ARK/8, the dynamic gaming, music, sci-fi and pop culture infused brand has joined forces with their friends at Maison Mercury Jones to craft a sonic masterpiece inspired by their universe. The original deep house anthem titled ARK/8 is co-crafted by Producer, DJ & Songwriter Cherif Hashizume; renowned for his collaborations with musical titans Jon Hopkins and Kelly Lee Owens, to name a few, and Maison Mercury Jones’ Creative Director Ilã Kamalagharan.
Taking inspiration from ARK/8’s ‘After Dark’ collection; a blend of Japanese culture and rave wear – Cherif infused the track with elements from his Japanese-Egyptian heritage, integrating the Insen scale and Japanese BIWA and Northwestern ADUNGU. Nearly half of the track is composed of Ilã’s vocals that were transformed using innovative AI and modular synthesis.
Reflectingon the creative process, Ilãsays “The pillars of diversity and innovation tech are key tomaking great music-and that cannot be achieved without authenticity”withCherif explaining“coming back to my DJ andrave headroots, I really wanted to make something modern but thatalso refers back to 90s/early Y2K rave culture-like a little witches brew of techno, breaks music,jungle & garage.”EliottDuckers, ARK/8’s Visual ArtDirectorbrings this sonic collaboration to life through a visuallycaptivating music video, featuring footage from the Club ARK/8 launch party.Throughout 2024, ARK/8’s debut brand track will undergo remixes by a mix ofemerging talentsand established electronic DJ icons. Notable among them is Australian-born London-based DJHAAi, whose sets have graced the stages of revered music events such as Glastonbury &Barcelona’s Sonar Festival. Also, part of ARK/8’s ‘Mavericks’ (a collective of emerging artists acrossthe globe) is London-based Producer/DJ Amaliah, a rising star in the global DJ scene with aneclectic taste in sound.Dimitri van Eetvelde expresses excitement about the collaboration by saying“Music has alwaysbeen anintegral part of my life and I always imagined that it would play an important role at ARK/8.Aurelia and Ilāat Maison Mercury Jones not only made this possible, they blew us away anddesigned a music strategy that’s beyond what we had hoped for. We’re thrilled to work with themand their roster of incredibly talented artists to produce ARK/8’s soundscape from day one.Importantly, the values they defend are very much aligned with ARK/8’s DNA-givingrepresentation to theunderrepresented andhelping artists from all minorities to get the visibilitythey deserve. There’s a very deep meaning to everything Maison Mercury Jones does, and wecouldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead for ARK/8’s sonic universe.’ARK/8’s debutbrand trackwill bereleasedon 5thJanuary 2024 and available on all streamingplatforms, with remixes to be released in the months to follow
