Maike Depas
Sexy Devil Horse
The Innovation Studio / TIS006
2024-12-12
The Innovation Studio Records announces
a brand new 10-track double EP by Maike Depas
featuring five international remixers
Sexy Devil Horse double EP
Download the Press Kit
Label: The Innovation Studio Records (digital + vinyl)
Release date: (December 12th 2024)
“Depas strikes a fine balance between raw energy and subtle melodic hooks.”
(DMY)
“Depas' approach to techno is a veritable melting pot of influences, blending sounds from the 80s and 90s
with contemporary symphonic and cinematic elements.”
(Magnetic Mag)
“Maike Depas | SONAR EDITION 2024 | The Future of Hard Techno”
(MixMag Germany)
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Following his recent EP, The Circle of Life, on Pushmaster Discs, Milan's rising techno star
Maike Depas returns with a brand-new release on his renowned The Innovation Studio
Records. Titled “Sexy Devil Horse”, it is a powerful 10-track collection, featuring many
iconic international artists from the Hard Techno space such as Etruria Beat’s headmaster
Luca Agnelli, Dutch-based sensation OGUZ and the “Demon of hard techno” also known
as Michael Katana, as well as Southern Italian talents CHRS and Gianni Di Bernardo.
This release marks a pivotal moment in Maike Depas’ journey to become one of the
highest rated talents in the Hard Techno scene. It will also be followed by a key paradigm
shift his label’s business model in 2025. For this occasion, Maike has lined up an amazing
group of artists to celebrate those who have shared his musical vision along the way.
The title is meant to be provocative and captivating, just like its content: catchy and fresh
enough to attract ravers and clubbers from around the world. Its artwork was created by
the master Luden Works. It features a plastic female figure with an undefined
appearance, yet with sensual curves and a powerful surge of energy, like a wave enclosed
in a sphere, representing Maike’s and The Innovation Studio Records’ logos.
From the galloping rhythm of “Sexy Devil Horse” and “Hear The Sound” to the groovy
and elegant “Ce Soir” there is an immediate feel about the artist’s singular touch and
eclecticism. Same goes for the tangible contrasts which make a key element of this
release, where the minimalistic mood of “StarKiller” and its maximalist counterpart “Dark
Serenade” carry the listener through a full-spectrum emotional rollercoaster.
Hard Techno and Psy Trance vibes go hand in hand with ‘90s Trance and Rave echoes,
creating a blend of recognisable and innovative samples that can resonate with many
different types of audience and like-minded artists. This aspect is fundamental in the
direction Maike and his team have decided to take.
TRACKLIST
A1 – SEXY DEVIL HORSE
A2 – STARKILLER
B1 – DARK SERENADE
B2 – HEAR THE SOUND
B3 – CE SOIR
C1 – SEXY DEVIL HORSE (OGUZ REMIX)
C2 – STARKILLER (LUCA AGNELLI REMIX)
D1 – DARK SERENADE (CHRS REMIX)
D2 – HEAR THE SOUND (MICHAEL KATANA REMIX)
D3 - CE SOIR (GIANNI DI BERNARDO REMIX)
It all comes from afar: starting with a classical musical background – playing the piano at
Conservatory level for many years, including Berlin’s own Funkhaus. This theoretical and
practical knowledge, mixed with a long-time passion for electronic music, made it easier
for Maike to shape and cultivate his authentic sound since a very young age.
As part of its evolution, The Innovation Studio Records will officially open its doors to new
talent and renowned artists starting in 2025. The team’s vision is to create an international
reference point for quality and innovation, shaping a brand-new artistic movement based
on combining the modern vision of our generation with our cultural heritage from the past,
thanks to the team that we put together, both in terms of approach and technique.
It'll be a structure built from the ground up, combining the best of analogue technology in a
modern workflow with the highest level of music hardware, audio monitoring and studio
design. In their view, there are two types of productions: those that stay ‘inside the box’
and those that get into your heart.
The desire to unite instead of dividing, to join forces instead of competing, is the key to
Maike’s success and a real drive to turn the studio lights on every single day. Despite
playing a lot with dystopic, cyberpunk-like atmospheres throughout his artistic journey,
music doesn’t feel like a means to escape reality for Maike. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
The definition Maike uses the most to describe what The Innovation Studio Records wants
to become is “a mysterious display cabinet”: a place where an artists will never know what
emotion will arise or what direction will be taken next. Although hard work, professionalism
and common inspiration will ultimately still be its main fuel, a true sense of community and
empathy will be crucial to shape the future Maike and his team have in mind for it.
In a very romantic way, the idea is to re-create the same atmosphere from the Italian
Renaissance masters’ workshops. Places where different artists - with opposite
backgrounds and styles - could all mingle and inspire each other, in order to foster the
creation of something unique. A collective effort for a greater good.
About MAIKE DEPAS
Young hard techno DJ-producer Maike
Depas (born Michelangelo De Pasquale)
has seen the future of music and it’s called
metaverse: “In the future it will blow up,”
he predicts. “And it’s going to
revolutionize the way we experience
music.” Bowled over by Skrillex and
Martin Garrix by the age of eight, and
DJing at smaller Milan clubs by the time
he was eleven, Depas went on to study
composition and piano at the prestigious
Milan Conservatory before learning ‘life-
changing” lessons from the best in the
business at Catalyst’s 4-week Advanced
Sound Design course in Berlin’s
Funkhaus . His production gets inspired
by huge 90s trance synths as much as
pounding hard techno from artists such as
Kobosil, In Verruf and Amelie Lens.
2024 marked the launch of MAIKE
DEPAS 2.0,
a tectonic audio-visual shift that entails a wide array of content from DJ sets livestreamed
from Berlin’s Teufelsberg and other dystopic locations around Europe to cyberpunk-
inspired outfits designed by Demobaza, a cyberpunk-inspired casual couture brand best
known for their sustainable Dune X Demobaza collection. Over the course of a developing
metamorphosis from a flesh-and-bone individual to a mysterious CGI character, Depas is
another step closer to revolutionize the dance music scene through the metaverse.
12"
lp, 2 x 12
Techno - Hard