Few names carry as much weight in the Argentine progressive scene as Mariano Mellino. Raised in Buenos Aires and shaped by the sound of Hernan Cattaneo, Sasha, John Digweed and Nick Warren, he has spent more than two decades refining a style that sits somewhere between progressive house and melodic techno, with releases on Sudbeat, Global Underground, Balance and Hope Recordings along the way. His AUDIOHOLICS parties have sold out venues across Argentina before travelling abroad, and he has shared booths with the likes of Tale of Us, Eric Prydz and Cattaneo himself. More recently, that same spirit gave birth to Audioholics Records, a Buenos Aires imprint he founded as a home for emotional, forward-thinking music built with the dancefloor in mind.
After launching the label with his own ‘Black Angel’ EP and following it with Nick Stoynoff’s ‘Changement’, complete with a Pig&Dan remix, Mariano now presents its most ambitious statement yet: his album ‘Contacto’, out October 16th. The title says it all. Built around the idea of an invisible connection that moves through us and brings us closer, the nine-track journey opens with ‘Maite’, written to celebrate the birth of his daughter and featuring her heartbeat and voice, before unfolding through the tension of ‘The Fog’, a dancefloor reimagining of Violeta Reynal’s ‘I Had a Dream’, the hypnotic Tokyo tribute ‘Shimo Kitazawa’ and the breakbeat-driven breather ‘Neptuna’. Along the way come a collaboration with Henry Saiz on ‘Communion’, which we had the pleasure of premiering, a Break Mix of ‘Black Angel’ with the vocals of Gio Santi, and a closing team-up with FOLGAR on ‘Stryker’.
Our premiere, ‘Sentencia’, is the moment the album goes for the jugular. A powerful, driving cut built around a melody that keeps pushing its way forward, it gradually turns darker and more intense, the kind of track designed for the point in a set where the energy needs its biggest surge. The tension builds relentlessly until an acid synth takes over, leaving a hypnotic imprint that stays with you long after the last kick has faded. It is Mariano at his most direct, and a clear highlight of a record that is as much about emotion, memory and connection as it is about the dancefloor.
You can now listen to the full premiere of ‘Sentencia’ exclusively on When We Dip Radio. Enjoy!
Release Date: October 16th, 2026. Buy Here
Mariano Mellino: Instagram / SoundCloud
Audioholics Records: Instagram / SoundCloud