New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today sees one of London's most exciting new talents, ABSOLUTE. (aka Anthony McGinley) announce his debut mixtape Wonderland, due for release on March 12th via Skint Records/BMG. Alongside the announcement, tickets for ABSOLUTE.'s headline show at London's Islington Assembly Hall on Saturday 20th March are on sale now.
Wonderland is a whirlwind ride through dance music as heard through ABSOLUTE.'s ears: emotive house, hard-edged techno, divine disco, and euphoric rave bring the party, while more cerebral downtempo and textural ambient tracks wind things down. It's party music for a time without parties, all shot through with McGinley's message of hope and equality for all.
Speaking on the EP, ABSOLUTE. explains: "Writing this album brought me back to life, I was writing music that helped me feel certain ways, freedom and connectedness to something I and many others were missing, longing hard to be around people, or needing a dose of raw euphoric rave energy which gave some release at the sheer desperation to dance and feel joy. Even if just for a short time, to feel transported to 90's UK raves or New York's underground gave me some life, and I hope it does for you too. Welcome to Wonderland…"
The mixtape album came to fruition as a result of the recent lockdown where ABSOLUTE., and the rest of the world, was forced to a standstill. Anthony was determined to turn his frustration into art and participated in a creative workshop that helped open his mind to new ideas, taking his music in exciting directions. The title of the mixtape takes its name from
Wonderland Arena, a now obsolete rave space in East London that played host to live performances from the likes of Frankie Knuckles, The Prodigy, and Carl Cox during the halcyon days of acid house and early rave, and that is now converted into apartments where Anthony currently lives and works.
ABSOLUTE. Is a project that has steadily gained momentum over the last couple of years, deftly choosing the right path for long term success rather than quick gains. Coming from the vibrant LGBTQ+ club and rave space where he promoted influential events in London, Anthony wanted to make sure foundations were solid before making the break into the live arena with this incredible body of work. He's DJed at a wide array of parties and festivals from Glastonbury and Creamfields to Fabric and Razzmatazz but performing live has always been the goal. As lockdown came into effect he was packing his equipment to go on the road supporting dance legends 808
State on a 10 date UK tour.
Despite a total shutdown of the live sector during the pandemic, Anthony still managed to perform his debut live set for
Radio 1's virtual Ibiza weekend during the summer and has just announced a headline live show at Islington's assembly for March next year in partnership with underground gatekeepers Percolate.
Alongside his musical accomplishments, Anthony is a passionate activist for human rights and has a longstanding track record of work supporting issues including climate, race, and LGBTQ+ justice. After attending the first Extinction Rebellion action in London, McGinley wrote "Rave Against the Machine", a track that sampled a speech by Greta Thunberg which resulted in XR later inviting him to programme the music line-up of their International Rebellion at Trafalgar Square, while at Glastonbury, he played at Greenpeace's Rave Tree.
