Adam Beyer’s Truesoul is a breeding ground for new musical projects. The label is thrilled to share the debut collaborative EP between Sydney Blu & Shelley Johannson.

We got our first taste of Johannson’s studio prowess when she dropped the excellent ‘Raze’ on Drumcode A-Sides Vol.8, way back in 2019. Since then, she’s continued to be on Beyer’s radar with impressive releases on Octopus and Bedrock. Fellow Canadian Sydney Blu is a legitimate powerhouse; she’s the Chair and Founder of the Underground Dance category at the Juno Awards, Canada’s largest music awards show, runs the Blu Music imprint since 2009, and independently of this, has released cuts on labels including Mau5trap and Carlo Lio’s Rawthentic Music.

Their maiden collaboration is an inspiring link up of styles, with the pair spending six months refining the work. ‘Getting Closer’ is vibes from the get-go, a shimmering and propulsive slice of late-night dancefloor fun, with a foot in both house and techno camps. ‘Drive Me Crazy’, steps up the intensity, a dynamic offering that mines elements of silky progressive, heady after-hours house and thrilling peak-time techno throughout its six-minute duration. A triumph!

Sydney Blu shares the story behind the EP: “We deeply admire each other’s work and serendipitously crossed paths at Electric Island, a festival in Toronto last year. Engaging in a brief conversation, we swiftly decided to dive into the studio and create an EP exclusively for Truesoul. After six months of dedicated effort, the EP was completed and signed by the label. It was an immensely exciting and focused endeavor that we undertook solely for this esteemed record label!”