Darkwave Maestro Ekko the Strange Drops “Mystique Remixes” EP with Haunting Kontravoid Rework of “Reanimate”

Ekko the Strange says his name tips its hat to life’s oddities. The artist’s journey began somewhere near the cobblestones of Warszawa, Poland, back in 2015. After a decade of crisscrossing the States, touring, and dropping records, Ekko felt the pull to step beyond familiar borders. Seeking fresh streets and new sounds, he left the USA behind, looking to reinvent himself and his music. Thirty countries and several battered analogue synths later, a new vision took shape—a sound that is both vintage and vicious.

From soft, velvet tones to gritty, biting synths—alongside 80s-soaked flanged guitars, unforgiving electronic rhythms, and vocals that echo with both depth and defiance—Ekko the Strange delivers a journey that bends the mind and stirs the soul with these sinewy, seething, cinematic anthems. It’s a soundtrack for the city after dark, where the night is both friend and foe. Coldwave, post-punk, dark electronics swirl together, a hat-tip to She Past Away, Clan of Xymox, and Bauhaus, wrapped in a moody, midnight melody.

Mystique (2022) carried a cool, collected air, borrowed from the strange thrill of travel, much like the enigmatic energy Bowie channeled in his Berlin days—where every street corner held a secret and every note felt like an invitation to wander deeper. Ekko the Strange spins a lush musical landscape with these three exciting remixes. This second act rolls out like twilight’s slow descent, reimagining the original tracks with brand new interpretations from Kontravoid and Ekko himself: seductive rhythms and haunting keys that pull you into the night’s embrace. These new interpretations are scarier, more ominous, and heavy on the dance aspects. It’s the perfect collection for a fog-filled goth club.

With Mystique (2022), Ekko conjured a collection that carried the cool detachment of a seasoned traveler—a work imbued with the spirit of wandering and wonder, much like Bowie’s fabled Berlin era, where every note was an open door to the unknown. In Mystique Remixes, Ekko shifts the atmosphere even further, casting a longer, darker shadow over his original compositions. This new suite of remixes, reimagined by Kontravoid and Ekko himself, drags the listener deeper into a world where seductive rhythms and eerie keys beckon like the flicker of a neon sign in a fog-filled alley. These tracks don’t just haunt—they possess, transforming dance floors into realms of ritual and reflection.

The Black Cat Remix of “The Concept” slinks into play with a hiss of drums and a menacing melody that could soundtrack some forgotten pagan rite, Ekko’s voice growling low and deep beneath. Meanwhile, Kontravoid’s take on “Reanimate” builds from ominous synth swells into a propulsive beat that feels like a darkwave descendant of “O Fortuna,” infused with a primal energy that electrifies every bassline and beat.

Then there’s the Black Cat Purr Remix of “The Concept.” Stripped of vocals, it’s somehow more insidious and direct. The absence of Ekko’s voice leaves a void that makes the creeping dread more palpable, turning the track into a sinister instrumental that prowls in the shadows.

“Mystique Remixes,” Ekko concludes, captures the ‘dark curiosities’ that seep from the original Mystique LP—a perfect embodiment of his restless exploration into the depths of sound.

All Ekko the Strange music is available on all streaming services internationally. Listen to these fire remixes below and order the album here.

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