Opening track "Embrace the Light" establishes La Luna's manifesto immediately: disco's four-four foundation anchored by a bassline thick as treacle, crowned with melodic flourishes that soar without ever quite taking flight. It's house music with mystical pretensions, though the producer's own vocal mantra provides the track with a genuinely personal stamp that elevates it beyond mere genre exercise.
The EP's most arresting moment arrives with "Ho'oponopono," transforming Hawaii's gentle prayer of forgiveness into something approaching primal scream therapy. Mediterranean strings clash against electric guitar in a sonic representation of healing through conflict – it's messy, occasionally overwhelming, but undeniably powerful. La Luna understands that spiritual awakening rarely arrives with parlour-room politeness.
"Om Namah Shivaya" ventures into more familiar electronic territory, wrapping the Hindu chant in tribal techno rhythms that recall early '90s rave mysticism. The psychedelic guitar work prevents the track from becoming mere nostalgia, though the production occasionally threatens to collapse under its own ambition. Similarly, "Now it's time to find the faith" (featuring vocalist Shaya Noa Myers) pairs shamanic intensity with indie-techno sensibilities that don't always mesh convincingly.
The EP concludes with "Mitakuye Oyasin," La Luna's interpretation of Lakota prayer that manages to honour its source material while creating something genuinely danceable. The earthy percussion and shamanic vocals create a hypnotic groove that justifies the entire project's spiritual framework.
Bonus dub versions of "Ho'oponopono" and "Om Namah Shivaya" reveal La Luna's understanding of DJ culture, though they feel perfunctory rather than essential.
Embrace the Light works best when La Luna commits fully to his vision of the dancefloor as sacred space. His production skills remain uneven – moments of genuine transcendence alternate with passages that feel overthought – but the sincerity of his approach prevents the material from feeling exploitative. This is electronic music with genuine spiritual conviction, even when the execution doesn't quite match the ambition.
The EP functions as a promising statement of intent rather than a fully realized artistic vision. La Luna has identified compelling source material and possesses the technical skills to transform it, but his next challenge involves refining his production aesthetic to match the power of his conceptual framework. For now, Embrace the Light offers intriguing glimpses of what electronic spirituality might sound like when filtered through genuinely committed hands.