Martin Garrix paves the way for “Sentio” with the latest singles from his historic debut album
by: Ross Goldenberg
April 29, 2022
sentio is officially over.
As 2022 approaches, we could all have reasonably assumed that Martin Garrix was stockpiling music to take with him during festival season, but the possibility of a full album happening under his own name – having already piloted some one for AREA21 just a couple of months earlier – wasn’t something that actually crossed anyone’s mind. That was until Ultra gradually loomed on the horizon and Garrix teased that a minimum of five previously known IDs would join him as he breaks a five-year hiatus from Bayfront Park. And after having debited an imposing ten unreleased titles to Lollapalooza Chile then introducing an additional pair of Garrix originals to Miami, the ball was in his court as he seized the opportunity to increase his Seven and STOPPED EP. Not only did he go further with the anti-fools April revelation of sentio, but the STMPD RCRDS boss also doubled down on the rollout format for these named EPs. four weeks of sentio being resolved piece by piece – with a single every Tuesday and Friday – are now complete, Garrix wrapping up his eight singles so far with the latest additions from last week: “Aurora” featuring Blinders, the surprise appearance of a ” Oxygen” vocal mix alongside DubVision and Jordan Grace, and “If We’ll Ever Be Remembered” featuring Shaun Farrugia.
From the moment his long-awaited meeting with Zedd marked the sentio Wheels in motion – unbeknownst to us at the time – just hours before Ultra’s return to Bayfront Park, Garrix’s first proper album didn’t once drop its bi-weekly deliveries. And to reach its destination of April 29, sentio was built through one sought-after ID after the next, raising the bar for the successive release that would follow it, with “Follow” being joined by “Limitless” featuring Mesto, “Reboot” featuring Vluarr, “Quantum” featuring Brooks, “Good Morning” with Matisse & Sadko, “Starlight (Keep Me Afloat)” with DubVision and Shaun Farrugia, “Funk” with Julian Jordan and “Find You” with Justin Mylo and Dewain Whitmore.
And it wouldn’t really be fair to say that he saved the terminal trio from sentio the latter parts as every tracklist slot had been filled perfectly so far, but Garrix still managed to wrap up his debut album on the highest notes. Garrix and Blinders first met nearly four years ago STOPPED and a long-awaited successor to “Breach”, the two repositioning themselves from their first electro-infused release to progressive house with “Aurora”. While just about everyone else sentio track had been discovered within the last year, “Oxygen” – which was among our most anticipated 2021 idents – may have the longest timeline of them all, hailing from Garrix boat trip in Dutch waters amid the pandemic. Rumor has it that ‘Oxygen’ – also known as ‘Vergif’, which translates to poison in Dutch – was buried in the ID cemetery. pleads for the release of the progressive gem and gives it a new vocal perspective with the help of Jordan Grace. And last but not least on part 11 sentio tracklist is the last of Garrix’s album pairings with Shaun Farrugia, whom Garrix had unexpectedly met via TikTok earlier in the year. “If We’ll Ever Be Remembered” had come in as Garrix’s final new set last month – swapping his cross “Forbidden Voices” for “Higher Ground” – and it couldn’t have served anything other than the sentio closer curtain too. Garrix and Farrugia’s producer-vocalist synergy was already crystal clear on “Starlight,” and “If We’ll Ever Be Remembered” only adds to that, hopefully blossoming a long-standing and fruitful relationship between the two. as they line up a creepy tandem of Garrix’s golden progressive house and Farrugia’s unfeigned lyrical work.
Although the rollout might be considered non-traditional compared to your regular album, sentio is anything but ordinary in nature, with its final fulfillment allowing everyone to step back and digest all that happened in the previous month. Through 11 sweeping pieces that truly feel like they’re going without a single stylistic repetition, Garrix comes full circle exactly a decade after his first release, tying his story into a comprehensive project that safely secures a place alongside the Swedish House Mafia. Heaven again at the top of our album of the year chart. Garrix explained that sentio was born out of his desire to give back to fans after what seemed like an endless cycle of no live shows, adding,
“I was sitting to so much club music, and after the shutdowns I felt like people wanted to party and cheer each other up. The album contains a few songs suitable for radio, but it’s mostly the more aggressive sound of the Garrix club. I didn’t want people to have to wait too long for high-quality builds after Ultra, so we decided to remove them every week after the set. I’m super excited that all the tracks are finally out for everyone to listen to. My first album is a fact!
Featured Image: Rutger Geerling
Categories: Music
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