Picks Of The Week (17.10.20

0. Gydra - Snake Monastery LP [Eatbrain]

Recommended if you like: Mizo, Pythius, Prolix

In case you missed it, one of my favorite releases of this week was Gydra's Snake Monastery LP. A full-length review of that can be found here!

Since I don't review any more neuro this week, I just wanted to mention a few more Neurofunk releases of this week before I start with the other reviews:

Zombie Cats - Did You Know (Kemal Remix)
2Whales - WOW (Vitalik on that double single is amazing)
Kumarion - You Want It (Spor Remix)
Mewone - Shine
Deformaty - Mass Murder is a Lazy Man's X Factor (what a name)
Mechanical Vein - New Blood (Zardonic Remix)
Paranoiac Del - Radio EP

1. The Prototypes - Ten Thousand Feet & Rising [The Prototypes]

Recommended if you like: Mind Vortex, Culture Shock, Tantrum Desire

Another album review? Hey, why not.

The next entry in the ongoing dancefloor album month comes from none other than Brighton-based legends The Prototypes! Since they were some of the first producers I listened to in my early dnb days, they have a very special place in my heart. But not just that, they actually headlined the first dnb rave I went to, back in 2016. Since then I've probably seen them live around 10 times and I'd see them live another 10 times in a heartbeat, and that's not just the rave-deprived me talking. Okay enough of me fanboying over them, what's this about an album?

Earlier this year The Prototypes announced the release of their second album Ten Thousand Feet & Rising, to be released in May of this year. Turns out that this wasn't the best time for it, to put it mildly. First pushed back to July and then to October, the release of this album has been a bit of a wild ride. To make up for the extended waiting time, they decided to beef the album up a bit. In addition to the already released singles, they also released Enter The Warrior, with sick music video included, Paradise, the Paradise Remixes by Audio and upcoming electronic producer Mal Madson and Quantum before the full album launch. So you might know a lot of the tracks on this long player already. But I still wanted to talk about it, because it is still one of my favorite albums of the year.

The album starts off with the absolute anthem that is Enter The Warrior. I already reviewed this way back in July, but the things I said back then still hold up today. The LEAN BACK, DROP BACK, FALL BACK vocals by B3NDU never fail to hype me the fuck up. I still occasionally get the vocals stuck in my head. Incredible way to start off an album. The Prototypes keep this momentum up very well in the following track, Shadow. At first you might think that this is more of a chilled followup to the intro. Then the piano comes in and the hype expectations rise, maybe expecting a fun Danny Byrd-esque track. But then, BAM, the massive drop hits you in your face and gets you moving with such an incredible ease that you instantly know: this is a Prototypes banger. A Protobanger maybe even. The bass melody of the drop might seem simple by itself but together with the arrangement around it it just gets you hooked like its nobody's business.

You will probably know this next one too. On Oxygen the duo takes a bit of a breather and takes us on a beautiful dancefloor ride. From the incredible intro with its stripped down version of the main melody in the background setting the atmosphere perfectly, to the chillingly beautiful vocal performance by Kudu Blue, to the explosion of magnificence that is the drop, this is a special one. Somehow they even managed to trump the first half of the track with the second half. Might just be a few slight variations here and there, but it just works so so so well for me. Okay, let's get back to the bangers.

To be specific, let's talk about Quantum. The quintessential, or should I say prototypical, Prototypes track. Space documentary sample? Check. Simple but effective melody that you can easily sing along to but also can't because you will run out of breath? Check. A sick switchup towards the end of the drop? Checkeroni. It's like an upgraded version of their first big hit Lights. Banger. Time for another switchup. Reason is one of the new tunes and brings us straight back into the realm of beautifulness. But unlike Oxygen, this one goes way further into liquid territory, with a bit of break chopping thrown in. Just like in High Contrast's latest oldschool break-age Rhythm Is Changing, this track features LOWES on the vocals. And my god, they really hit it out the park with their performance. That whole last minute of the track where it slowly becomes an acapella of just LOWES should make that abundantly clear, just amazing.

