If you’ve been chasing that perfect late-night groove where melody meets atmosphere, Warung’s latest track “Special” is the kind of release that stops the scroll. Melodic techno, deep house, and chill house rarely feel this connected, and this one lands right in the sweet spot.
Warung is the project of Aaron Hopkins and Dillon Ames. They set their solo work aside years ago to build something that felt more like those family-run spots in Bali—organic, shared, and rooted in a clear ethos. Drawing from experiences with Balinese culture, the duo has spent the past seven years carving out a sound that feels both intimate and expansive. That identity has taken them far: continued work with Anjunadeep, releases on Armada, This Never Happened, and Shen, plus a six-month run at number one on the Beatport Breaks chart with “Illusive.”
They’ve also put in the live work—first Anjunadeep Open Air in New York, multiple years at The Explorations Festival in Albania—and earned support from heavy hitters like Sasha, Korolova, Pete Tong, Bicep, Paul van Dyk, Tiësto, Sub Focus, Armin van Buuren, Tale of Us, and Deep Dish. Airplay on BBC Radio 1, KCRW, NPR, and Sirius XM has followed, so “Special” arrives with real weight behind it.
Genre-wise, the track sits comfortably in the current wave of melodic techno that refuses to stay cold. Expect the kind of rolling low-end and carefully placed melodic lines that deep house fans live for, tempered with the softer edges of chill house. Production-wise these records usually trade on space and patience—pads that breathe, percussion that moves without rushing, and a sense of atmosphere that feels lived-in rather than forced. That’s the lane Warung have been refining for years, and it shows.
The wider scene is still hungry for this exact blend. Melodic techno keeps finding new ears as festival main stages and late-night club rooms both lean into more emotional, less rigid tracks. Deep house and chill house elements help those records travel beyond pure techno crowds, which is exactly where a duo with Warung’s label relationships and radio reach can thrive.
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What do you think of Warung’s approach to melodic techno and deep house? Drop your thoughts in the comments—always good to hear what other listeners are locking into.
