Otik

Otik returns this May with the four-track ‘Xoul Trap EP’, landing on Will Saul’s Aus Music.
Ashley Thomas, the London-based producer better known as Otik, has been carving out his place in the landscape of left-leaning UK club music since 2013, releasing impactful cuts on labels such as Midland’s Intergraded, Martyn’s 3024, and through his own Solar Body platform. Now making his debut on Aus Music, he presents a collection of atmospheric, breakbeat-infused techno explorations.

Opening the A-side, ‘Xoul Trap’ delivers a shadowy combination of warped vocal edits, stirring pads, and earth-shaking kicks — a peak-time, pulse-raising trip. Next up, ‘Temptress’ unfolds in a flurry of skittering percussion, dusty melodic fragments, and low-end pressure built to shake the room.

Flipping over, ‘Inertia’ locks into a driving 4/4 groove, where hazy synth layers and luminous plucks drift between waves of warm bass resonance. Finally, ‘Unorthodox’ closes the EP with UK Funky-inspired drums, swirling leads, and choral textures that wrap the record with an ethereal glow.

‘Xoul Trap EP’ by Otik lands on Aus Music on 12 May 2023.