Eric Estornel doesn't do single-mood EPs lately, and 'Supasonic / Closer' makes the point twice over. Two tracks, two different rooms entirely, released together on October 30 through his own Lone Romantic imprint under the Maceo Plex name.
What makes the two tracks so different?
'Supasonic' is the one built for the middle of the set: fractured, warped vocal fragments chopped over grinding drums, crisp percussion and a pounding low end that doesn't let up. It's progressive techno in the classic Maceo Plex sense, relentless and club-focused, the kind of track that exists to move a floor rather than make it think.
'Closer' does the opposite job on purpose. Warm sub-bass rolls underneath a darker, more brooding vocal and a steady four-to-the-floor groove, with lush, sci-fi synth pads stretching the track into something closer to cinematic. Where 'Supasonic' pushes, 'Closer' pulls back and lets space do the work.
Why split a two-track EP this way at all?
Most producers would smooth the two tracks toward each other, same palette, same intensity, an easy listen front to back. Estornel does the reverse: he's using the EP format to show the range of what Lone Romantic can carry, a hammer and a slow burn on the same release, rather than two versions of the same idea. It's a small but deliberate move that says more about where he wants the label to sit than either track does alone.
Lone Romantic has built its identity on exactly this kind of genre hybridization, future-facing and club-ready at once, and this EP pushes that further than most of its catalogue.
The release lands in the middle of one of Estornel's busiest stretches in years. 'The Plan' came out on Ellum Audio in July, a 'Monster' EP followed on Rekids, and he's also turned in a remix for Empire of the Sun, all inside a few months.
Why it matters
For an artist two decades into a career that spans Maceo Plex, Maetrik and Mariel Ito, releasing a deliberately split EP on his own label is a statement about range rather than a safe, single-lane single. It signals Lone Romantic is meant to hold contrast, not just one sound.
What we think
The gap between the two tracks is the whole appeal here. 'Supasonic' earns its keep in a peak-time set, but 'Closer' is the one that'll stick around in people's crates once the hype cycle passes, it's the more interesting idea of the two by a clear margin.
