Rafa Barrios – Chants EP [Repopulate Mars]

Spanish artist Rafa Barrios returns to Repopulate Mars with three heady house cuts in his ‘Chants EP’ this May.

Receiving regular support from Lee Foss, Carl Cox, Marco Carola and Jamie Jones, Rafa Barrios is in a good place at the moment. The Sevila-born producer has just launched his very own Bandidos imprint, whilst last year saw releases on labels like Stereo Productions, Hottrax and Repopulate Mars (dropping his incredible ‘Skasy’ on the latter), not to mention appearances at the likes of elrow in Barcelona, Igloofest in Montreal, Sonar Festival and ADE.

Exemplary of Barrios’s knack for creating a compelling groove, ‘Chants’ is a percussive cut with an energetic rhythm and uplifting vocals. With its thudding kick drums, ‘Illustration’ is a tougher track with a pulsating bassline and mesmerising loops. Tying it all together, the dark and moody ‘Stuffer’ employs precision drums, tantalising synths and murky stabs.