Van Horton is a North Carolina music scene veteran: He started his career in earnest as a resident DJ and production manager at North Carolina State University‘s WKNC back in 2003. Since then, he won an Emmy Award in 2006 while firmly establishing a unique retrowave sound through the release of six albums that have earned critical acclaim globally. The North Carolina-based DJ’s sets are immersive and hypnotic wall of sounds that are warm and enduring.

His latest single “Human Nature (Synthwave Version)” is a hook-driven and club banging take on one of my favorite Micheal Jackson tunes “Human Nature” derived from roughly two bars of the 1983 smash hit, paired with dense layers of glistening synth oscillations, woozily arpeggiated synths and skittering beats. The result is a bold, fresh, Giorgio Moroder-meets-Tweekend-era The Crystal Method-and Come with Us-era The Chemical Brothers-like take on a beloved oft-covered and oft-referenced song.