While his first album HERMES references the Greek god of trade and inventor of the Lyre, the album’s second track, ‘Maia’, tributes Hermes’ mother. Named after the Greek goddess, ‘MAIA’ is made up of trance-inducing, layered and hypnotic beats, The piece was inspired by the strength of motherhood as a whole. Taking BURAK’s powerful original piece as raw material, ‘MAIA Remixes’ contains reinterpretations of the track by the heavyweights of electronic music Efdemin, Hernan Cattaneo, Matthew Herbert, Magdalena, N’TO and Rodriguez Jr.

Electronic music producers Efdemin, Hernan Cattaneo and Matthew Herbert are perhaps the most instantly recognizable names on the album, with decades of experience in the scene which cemented their names worldwide. But while all three share in acclaim, their paths to stardom were distinct. While Hernan Cattaneo, considered a founding father of the underground house scene, made his way up from club nights in Buenos Aires, Efdemin was established at the heart of the German electronic music scene as a longtime resident at Berghain in Berlin. Early on, Hernan’s music and the subculture around it shaped Burak’s understanding and appreciation of music, and for the remixes album the Argentinian musical ambassador generously contributed with two versions of ‚MAIA’. Efdemin’s sound has served as inspiration for BURAK in his more recent delvings in techno, especially in the making of HERMES. Efdemin’s fresh, contemplative and elegant minimal techno has become distinguished amongst club-goers, and the musician is today a mainstay act in Berlin’s techno scene. Perhaps the most eclectic of the mix of collaborators is the English Matthew Herbert, who has worked on everything from film scores to music for the theatre, Broadway, TV, and games. Herbert has remixed artists such as Serge Gainsbourg and Ennio Morricone and worked closely over several years with musical acts as diverse as Bjork and Dizzee Rascal.

Along with the luminaries as mentioned above of electronic music, BURAK also invited artists from his generation who have gained impressive traction in recent years to contribute with remixes. A rising star of German electronic music, Magdalena has discreetly been a part of the Diynamic family since its beginning, running the label’s famed EGO club in Hamburg. She quickly became a household name behind the decks starting her regular night at the club and filling up the dance floors at other renowned underground establishments. With a musical style of melodic-techno resemblant to that of BURAK, French DJ Anthony Favier, known as N’TO, also offered his take of ‘MAIA’ for the album, Also hailing from France, Rodriguez JR, an artist as renowned for his eclectic productions as he is for his live sets lent his own style to BURAK’s track.