The German producer born Emir Timur Tokdemir took up classical guitar at the tender age of 6, then pivoted to electronic instrumentals as a teenager, debuting online as Mechatok in 2015. He’d spend the next 10 years honing his wistful blend of rave, pop, and *Mario Kart* music and collaborating with cool kids worldwide, like on *Good Luck*, his 2020 joint album with Bladee, whose deluxe version scored remixes from Charli xcx and Salem. *Wide Awake*, Mechatok’s first solo full-length, feels like the soundtrack to a night drive when you’re sleep-deprived enough to cry at everything you see—a starry-eyed blur of twinkly IDM, chirpy J-pop, the distant pulse of trance, and a Drain Gang take on mid-aughts dance-rock. (That’s “Expression on Your Face” featuring Bladee and Ecco2k, who describe their wallflower tendencies with trademark mysticism: “I’m touched by nobody/I show affection to the floor.”) Reggaetón maverick Isabella Lovestory joins for the dreamy “She’s a Director,” and on “200,” Mechatok recruits Tokyo MC Tohji.
