Nikki Nair’s “once upon” is a Celestial Blast-Off to Outer Space

Atlanta’s most exciting underground techno artist, Nikki Nair, has released another banger on his new record label, n goes to infinity. The track, titled “once upon,” is an exciting, forward-thinking experiment in sound design, complete with static frequencies and transcendental vibes. If aliens exist, this is the soundtrack to their extraterrestrial raves.

Nair is no stranger to pushing the boundaries of the sonic spectrum. In fact, most of his music is untraditional, which is what makes his sound so appealing. Put simply, Nair creates music for sweaty warehouse parties beneath the backdrop of a rising sun, sent to remind you of the sins you pleasantly embrace under the neon lights. It’s uptempo, robotic music that refuses to stand still.

While “once upon” still falls into this category, it’s more celestial than most of his previous releases, with a heavier dose of bass. The first minute of the song sounds as if Shades took a speedball and jousted with blacklight lances inside their studio, although the song quickly turns into a wailing alarm inside the walls of Area 51.

Shortly after a strange voice announces “once upon a time,” the sound of lasers fire off at an unrelenting pace, accompanied by short-lived, carefully placed breakbeats which bring the song down to earth for a few brief seconds before blasting back into space.

“Once upon” maintains this crazy energy for its entirety. By the end of the track, it feels like a malfunctioning rocket ship crashing down on an unknown planet, confused and disoriented by the new space surrounding every corner of the imagination. As the static falls out and the world becomes silent, the journey ends, although in a strange way, it seems more like a new beginning.

Look out for new releases on Nair’s “n goes to infinity” record label, where he’ll be dropping tracks at the end of every month throughout 2022, and check out his recent Dirtybird EP, “The World is Always Ending,” with Nala.