Ballan has built his reputation on instinct, curiosity, and an unshakeable feel for groove. Moving effortlessly between Tech-House, UK Garage, and 90s-rooted club music, his productions never feel boxed in or predictable. Each release sounds like the result of deep listening, late nights, and a genuine love for dancefloor culture. So when he lands on a label, it rarely feels accidental – it feels earned. His arrival on Alec Falconer’s ever-mischievous SUNNY imprint is no exception: natural, timely, and perfectly in tune with the label’s spirit.
The A1, “Different Shapes”, opens on fractured, break-led rhythms that scatter across the floor before slowly gathering weight. As the drums settle, a warm, full-bodied house bassline takes over, grounding the track in something deeply physical. Hazy vocal fragments drift through dense layers, while scratchy accents and looping synth figures add texture rather than clutter. It’s dark, punchy, and quietly sophisticated—music that moves bodies without ever losing its head.
In the break, Ballan lets the track breathe. Soft pads stretch into open space, briefly dissolving the structure into something more fluid and reflective. There’s a subtle UKG inflection here – not shouted, but felt in the swing and phrasing – before everything snaps back into focus with renewed clarity. It’s this sense of contrast that elevates the track beyond pure functionality.
Flip it over and B1 dives into a different kind of energy. Here, tribalistic drums interlock with punchy, electroid basslines, while sleazy male-female vocal interplay adds heat and attitude. It’s a modern electro-tech-house hybrid where multiple elements move in perfect synergy – restless, hypnotic, and unapologetically physical. One track born on a beach in Thailand, the other shaped by admiration for Thierry Henry and a love letter to electro—together they underline Ballan’s refusal to follow any rulebook but his own.
True to his wider catalogue on Bliss, Sucre Discs, Non Stop Rhythm, Howl, and Phlex Recs, Ballan resists tidy categorisation. Tech house’s rawness, garage’s elasticity, and house’s emotional core are not stacked here – they’re interwoven. The result feels alive rather than assembled. Playful without irony. Powerful without excess.
All killers, no fillers. These are proper dancefloor weapons, designed for DJs who know when to hold back and when to strike. As SUNNY continues to carve out its identity, “Different Shapes / Eurocup Mess” stands as another statement of intent: club music with character, depth, and staying power – architecture drawn in motion, long after the lights come up.
Words by Pasha Pliskin
Torture the Artist 