You want more switchups? Sure! How about we switch to something completely different this time? Something that isn't even dnb (gasp)? Introducing Paradise, the Prototypes' foray into Electro. Or Electro House, I really don't know genres outside dnb. For this experiment they got the lovely Elle Exxe on vocal duty, who you might know from Oliverse's Unspoken. While listening to this track you really get a new appreciation for the production skills of The Prototypes. Even in this "foreign" genre, they still manage to produce a banger of the highest calibre. The melodies throughout the track are just masterful, from the stunning melody in the buildup to the in-your-face drop. I'm definitely in Paradise while listening to it. For us dnb folks they even got Neurofunk legend Audio to do a remix of it, which I very much recommended.

Back. And forth. Move the track styles back and forth. In other words, it's time for a nice little uplifting track again. On Passion the duo once again flexes their talent for catchy uplifting dancefloor. With uncredited vocals by Kudu Blue's singer and their aforementioned musical skills, they crafted another great tune here. I'll skip talking about Electric and Rocket Guns Blazin', because they've been released for quite a long time and you guys should just know that they're incredible bangers by now.

Sandwiched between those two bangers we got Killer, a collaboration with 2Shy MC, their regular companion on live shows. For this track they have gone for more of a rocky neuro vibe, which 2Shy's vocals especially emphasize. Heavy stuff. Last but not least, we have the title track, Ten Thousand Feet & Rising. It is pretty much the calmest track of the album, which was much needed, considering the amount of bangers in a row we've just witnessed. Like a lot of their contemporaries, namely Sub Focus & Wilkinson, this one is more of a slower atmospheric breakbeat track, conveying the feeling of the album being over quite well.

All in all, I'm very happy with what we got in this second album. Incredible production, anthem after anthem, just great all around. My favorite has got to be Enter The Warrior, but Shadows and Reason are also very much up there. Fully recommended.

Other recommended Dancefloor-y things that happened this week:

Tantrum Desire - Bass In The Place
3FORCE, Scandroid - Abyss (Gancher & Ruin Remix)
Rameses B - This Is 2020
Deadline - Dreamer
Freaks & Geeks - Helter Skelter
Turno - DNA LP (i don't have a jump section, whoops)
Riddim Punks - London's Burning LP (still no jump up section)

2. Various Artists - Soul Music 2020 [Soulvent Records]

Recommended if you like: Soulful Drum and Bass

Compilation albums are great. You get a whole bunch of new music all at once, usually from all kinds of different producers ranging from people you have never heard of to some of the biggest names in the scene.

Usually they aren't as huge as this one though.

Soulvent Records just released their massive 31-track compilation Soul Music 2020. Yes, not 13 or 3.1, actually 31. That many tracks on any dnb label I kind of like would be amazing, but this on Soulvent is just a dream for me. The label founded by Pola from Pola & Bryson, amongst other people, is one of my favorite go-to's for soulful releases from lesser known producers. Just this year they had marvellous releases by Blacklab, In:Most, Siege MC, Mountain and Askel & Elere, some of which will easily end up in my top 100 of the year in December. Safe to say, I was excited.

Obviously I won't talk about all 31 tracks here. I'm not that crazy. For this I have selected my top 3 tracks on this massive release, in no particular order.

First off, we have an amazing contribution by Circumference called Midsommar. Circumference is a new duo consisting of Freshney, whose Bloom EP is probably one of my top 10 EPs of this year, and Kit Jones. 18 year old Freshney's solo work was already way too good for his age, but their work as Circumference seems to somehow take it yet another step further. Just listen to Midsommar, you'll get what I mean. The IMANU influences of course cannot be denied, but they repackaged all the building blocks into something more beautiful instead of the usual darker vibe IMANU goes for. With the help of a lot of strings and pianos, an amazing call and response and a second drop that changes the whole feel of it, they have created something that truly gives me chills. Easily one of my favorites this week. Just weird that they released it now, it's not even close to Midsummer. Learn to read a calendar smh.

Secondly I want to talk about Natus - Rhema. Natus is someone I just recently found out about thanks to his track Falling Up, but I wish I discovered him earlier. He's a up-and-comer from London with experience in classical music, and man, it shows. The easiest comparison would be Keeno, someone he actually shared a release on earlier this year, on the Med School: Graduation compilation. Every now and then Natus crafts a composition that is out of this world. Rhema is one of those. Prepare to be taken on a journey. And please stick around for at least 4 minutes and 30 seconds, trust me, you will not regret it.

