David Keno Drops Trippy Slice of Tech-House Fun With “Don’t Hold Back”

Switzerland-born producer David Keno is a formidable name on the tech house circuit, famous for building grooves from the ground up that are designed for slamming function and dancefloor fun. He’s been dishing out tunes on his own Keno Records imprint since 2007, while also releasing on everyone from Suara to Dirtybird. He’ll soon be adding another choice imprint to that list with a brand-new three-track EP on This Ain’t Bristol. To get you in the mood, we’ve plucked the title cut for our Track of the Day.

“Don’t Hold Back” plays it heavy while keeping it playful and rollicking. A cheeky vocal topline is unleashed partway in, leading the track into a funky drum break—the prelude to one hell of a drop. It has all the right ingredients for a party.

Keno himself provides a little context on how he linked up with Apiot, the vocalist, for this slice of trippy tech house:

The story goes two years back, when I played this beach party at my first open-air party of the season in Berlin. There were two people dancing onstage, and during my last track, one of them suddenly took a microphone and started to freestyle. I was pretty impressed how good it sounded, and after the party, we decided to hit the studio sometime in the future and have a little jam. I kind of forgot about it, but then after a while, came up with the instrumental of ‘Don’t Hold Back’ and thought it was still lacking that little extra. So, I sent her the instrumental, and she jammed over it and recorded it with her phone. Even with this crappy quality, it already sounded pretty cool, so we redid it properly in my studio. The result turned out pretty good, I think, and I am sure this won’t be the last time I collaborate with Apiot.

The two-track EP hits streaming platforms at the end of the week, and will make its way over to stores on April 6.

Available March 31 via This Ain’t Bristol.

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