been one of the imprint’s most enticing staples since releasing his 5-track debut EP, For the Hood in You, late in 2013. James Cameron Ward has flourished on Alex Ridha’s record label in the following years – most notably through his momentous collaboration with Boys Noize himself, “Cerebral.”

On May 5, Ward will continue this legacy with Flourishes, his third EP for BNR. Through the four-track collection, the LA-based producer appears to challenge the notion of what techno can be, and flouts the cold detachment which pervades much of the scene.

“I feel there’s a common misconception around the word techno,” Pilo says regarding his ambitions behind the EP. “In the US especially, people always think it’s about being a mysterious entity with snobbish affections. There are some incredible scenes and parties out here in LA that break those boundaries and take it beyond. It’s a hidden beauty that people ignore because, like any other stereotype, the myth is stronger than the truth. But I think time will fix that. My goal is to help strengthen this shift towards a more approachable connotation of the genre and open the underground to the masses. Openness should be the true essence of the underground, not sternness and closed doors.”

“Endorphins,” the EP’s first track, acts as a musical representation of this philosophy. Ward blends industrial synth-work with dynamic, ever-shifting rhythms to build an electrifying work which stands out as unique in a genre which, like so many others, is often fraught with homogeneity. This eclectic take on techno fits very well into the Boysnoize Records canon, but also captures the thematic essence of Pilo’s EP itself, and, indeed, his very name

“The idea of FLOURISHES is the process of just letting go and growing,” Pilo notes. “I aimed to not worry or stop myself from taking one path or another just because it seemed like it fit the mold or not. The name PILO means the flourish of goosebumps either emotionally or physical – this feeling was the aim of this EP. I hope you enjoy.”

Stream “Endorphins” below: