Safety Trance, Arca’s right hand, will perform at the stunning industrial venue Jungle Roastery as part of NEXT Club. Luis Garban, whokze middle name might well be ‘genre mutation’, is a Venezuelan sonic exorcist, producer and DJ. He gained broader recognition through collaborating with Arca on her KiCk album series (the underground hits ‘Prada/Rakata’ and ‘KLK’ feat. Rosalía). Since then he has released the fantastic EP Lágrimas on Club Romantic and worked with the likes of Sega Bodega, LSDXOXO, VTSS, and Iceboy Violet.

He set foot on his musical journey in the early 00s under the moniker Cardopusher, taking inspiration from hardcore, breakcore and rave. As Safety Trance, he focuses on throbbing rhythms, heavy bass and frenzied dembow beats, bringing back memories of his Caracas upbringing. He twists the classic dembow, reggaeton’s fundamental building block, by mixing in acid, EBM, hardcore, and techno.

While Puerto Rico is regarded as the original cradle of reggaeton, Caracas played a pivotal role in its upturn, especially through the 90s and early 00s underground scenes. Both ecosystems anchored reggaeton as a pan-Latino phenomenon. Safety Trance is complicit in its innovation through the experimental scene.

Much like his years-long partner in crime Arca, he mixes the genre’s dirtier shades, rooted in Jamaican dancehall, with modern and brittle sonic design. Something like a mad scientist looking up to a test tube, thinking: Finally, a raw reggaeton that is also extremely booty shake inducing.