In the past few years, Shapov and NERAK have pocketed their fair share of acclaim, especially when industry icons such as Afrojack, Alesso and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike started playing tracks such as ‘Party People’, ‘Everybody’ and their remix of Afrojack’s ‘Summerthing!’ at the world’s premier festivals. All this success simply begged for continuation, and that’s exactly what the Russian go-getters have been working toward in the studio. The result? A three-track release that highlights the pair’s new direction and instantly catapults them onto dance music’s upper tier: ‘Circles (EP)’.
Steeped in their new and distinctly progressive sound, ‘Circles EP’ opens with a dark, mysterious and melodious soundscape titled ‘Vetra’, a track that started out as a mere acapella and got turned into a full-blown track about the Russian soul and emotion in three days’ time. ‘Illusion’ and ‘Heaven’, both of which have already been released as standalone tracks on Armin van Buuren’s Armind label, complete the sonic trifecta, adding diversity and character to this unmistakably alluring triple-threat offering.
“We met each other about thirteen years ago and created a bunch of tracks together that did really well in the festival circuit”, Shapov and Nerak say. “This time around, we decided to do something new. All tracks on the EP are different, but you can hear how our sound has developed into something new and refreshing, as it’s more progressive and melodic. Releasing the EP on Armin van Buuren’s Armind sound is a definitely a bit surprising, but we feel the sound caters to both the Trance audience and the House/Progressive community really well. We’re super excited to be releasing this!”