Review: Roza Terenzi’s Dynamic Contemporary Euphoria In ‘Modern Bliss’

Roza Terenzi | Modern Bliss | Planet Euphorique

Release Date: 24 April, 2020

While making waves in her home country of Australia, as well as extensively touring the world with DJ sets that leaves audiences mesmerised; Melbourne-based producer Roza Terenzi has been a major supporter of her local dance and electronic music scene, along with making a name for herself internationally – Terenzi embraces the extraterrestrial, the digitally hypnotic outer-world realms glittering with timbre and texture.

The construction of Terenzi’s genre-blending cosmic euphoria is playful yet intricate; her ability to sculpt spell-binding, detailed dance-floor cuts while retaining a progressive minimalism allows the producer to establish a sound that is distinct and filled with heart. While she was one of the first artists to grace the label Planet Euphorique, Terenzi has returned with her first LP on the Canadian label.

The titular track ‘Modern Bliss‘ (feat. vocalist and producer Ivy Barkakati) shimmers with an jovial, captivating energy; the boldly rhythmic beat and silken repetitive echoes of Barkakati’s vocals transport listeners into a realm that is not only enthralling in it’s bewitching, contemporary nature but the modernity of the composition contains sheer, crystalline elements of futurism.

Lucid, ethereal imagery springs to mind – as though we find ourselves on the perfectly spotless dancefloor in a high-class club of the not-so-distant future; stark white walls baring carefully placed, abstract paintings, translucent tanks filled with vivid, exotic fish – simplistic, high-class elegant fashion and automated servers bringing customers overpriced, perfectly crafted martinis. This type of experience isn’t too far off from what we may be able to experience all around us – but there is that intricately constructed aspect allows it to feel more-than contemporary. The minimalist approach to the track’s pulsing, spellbinding progression and the detailed yet balanced textural electronics create an atmosphere that feels opulent and lavish in nature – a perfectly balanced juxtaposition.

In reference to juxtaposition, the track ‘Total Eclipse‘ is especially intriguing: it’s intricate blend of esoteric rhythm and trance-like beats feel as though it could exist within a futuristic virtual-reality experience: a cyber-drenched realm gleaming with an atmosphere that radiates with glowing interconnected networks, a world that, in its modernity, is expected – but still foreign and new to us. The clever symmetry of the contrast comes with its simultaneous organic feel – the steady, hypnotic beats that progress throughout the track can often sound almost ritualistic in nature, a space in which we are used to inhabiting and can easily find ourselves lost in. The glittering timbres of Terenzi’s use of electronics occasionally drizzle and drip as halycon water droplets; melodic and ethereal.

Terenzi demonstrates an impressive ability to craft tracks that showcase a willingness to embrace a diverse and dynamic approach to composition and production, sculpting soundscapes and club-ready cuts in ‘Modern Bliss‘ with an exceptionally distinct style that is dreamily intoxicating, crisp and refreshing.

Rating: 7 / 10

Feature Image: Roza Terenzi by Samantha Hughes