Edward X unveils Dirt Nap, a sonic uppercut from his new double single Dirt Nap / Gweilo Professor
New York-based producer and musician Edward X returns with an abrasive and radical new double single: Dirt Nap / Gweilo Professor. After his acclaimed debut, Past Tense (2023), which combined saturated textures and chiselled percussion in an exploration of electronic genres, the artist hits even harder with two tracks cut for sweaty clubs.
Dirt Nap: a violent, lively, irresistible track
From the very first seconds of Dirt Nap, the tone is set: brutal percussion, mutating bass and hysterical vocals intertwine in a frenetic build-up. But this violence isn’t gratuitous – it’s carefully thought out.
‘On a track as violent as Dirt Nap, you have to think about how that violence reaches the listener,’ Edward X explains. ‘Sometimes it needs to hit like a brick; other times it needs to let you breathe just enough before you’re plunged back into the intensity. Here, I chose that second route, because the elements I composed worked very well together, even though they were very different.’
This track was born of a meticulous conception of the bass, as the artist describes it: ‘My favourite sounds often come from chains of effects that I manipulate over and over again. Here, the result is squelchy, electric, almost organic. I love it when a sound seems to come alive.’
Once that foundation was laid, the kicks provided a solid rhythmic structure: ‘I love the interplay between the main kick and the textured kicks, which create a sort of question-and-answer game. It’s very catchy.’
As for the over-the-top vocals that dominate the second half of the track: ‘They’re frenetic, absurd even – it sounds like a maniacal squirrel screaming at you, and I love that. It gives the track a unique identity.’
Dirt Nap / Gweilo Professor: two approaches to club chaos
While Dirt Nap is bursting with unpredictable energy, the second track, Gweilo Professor, takes a heavier, more rhythmic approach. The two tracks share a common DNA: sonic roughness and the importance of the human voice, but they clash in their dynamics. ‘I find Dirt Nap to be more restless and chaotic, while Gweilo Professor is more massive and danceable. This contrast makes them complementary.’ This brutal but thoughtful club diptych forms a bold project, capable of waking up any dancefloor while telling an original sonic story.
The two tracks were released via Yulan, Edward X’s personal label dedicated to self-distribution: ‘It’s simply my label to release my own tracks with complete freedom’.
Dirt Nap / Gweilo Professor is coming soon, follow Edward X on Bandcamp.
