Inside Mike Shannon’s ‘Off World Synthetics’ EP On Rekids, Restraint, Sci Fi Memory, And Music Built For DJs
- Undrtone Blog
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Canadian DJ and producer Mike Shannon opened 2026 with a return to Rekids, releasing the ‘Off World Synthetics’ EP on 16 January. It follows 2023’s ‘Shadow Moves’ on Rekids sub-label RSPX and adds another chapter to a career that has quietly shaped minimal and house music for more than two decades.
While the EP draws inspiration from Alejandro Jodorowsky and the Möbius INCAL graphic novels, alongside sci-fi cinema, Shannon is clear that those references rarely guide the process. “Those kinds of Sci-fi influences work in the background in lots of my work all the time,” he explains. “I think most of the time the references come after the fact, almost like a way of decoding what I’ve already made rather than a blueprint.”
That philosophy runs through the record. Rather than overt concept work, ‘Off World Synthetics’ feels guided by instinct, and long-absorbed ideas surfacing naturally. The only exception is ‘Only Noodles’, which began with a specific sample. “So in the case of this EP, the only thing that was shaped deliberately before was the track called 'only noodles'. I sampled Keifer Sutherland in the film " The Lost Boys saying, “They’re only noodles, Michael,” Shannon says. “Those kinds of details aren’t meant to be obvious or decoded by everyone—they’re more like personal anchors that make the track feel connected to something real for me.”
The EP opens with ‘Synthetic Salsateca’, where a static groove supports a playful, squelching synth line. ‘Back To The Hood’ follows with rattling, mechanical pressure, while ‘Off World Sparkle’ bends wonky sequences around a rubbery low end. ‘Only Noodles’ closes things out, stripping back into warped clicks, scratches, and subtle modulation designed to reveal themselves over time.
This restraint reflects how Shannon now defines a finished track. “Knowing when to stop producing is an artform and a skill on its own,” he says. “At this stage, finishing is less about perfection and more about function and intent. I’ll usually test a track mentally in a DJ context—does it breathe, does it give space, does it do its job without asking for attention?”
Listening back, he hears balance rather than reinvention. “What feels current to me is that balance between control and looseness. I’m not trying to prove anything technically anymore, but I still want the music to feel alive and slightly unpredictable.”
Despite Rekids’ strong identity, Shannon’s sound remains unmistakable. He never wrote the EP with the label in mind. “In the case of Rekids, I didn’t have the label in mind when I was writing these,” he explains. “Matt asked me if I had some tracks to follow up my last EP for them, and I put this package together.”
The environment plays a key role in how the music is imagined. “This track really screams Berlin Afterhours to me,” Shannon says of ‘Only Noodles’. “Music influenced by an 80’s vampire film… music for nocturnal people, addicted to groove and bass who avoid the sun.”
That nocturnal sensibility feeds into his view of club culture itself. “I think music itself is a form of escape. A doorway to another world,” he reflects. “Club culture is definitely a form of escape, but it's escape in a tribal sense. You're out dancing with people at the club, you’re escaping together rather than just putting the headphones on and escaping alone.”
Technically, the EP is shaped by limitation rather than excess, centred around a single Eurorack wavetable oscillator. “Yeah, this one features a lot of one particular Eurorack wavetable oscillator called Shapeshifter from Intellijel,” Shannon explains. “Focusing on one main sound source forces deeper exploration instead of endless option paralysis.”
After more than twenty years in the studio, the motivation remains unchanged. “It’s the same motivation as when I started making music,” he says. “I just want to see the music bend people's minds and push the energy on the floor. And hopefully, not clear the floor in the process. haha”
‘Off World Synthetics’ captures that perspective clearly. Functional, restrained, and quietly alien, it is an EP designed for late hours, refined floors, and DJs who value tension, texture, and intent over spectacle.
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