TOP NEW EDM: ZHU & NERO - DREAMS

Zhu’s newest single, “Dreams,” is kind of a nightmare, but a dream come true for bass freaks.

ZHU & NERO - DREAMS

Dreams are funny things. One second, you might be running for your life from some axe murderer, the next you might be falling into a swimming pool of rose petals. Terror, sexiness, excitement, worry, all dribble out of the id with wanton abandon, often in the same R.E.M. cycle.

Zhu’s newest single, “Dreams,” encapsulates the duality, ominous and soothing in equal measure. The enigmatic Chinese-American producer kicks things off with some infernal Gregorian chant, like entering a cathedral with blood red stained glass windows, only for the bottom to drop out, becoming an ‘80s action flick in the blink of an eyelash, with a thick, funky bassline and rigid boom-bap beat. Nero plays the angel of the pit, providing heavenly honeyed harmonies over Zhu’s muscular production.

For those who aren’t afraid of the shadows, those willing to go to great lengths to find wonder and excitement, “Dreams” is about to make your EDM dreams come true.

J. Simpson occupies the intersection between criticism, creativity, and academia. Based out of Portland, Or., he is the author of Forestpunk, an online journal/brand studying the traces of horror, supernatural, and the occult through music, fashion and culture. He plays in the dreamfolk band Meta-Pinnacle with his partner Lily H. Valentine, with whom he also co-founded Bitstar Productions, a visual arts collective focused on elevating Pop Culture to High Art.