PoDELL x Smokestax – Cadillac [Aspire Higher Records]
Mugic.us Blog Premiere Feature
In a 140bpm track that appears to fold space and sway time, PoDELL and Smokestax joined forces to release “Cadillac”, out now on Aspire Higher Records. The track oozes wet psychedelia and warping bass textures, leaning into tension and release, riding waves of abstract strings, creeping atmospheres, and low-end pressure.
You don’t step into this one, you wade into it. The opening teases with strings and fluttering tension. What follows is a thick current of squelchy resonance and moody rhythmic phrasing, built to feel like floating in water with heavy shoes. By the time the second drop hits, the track twists again, this time chunkier, more rhythmic and physical. It’s a perfect example of restraint meeting controlled chaos as the track meets its climax.
Cadillac is now live on all platforms.
PoDELL’s fingerprint is all over the movement of this piece. A drummer at heart, raised on Zeppelin and Tool, his approach to rhythm is instinctive and rebellious, wringing new textures out of time signatures and lets the weirdness walk on its own legs. With his roots in experimental dubstep and DnB, his sets and productions carry a deliberate unpredictability.
Smokestax brings the fire in another way. He’s been making noise across the bass scene with a style that feels both reckless and precise. There’s a swagger to his sound, something rude and wavy that cuts through like a blade wrapped in velvet. Together, these two conjure a sonic space that feels less like a club and more like a swirling lucid dream with a sound system.
While “Cadillac” represents the enmeshing of their respective sounds, it also demonstrates how Aspire Higher Records continues to deliver. Known for their curation of forward-thinking bass out of Philadelphia, and as the team behind Submersion Festival in New Jersey, the label remains a reliable compass for the curious ear.
Cadillac has officially been added inaugural iteration of the Mugic.us “Bass Music to Ponder Your Orb To 2025 – Mugic Selects” Spotify playlist.