Skin covered in a layer of sweat and emotions so high you can’t think. Hard hitting beats pulse through your being as bodies slam together. Raving is an intimate experience even if it’s somewhat anonymous. Putting a face to it, and a video, is Berlin-based Canadian producer Infinity Division with today’s new single Like Heaven. Experiences with euphoric melodies are often compared to the spiritual, here there is no repentance required.
Like Heaven marks the launch of Ash Luk aka Infinity Division’s own label, Softcore Unltd. and the announcement of his debut album under this project, titled Satisfaction. For the impactful opening title of Like Heaven, Infinity Division explains he was “inspired by the bold typography of 1980s cinema — films like Videodrome, Scanners, Nightbreed, The Exorcist, and Paris, Texas. There’s a weight and intention to the type in those films that felt right for this project, something that stands out and draws you in.” The red graphic title parts like a curtain to present the video’s credits as the track gears up, adding a highbrow edge to this snapshot of a night. Sonically, the anthemic side of early rave is a key touchstone for the artist, that also dates to the 1980s.
Fast forward to last Summer, filming took place for Like Heaven just a few weeks before the Berlin police and Ordnungsamt raid that marked the closure of Loophole night club. Ash Luk’s first performance in Berlin happened ten years prior at Loophole, so “it holds a lot of personal meaning” for him. Ecstatic and debaucherous the video and single are an enduring reminder that rave persists in the face of this. It’s also a time-capsule.
Manipulation of time, through frame rate slowing and speeding up, an idea of videographer Emily Jade Hagan, creates a build-up of energy, paraphrasing Infinity Division. It’s like the moment before a drop in a track. Meanwhile more of this “energy flow” is conducted by the producer as he lurches around the crowd, avoiding the separation of a stage. This video verges on a documentary recording, despite being organised for the purpose of a single.
The swirling bodies contrast the album cover of two muscular men shot by Spyros Rennt. Highly homoerotic, intimate and voyeuristic, the image selected by Infinity Division easily fits into the city’s gay scene. The musician shares, “When Spyros Rennt sent over a collection for me to choose from, I immediately was drawn to this image as it perfectly encompassed this balance. There’s this tension in it — the locked fists suggest aggression or struggle, but they’re being gently held, almost like a gesture of care or support. It reminded me of a mosh pit: from the outside, it looks chaotic and violent, but inside, it’s a space for release and connection. If someone falls, there’s always someone there to catch them. That energy, both intimate and cathartic, felt like the perfect representation of what I wanted the album to convey.” Now it’s for us to turn it up and get dancing.