Sara Landry’s Hekate Records has a new release on the way, with Liverpool-based DJ and producer MAHTAL set to unveil his two-track EP Thief in the Night on July 31. The record marks his latest contribution to a label that’s become one of hard techno’s more consistent tastemakers over the past few years.
‘Thief in the Night’ is described as a personal project for MAHTAL, one that finds him circling back to the sounds that shaped him before hard techno became his main focus. The EP folds in elements of psytrance and acid, two genres that were foundational to his early productions, and reworks them into something built for peak-time hard techno sets. It’s less a departure than a reintroduction — familiar textures pushed through a more contemporary, club-ready lens.
The two-track EP consists of the title cut ‘Thief in the Night‘ and ‘Don’t Sleep,’ both leaning into the kinetic, high-BPM energy that’s become a signature of the Hekate roster. Sara Landry has built the label into a home base for hard techno artists looking to experiment within the genre’s rigid framework, and MAHTAL’s return fits squarely into that mission.
MAHTAL has spent the last few years carving out a niche in the hard techno underground, known for sets that swing between relentless and hypnotic without losing momentum. This latest EP suggests an artist looking backward to move forward, pulling threads from psytrance and acid to reshape the harder sound he’s known for now.
Thief in the Night is out now via Hekate Records. Stream below.
