Los Angeles-based artist and producer SAM SHI appears as the featured vocalist on a new two-track release alongside Buenos Aires producer Nico Szabo and Basque DJ and producer Aske Izan, out now via Anjunadeep Explorations. The double single, comprising ‘Aside’ and ‘Paranoid,’ maps the full emotional arc of a relationship across two distinct sonic worlds, and serves as a striking introduction to SAM SHI’s forthcoming chapter on two of dance music’s most respected labels.

The project grew from a Brooklyn studio session between SAM SHI and Nico Szabo, where the conversation was less about production decisions and more about emotional truth.

“When Nico came to my studio in Brooklyn, we didn’t set out to make two tracks, we set out to have an honest conversation about love,” SAM SHI explains. “We talked about the whole arc of it: the excitement at the beginning, the closeness, the optimism, and then the complexity that creeps in over time. What I love is that those two emotional worlds became two separate songs. ‘Aside’ captured everything bright and forward-moving about that first stage, and the vocal just naturally carried that energy. It was one of those creative processes that felt genuinely alive, a lot of back and forth, letting the ideas breathe. I’m so proud of where it landed.”

‘Aside’ is built around SAM SHI’s bright, uplifting vocal presence, designed to feel emotional, light, and comforting while remaining firmly rooted in the dancefloor. ‘Paranoid’ becomes its counterpart, darker and more hypnotic, with a main synth line that barely relaxes throughout, constantly evolving and pulling the listener deeper into its atmosphere of emotional uncertainty.

The ‘Aside / Paranoid’ EP is available here