- "I don't want to be a part of her dark side," Eleni Adamopoulou has said of her native city, Athens. "I want to keep this city's light alive inside of me and share it." It's an attitude that is abundantly present on Adamopoulou's debut release as Giganta, which seems intent on countering the city's financial and political woes with some good old-fashioned escapism. "Can't Stop Playing" is a bubblegum take on New York house, the organ stabs light and frothy, the fractured diva samples pitched up until they coo like cartoon doves. And there's something rather warming—redemptive, even—about the airy laser-synth chords in "Spot Scene."
Elsewhere Adamopoulou strays into fractionally moodier terrain—this is Werkdiscs, after all. "This Goes On" is more introspective, but its darkness is leavened by rich, uplifting chords in a manner reminiscent of the cosmic deep house of Fred P. "Is Ma Beat," meanwhile, is more uncanny than joyful, its vivid, sliding chords are perhaps the best evidence of Adamopoulou's knack for sound design. Throughout, the types of house and techno referenced varies (the title track recalls late '00s dubsteppers' flirtations with house), but the aesthetic is consistent. The arrangements are restless and detail-heavy, and the sounds almost rubbery. Adamopoulou's optimism seems boundless, and it's difficult to resist.
TracklistA1 Can't Stop Playing
A2 Spot Scene
B1 Force
B2 This Goes On