Northern Cold is a rising artist from Seattle, USA. Independently releasing tracks and mixes has allowed him to grow a fanbase at the intersection of hard techno and trance. His signature sound is influenced by hypnotic rave music from classic eras, with occasional nods to punk and metal. The result is a high-energy sound that breaks traditional genre boundaries and ignites the dance floor. Northern Cold launched his own label, EONS, in June 2024. EONS was founded to showcase high-energy tracks across techno, trance, and neo rave.

Today he gets down with 6AM and gets into his upcoming releases, new label, and genre-blending abilities.

Hi Northern Cold thanks for talking to 6AM. How are you doing?

Doing great! Lots of music projects are in progress right now so I'm staying busy. I'm excited to chat with you.

 

To get started you just started your own label EONS. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind launching your own label, EONS? How does it feel to see your vision come to life with this exciting new venture?

Great question. The need for a label really appeared within the last year actually. I've been self-releasing music consistently since 2021. Lately I've seen an increase in remix collaborations. So I’m regularly dealing with contracts, coordinating releases, securing track premieres, etc. 

I was effectively operating as a label, but only for my own releases. This year felt like the right time to formalize that effort into a proper label home, and then start the long-term work to grow a catalog of diverse artists with a similar vision. So far it’s been a really exciting month with the launch, and I’m excited about the upcoming schedule.

 

Your first release on EONS, 'End Sequence,' features a unique blend of hard techno and guitar feedback. What was the creative process behind this track, and how do you think it sets the tone for your label's future releases?

‘End Sequence’ started with drums and percussion grit layers. For the main hook, I programmed some bass guitar. Resampled it a few times, passing through layers of amps and distortion. I chopped up the audio slices into a glitchy, repetitive block. Added some shimmer delays and then some reverb. At that point it sounds nothing like a bass anymore and becomes this wall of noise– which can be a great backdrop for hard techno.

The label releases won't all sound like this. In fact we have a trance release coming up in August. The statement we want to make with this first release is that we aren’t afraid to take some risks.

With EONS focusing on high-energy tracks across techno, trance, and neorave, what can fans expect from the upcoming releases, especially the 2nd release that’s a dark trance EP with a guest remix by Traumtherapie? How did the collaboration with German based artist, come about? and what was it like working with them on this project?

Sure, lets talk about the EP release for August. The lead track (Northern Cold - Blackout), is a 150 BPM acid trance track with some psy elements in it. I wanted to book a guest remix for it and the first person I wanted to approach was Traumtherapie.

I've been playing Traumtherapie tracks in my sets for the last 6 months. He's really nailed the kind of energy I'm looking for with EONS. We chatted briefly about the project, and he was happy to provide the remix. He delivered an amazing track, a new direction on the original idea I never would have thought of. As an artist, that’s what I love about remixes so much.

As an artist who blends influences from hypnotic rave music, punk, and metal, how do you approach genre boundaries in your music, and how does EONS reflect this eclectic mix?

I love going to shows and crate digging for music that is really different from the music I make. It inspires me and gives me fresh ideas to try out within techno or trance. My 2023 album 'Vortex' explored a lot of that territory for example. It’s not always successful– but it’s worth the attempt and growth that comes with it.

The foundation with EONS will still be high-energy, dance floor ready tracks. But let’s see if we can try some stuff that you aren't seeing on Beatport right now.

EONS offers its releases for free download on SoundCloud and through your email list. What motivated this decision, and how do you see it impacting the accessibility and reach of your music and the label's growth?

Part of this decision is for faster growth as we are starting out. Free downloads often see a lot of engagement on SoundCloud for example. That’s an important platform that we want to grow an audience on.

The second aspect is the economic situation that most people are in right now. If someone wants our tracks, but can’t afford them, I never want that person to miss out.

For anyone who wants to support the label, they can still purchase from Bandcamp and Beatport of course.

 

Thanks so much for talking to 6AM. Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Last thing to mention is that I’ve started working on my second full length record. I made a bunch of demo ideas a few weeks back, and will be working on them all summer here.

Assuming I finish the record on time, we will likely be targeting a vinyl release on EONS for that one sometime in 2025.

 

Connect with NORTHERN COLD: Instagram | Soundcloud

Connect with EONS LABEL: Instagram | Soundcloud