Last but not least I want to mention Blacklab and their track Losing Touch. After their beautiful Violet EP in August my expectations for the american duo have skyrocketed. The good thing about these two is that they still manage to satisfy even the highest of the high expectations. Losing Touch is just a vibe and a half. With lovely vocals by Erin Goss and a sublime production they managed to create yet another track that just makes me drift away. Beautiful stuff.

Those were just three amazing tunes out of the whole 31-track strong release though. If any of this sounded interesting to you, please check the whole thing out, there's a lot of great stuff on it.

Other deep/dark/techy (liquid stuff comes next, don't worry) releases I would recommend:

The Caracal Project - Expresso (Tom Finster Remix) <3
DRS, L-Side - EAV
Sustance - Be Forgiven
GEST - Been Thru
Whiney, Parly B - Roll Out
Forbidden Society - Spectral / Hypno
CELO - Collider (Kidsonic Remix)

3. Winslow - Mumbles Of Grace / To Walk A Mile [Goldfat Records]

Recommended if you like: BOP, Subwave, Royalston

Sometimes perseverance pays off.

That's at least how I feel when I scroll through the amount of content the prolific US-based producer Winslow has amassed over time. Over years he has published articles, for example his Women In Drum And Bass article that I clearly remember being shared here, countless production videos and streams and just a lot of general DnB related content. Seriously, his YouTube channel is a real treasure trove. This year, however, it seems like he is really picking up steam. Multiple UKF uploads, two Goldfat releases, the incredibly unique Home Alone EP on CODE Recordings, a remix for Degs on Hospital and he's also part of the Soul Music 2020 release! Slow and steady wins the race sometimes. I guess that's why he's called Win-slow and not Win-quick.

His latest double single Mumbles Of Grace / To Walk A Mile was released on Goldfat Records. The liquid-focused label was founded by Mitekiss back in 2015. While it was at first just an outlet for his own productions, he soon enough included other producers onto the label's roster. Just in this year they had releases by Easy & Geeks, pyxis and PRSPKTV that I all rate very highly. Mr Kettle has joined in on the fun too. And before you ask, no, I don't know why he's the kettle boy/man/master, but everyone keeps calling him that so I thought I'd try to blend in. I'm just jumping on the bandwagon here.

The first of two tracks on the release is Mumbles Of Grace. In short: The chillest of the chill vibes. Okay long version now. It starts off with a simple but catchy loop that sounds like something straight of a chill street cafe. Soon enough a piano and some strings join in and progressively build the track up into something beautiful. Even the vocal sample adds to the whole vibe of it. Apparently it's just him trying out his new voice recorder app and asking his girlfriend to say something, to which she responds with "uhh". Incredible, I know. Works really well for some reason though. Throughout the track the "simple but catchy loop" increases in power until it explodes magnificently in the second half of the track. Seriously, that second part is a piece of art.

The second track is To Walk A Mile. In his own words, this is the dark side of the EP. Reflective of the mood he was and is feeling during all of the chaos that is going on in the world this year, which becomes a bit more obvious when you begin to focus on all the little news clip samples he worked into the track. On this track he also went more into the jazzy direction, with saxophones and lush pianos setting the mood. I also like the drums.

All in all, go check it out. Especially the title track.

Other liquid releases I would recommend:

Telomic, Emily Makis - Dayfall
Cyantific - Farewell, Shadow
Hugh Hardie - Learning To Fly EP
ALB - Breathing Space (Edit)

4. Hidden Gems

Recommended if you like: The Sound Of The Underground

I overdid it a bit this week, not going to lie. So to compensate I have to cut short this part of the reviews. I couldn't decide between the Septabeat and the Forum EP anyway.

My Hidden Gems this week:

Septabeat, Sofi Mari - Sundance EP (really fun!)
Forum - Don't Play EP
Deformaty - Mass Murder is a Lazy Man's X Factor (what a name)
Undefined - Regrets / How Many Ways
Arxiva - Apocryph / Nomads
Paranoiac Del - Radio EP