Ammo Avenue 'Bipolar': Cloonee's Hellbent Records Delivers Again

Hellbent Records, the Label That Practices What Cloonee Preaches

When Cloonee launched Hellbent Records in 2022, the stated goal was blunt: sign records he would actually play in his own sets. No crossover hedging, no gestures toward radio. Four years in, that mandate has held, and the label's international roster — built on genuine A&R instinct rather than geographic proximity — has become one of the more interesting things happening in boutique tech house.

With Ammo Avenue's debut EP Bipolar, released July 21, Hellbent lands one of its cleanest examples yet of what that philosophy sounds like when it works.

Who Is Ammo Avenue?

Ammo Avenue is a Peruvian producer with a catalog that's been quietly building credibility on the Traxsource side of the underground. Previous work on DFTD (Defected's stripped-back imprint) showed an artist who understood groove-forward tech house that doesn't rely on gimmicks — the kind of release that doesn't chart dramatically but gets filed in working DJs' selectors and stays there. A Hellbent signing is a logical step up: same underground integrity, wider platform.

Three Tracks, Three Temperatures

The EP's title carries a double meaning. Bipolar refers both to the contrasting moods across its three tracks and to the kind of unpredictable energy that good tech house can generate on a floor — the way a groove can feel driving and hypnotic in the same moment.

The title track sets the tone immediately. Chunky low end, crisp percussion, acid synth lines threaded through a rolling rhythm that doesn't need a breakdown to justify itself. This is a DJ tool in the best sense: something you can bring in early, let breathe while you read the room, and trust that it will do the work without demanding dramatic mixing decisions. The acid element keeps it from feeling too polished — there's a slight rawness to the way the synth bends through the groove that pushes it away from generic tech house and toward something with a personality.

"Retro Dance" pivots toward immediate appeal without abandoning the underground footing. A vocal hook lands early and stays lodged in your head, and the bounce of the arrangement leans into the kind of playful, slightly cheeky energy that gets a crowd to react before they've consciously processed what they're responding to. This is the peak-time track on the EP — the one that will draw the most visible floor movement and generate the most post-set conversations. It's also the most likely to escape the DJ circuit and reach a broader audience, which isn't a bad thing for a producer trying to build name recognition.

The third track pulls the feel down without dropping the pressure — an after-hours dimension that makes the EP feel like a complete statement rather than a collection of unrelated club tools. The sequencing is deliberate, and the range it covers in three tracks is broader than most EPs manage without losing coherence.

What This Means for Hellbent's Trajectory

Hellbent's international roster — Brazilian producers Brisotti and bewav in its earlier years, Uzbek artist Trace, and now Ammo Avenue from Peru — signals that Cloonee is doing actual global A&R rather than signing producers from his social circle. That distinction matters. Many boutique tech house labels end up as local scenes with Bandcamp stores. Hellbent has consistently signed artists based on how their records function in a DJ context, and that filter is visible in the catalog's coherence.

The label's 2026 output — including Cloonee's own 'XTC' earlier this year, which leaned into darker club structures and controlled tension — has been pushing in a more focused underground direction. Bipolar fits that arc while adding enough brightness and vocal presence in "Retro Dance" to keep the catalog from feeling one-dimensional. It's a useful range to have in a label identity.

For Ammo Avenue, a Hellbent debut is meaningful exposure. The label's early releases reached number one on Beatport's overall chart, and Cloonee's platform translates directly into reach with working DJs and booking contacts who pay attention to what he signs. This EP should move beyond the release hype and into rotation.

Bipolar by Ammo Avenue is out now on Hellbent Records.