AMELIE LENS MARKS 5 YEARS OF EXHALE WITH THE RELEASE OF VA007 AND NEW SINGLE ‘ACTIVATE’

words by PHOEBE GIBSON-DOUGALL

Five years ago, EXHALE was just starting out, sowing its seeds on the legendary dance floor of Labyrinth Club in Hasselt. Since then, the imprint—brainchild of resident Amelie Lens’—has remained at the cutting edge of underground club culture, firmly cementing itself as a mainstay of the DIY warehouse scene. To celebrate half a decade of boundary-pushing, futuristic electronic music, Lens has curated an incredible line-up of artists to round out the seventh edition of EXHALE’s celebrated compilation series, Exhale VA007.

image courtesy of ROTATE PUBLICITY, photographed by DANIIL LAVROWSKI

Lens has long been known for unearthing raw talent and curating unreal line-ups, and Exhale VA007 is a celebration of the uncompromising love of rave culture that underpins the label. The album features a new track by Lens, ‘Activate’, alongside cuts from both returning EXHALE faces and newcomers including Flour, GALLØ, AIROD, FLKN, Blondex and more. Across thirteen tracks, listeners receive a magnificent taster menu of some of the best in the game right now, from the pummelling kick and gargantuan drop on ‘Activate’ to the gothic beauty and driving intensity of Kurdish artist Lawyn’s closer ‘Nami’.

It's a compilation that brims with raw energy and exciting talent, encapsulating EXHALE’s dynamic techno universe with aplomb. Here’s to the next five years, and the many more to come!