The Hidden Face is built around two sides of the same idea. Parts 1 and 2 share a rough, driving energy, using chopped and manipulated samples as much for rhythm and texture as for their original sound. It’s an approach that connects back to some of Tejada’s earlier productions and to the looseness of 90s warehouse sets, without feeling like an exercise in nostalgia. One side is more locked and physical, the other a little more unstable around the edges. Same source, different face.
The title plays with the idea of the face we see and the one that stays hidden. Masks and doubles show up everywhere, from Janus looking in two directions at once, to Bergman’s Persona, Dorian Gray’s hidden portrait, Seconds, and the strange identity shifts that run through David Lynch’s films. Sometimes the second face is a reflection, sometimes it’s a role. And sometimes it’s simply the part of someone that only becomes visible much later.
Details:
Artist: John Tejada
Release: The Hidden Face (Parts 1 & 2)
Label: Palette Recordings
Release Date: Sept. 25, 2026
Pre-Save: here
Tracks:
1. The Hidden Face (Part 1)
2. The Hidden Face (Part 2)
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