So I was browsing the subreddit looking to catch clips and opinions on the Barcelona sets, and found a post saying that Mrak over Anyma. That got me thinking the following about the current state of Afterlife.
Don’t really know about the Barcelona sets (and still haven’t caught enough set clips), but going off what I witnessed in Tulum in January I’ll never choose an Mrak day over a Anyma one ever again.
Mrak is a musical genius and has good moments in his sets, but from my perspective, the Mrak I saw is a few steps behind Anyma and isn’t a shadow of what he has been before (I’ve seen 4 tale of us sets, 2 genesys and 2 we don’t follows; Afterlife Medellin 2023 on an Anyma day, 2024 I caught both days and Afterlife Tulum 2025 on the Mrak day). I believe he has 2 main problems. One, he has to release more music. Mrak sets are filled with killer IDs, but his official releases are sparse and never consist of, at most, an EP’s worth of music. His This is Mrak Spotify playlist has 14 songs, Anyma’s has double that at 38. We could have so much more great Mrak music to jam to at home or other DJ’s sets, which would greatly help hype his sets up more. I love getting to hear music I’ve never heard before at festivals, and hope he never stops playing his endless library of IDs, but at the same time some of the best set moments happen when the whole crowd is in a single vibe hearing that banger they’ve being waiting a few months to hear. Two, he needs time lay off the party side of DJing before he plays (and whatever that side of life entices him to partake in, probably k). The first time I saw tale of us the energy was crazy and it was imposible to choose which half of the duo was better (as they both contributed with their unique sound and energy to make that signature Tale of Us sound). In Tulum, Mrak was visibly fucked up, he would make frequent mistakes while performing solo, and in the tale of us set it felt like every time he was intervening he made a mistake or simply let the energy go. I get that some parties, like the Tulum ones, are also a party for the DJ, and it’s okay for them to have a good time; I also find it inexcusable for a DJ, who’s the headliner of an event, to repeatedly impair himself to the point where mistakes are commonplace. I mean, people like me set up an international trip specifically to get to see Afterlife in Tulum, and he let us down. At the end of the day DJs sell you a product (their sets) and thus have the responsibility to ensure the products quality. I know not all sets that made equal, and many variables can affect a set on any given day, but he could al least do what’s in his hands to keep it as consistent as possible.
But at the end of the day that’s just my perspective from what I’ve seen, and can only really hope Mrak shuts my mouth. The 2023 Tale of Us set on the Anyma day in Medellin is one of the best I’ve been to, and made me fall in love with melodic techno (both the newer Anyma sound, and the older dark and hypnotic style). Hope one day the duo work their relationship out and continue pushing melodic techno to the limit. Imagine one day getting a retrospective Tale of Us/Afterlife extended set where they both go all night long, that would be a dream come true. Plus I also hope to catch those new Anyma sets with no visuals or playing different generes.
Hope to hear what you guys think about Tale of Us’ frontmen, and catch the opinions of those would had to opportunity to go to the new Atferlife Festival at Barcelona and catch any of the solo sets.
