“Rhythm’s deep within, strap in for what’s right.”

POP QUIZ TIME: don’t worry it’ll be a short one, but very quickly, could you define the term “Chorophobia”?

If you said it’s the fear of dancing, you’d be correct! Unfortunately, I have no prize to hand out, so instead take a powerful sense of pride with you. Trust me it’s worth a lot.

Right, why is that relevant? Well, you may recall that an artist this year dropped a heavily dance-orientated album that wasn’t to be listened to sat still, but to enjoy the moment, every second of it. That album was Tyler The Creator’s “DON’T TAP THE GLASS”, an album that literally came with instructions to the listeners that revolved around dancing and enjoying that album, and it worked.

So, can we apply this same principle and idea to Weval, the Dutch duo consisting of Harm Coolen and Merijn Scholte-Abers, and their latest album CHOROPHOBIA? Well obviously, you can’t expect an album literally entitled the term meaning a fear of dance and expect them not to challenge it.

And challenge it they accomplish. The opening title tracks sets that tone, with a distorted delivery of the album title, and these keys that loom over and grow in intensity as the track goes on.

On an album with just a little over a half an hour run time, Weval jam pack this 11 track album with some danceable, fun and, primarily, simple tracks. But this isn’t the kind of dance that’s exaggerative, over-the-top, and full of energy, it’s all about the subtle movements, the ones you may or may not catch yourself doing. Whether it be a little head bops to the appropriately titled ‘MOVEMENT’ with it’s low-key drums and repeated refrain of “I need to move”, in addition to its music video, which has a still camera looking over a room of people who don’t stop dancing. Or the airy vocals of ‘JUST FRIENDS’ that would belong and fit seamlessly in the upcoming Tame Impala record.

Let me throw another term to describe this record for you: consistency. Every track on CHOROPHOBIA feels familiar to one another, in many ways, like an interconnected family. The drums that serve to be a great driving force. The keys that can range from omnipotent and omniscient to free and unshackled. The synths are the only piece lacking in consistency on CHOROPHOBIA. Sometimes they complement to create a track of simple excellence like the brilliant ‘BETTER’, or to create landscapes that belong right in any club, like the subtle party anthem that is ‘OPEN UP THAT DOOR’ featuring vocals from fellow UK-based electronic producer Kilimanjaro, who you may now for his collab with Jazzy on ‘No Bad Vibes’.

To wrap out this dance routine, ‘MERCATOR’ takes a few steps back, with its more lowkey beat easing the listener, before you’re struck with closer ‘FREE’, a truly perfect title both as a finale, but as a thesis for the whole record, as new heights aren’t necessarily reached, but rather maintained, as the repeated lyric of “All you want is to be free” echoes over this closer.

CHOROPHOBIA won’t make you start dancing like your uncle after several pints of beer. But it’s an album that will struggle to leave your head, I caught myself making little movements here and there without even realising. There was no choreography or fear of judgement in the slightest, it was all just natural, pure instinct. A perfect summarization of Weval’s latest record.

Weval: CHOROPHOBIA – Out 5 September 2025 (Technicolour / Ninja Tune)

KILIMANJARO – ‘OPEN UP THAT DOOR’ (Official Video) – YouTube