The optimism after corona blows from the speakers on Martin Garrix’s album debut Sentio

What do you do as a club hit writer when there are no clubs? Martin Garrix found it difficult. If you don’t feel the atmosphere and the fun of the festival and nightlife, he noticed, then little will roll out of your fingers.

How different it was when the dance circuit reopened. Bookings poured in for Garrix, still one of the most popular DJs in the world. He resumed his work as a producer, in order to be able to fill his new sets with new tracks of his own. And he became so enthusiastic about his own productivity that he finally decided to release an album with new work. Unbelievable but true: it appeared now Sentio is Garrix’s first full-length album.

Garrix’s ‘progressive house’ is not a depressing genre in itself, but on Sentio the new impetus after corona blows out of the speakers extra festive. Especially the instrumental tracks, which the producer made in collaborations with talent from his own label Stmpd Rcrds, are energetic and dynamic. limitless For example, it starts with expansive synths and an edge of Jean Michel Jarre nostalgia, before landing hard in contemporary beats, with tightly cut snare drums and a rock-solid melodic hook, which Garrix always gets the dancing masses moving. The irresistible track gets a logical sequel with the already cutting reboot† Amazing how Garrix manages to knit an earwig between his built-up climaxes and deep basses with a few notes.

Sentio is really a collection of club tracks: the songs always end quite abruptly after roughly three minutes, without an outro. Only the vocal sing-along track If We’ll Ever Be Remembered, featuring TikTok singer Shaun Farrugia discovered by Garrix, may be a hit outside the club’s doors. But as a bundling of Garrix’s musical ideas, and optimism about the dance future, Sentio an admittedly late, but nevertheless successful album debut.