Following his acclaimed 2025 album Swimming Against The Tide, Dublin-born artist Robert O’Connor returns with Clubwav Continuum, a one-hour continuous DJ-style mix that reimagines all ten tracks from the original record. It’s a remix album and a full sonic rebirth. O’Connor and co-producers Gareth Shortland and Jordan Arteaga weave a smooth, cinematic flow that merges ’80s sophistipop elegance with ’90s trance and the glossy pulse of modern electronic pop.
The groove, the lyrics, the vibe, everything here feels alive, intentional, and addictively fluid. Let’s dive track by track.
1. Once In A While (Extended Mix): At over seven minutes, “Once In A While” opens the continuum like a glittering door into Robert’s world. The track builds slow and deliberate, shimmering synths, a pulsing bassline, and that signature Jordan Arteaga gloss that feels like sunrise through foggy club windows. Vocally, Robert channels calm confidence; it’s nostalgic but not trapped in the past. The Johnny Marr-inspired guitar riffs and Ace of Base-style harmonics hit that sweet spot between melancholy and motion.
2. Trick Of The Night (Extended Mix): “Trick Of The Night” picks up the tempo but keeps the mood hypnotic. This one’s got that after-hours energy, synths swirling like neon trails, percussion that hits like a second wind at 2 a.m. The lyrics explore illusion and self-awareness (“we’re both pretending, but it feels too good to stop”), echoing O’Connor’s recurring theme of honesty beneath the gloss.
3. Everything You Wanted (Extended Mix): Probably the emotional center of the record. The extended mix stretches every element, Robert’s voice floats across a spacious beat, giving room for the words to breathe. You can feel Gareth Shortland’s pop discipline here: tight melodies, polished transitions, and cinematic keys. It’s deeply romantic but restrained, a late-night dance track for people who think too much (and love that about themselves).
4. Summer Is Waiting (Extended Mix): This one is pure serotonin. Eight minutes of warmth, glowing synths, and sunlit nostalgia. It’s less of a club banger and more of a memory you can dance to. There’s something cinematic about how the track swells, like a drone shot over an empty coastline. You can tell this was built for long drives and festival sunsets. If Ibiza had an Irish accent, this would be its anthem.
5. Something Strange (Extended Mix): Here’s where the mix gets a little weirder, in the best way. “Something Strange” lives up to its title, with twisted vocal delays, offbeat percussion, and a haunting synth line that circles back on itself. It’s Robert stepping into experimental territory without losing his pop instincts. The tension builds beautifully before releasing into a gentle outro. Perfect bridge track; marks the album’s midpoint transition.
6. Hard Rain (Extended Mix): One of the heaviest emotional punches. This extended cut leans into trance textures, long builds, heavy reverb, and a sense of catharsis that only comes after letting go. It’s introspective, but the groove keeps it alive. Robert’s vocals sound like they’re dissolving into the beat, deliberate, aching, and cinematic. Listen With A pair of noise-cancelling headphones and your thoughts.
7. Head Turner (Extended Mix): The most playful moment in the continuum. Funky bassline, shimmering top synths, and a confident hook that screams “main character energy.” It’s the closest the project gets to pure pop, but still drenched in that sleek, continuous aesthetic. There’s something cheeky in how Robert delivers the lines, a reminder that sophistication and swagger can coexist.
It has a mood that says Walking into the club like you own the place.
8. Love Remains (Extended Mix): A lush, tender slow-burner. “Love Remains” sits somewhere between a love letter and a farewell note, wrapped in oceanic synth waves. It’s sentimental without being cheesy, that balance Robert nails so often. This extended version stretches emotion across space, giving the chorus time to echo into infinity. The groove never dies, even in heartbreak.
9. Mysterious Times (Extended Mix): A definite standout, equal parts trance and introspection. The title nods to late-’90s club track, and you can hear the influence: layered synth arpeggios, driving kick drum, ambient pads that build into a euphoric rise. But what’s fresh is Robert’s restraint; it never explodes, it simmers. The mix feels alive, constantly shifting but always intentional.
10. What A Time To Be Alive (Extended Mix): The finale, and it’s the perfect emotional release. “What A Time To Be Alive” carries the spirit of triumph, not in a loud, commercial way, but in an introspective, self-aware one. It feels like the culmination of everything Robert’s been exploring: nostalgia, evolution, emotion, and groove. The track fades seamlessly into silence, leaving you suspended in reflection.
The continuum completes itself, no skips, no pauses, just flow.
Clubwav Continuum is Robert O’Connor proving that independent artists can be as conceptual and forward-thinking as anyone on a major label. The production is sleek, the transitions are masterful, and the emotional undercurrent keeps you locked in from start to finish. It’s one of those rare projects that works whether you’re zoning out, working, or dancing alone in your living room. Clubwav Continuum is immersive, cinematic, and quietly revolutionary, a true evolution of the extended mix tradition.
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