Picks Of The Week (16.05.20

1. Disphonia, AKOV, MISSIN, Cod3x, Screamarts - Evolutions Vol. 8 [Blackout Music]

Recommended if you like: Black Sun Empire, Mizo, Synergy, Zombie Cats

Following last week's newcomer spotlight by RAM, this week has brought us a similar compilation by none other than the dutchies over at Blackout! The Evolution Series has previously featured the likes of Merikan, Synergy (before they were called that), Gydra, Zombie Cats and also hosted the absolutely massive Bass Symptom by Mr Frenkie, a tune that has become an integral part of tons and tons of neurofunk sets over the last few years. This 8th installment starts with what is probably my favorite of the week, Disphonia's Can't Hold Back. A track title that describes exactly what happens to me whenever I hear that track. This energy is kept up by AKOV in The Hunt, in which he himself steps up to the mic to bring forward his dislike for the wealthy. After that the EP turns a bit to the techy side with MISSIN's Confusing Fields before taking a left turn to the Cod3x's cheeky stepper Roll Up and finally doing a 180 into Screamart's experimental The Breach, which features some of the most interesting sound design of the release.

P.S.: If you like high-energy dnb as much as I do, I strongly urge you to listen to this month's Blackout Podcast by Disphonia. You will not regret it.

2. Dossa & Locuzzed, A.M.C & Turno, Millbrook - Resonate, The Remixes Pt. 1 [Viper Recordings]

Recommended if you like: Annix, TC, Ripple, Camo & Krooked

You know what we probably all need the most right now? More versions of Shag! After the original, the VIP and probably thousands of bootlegs, Dossa & Locuzzed hired serial collaborators A.M.C and Turno to give it one more spin. And boy did they deliver. Even though the basic premise of the tune has been kept, you can definitely taste their signature style. If you've never heard of Shag before you might even think it was an A.M.C and Turno original. But that's not all. The certified Funk Masters are not just doing endless variations on Shag, no, they have a whole remix album in their pipeline! Just like Mefjus, Camo & Krooked and lots of others before them, they plan to release remixes of their debut album Resonate over the next few months. And if this first batch is any indication, it will be huge. They even organised an open remix competition for Get Nasty, for the producers reading this. Back to the release now though. The second remix of this first remix packages has been provided by Viper shooting star Millbrook. With his trademark bass he brings new flavor to the vocal-driven anthem that fits Dossa & Locuzzed's usual sound so well that I hope they do more collaborations in the future. But more remixes are okay with me too. Fun fact: The accompanying music video was actually shot by Millbrook himself! Talented guy.

3. Turno - Tech-no [Time Is Now]

Recommended if you like: Fre4knc, T > I, Jam Thieves, Tech House

You ever wanted to hear Turno try Tech House? No? Ah well, too bad. I'm still going to talk about it though. For the fifth single of his forthcoming album DNA, Turno intended to do something different than the usual Jump Up Banger that we know him for. What has apparently started as a pure Tech House track has now morphed into the dnb and tech house hybrid Tech-no. But this one's not just tune that had a bpm change tacked on. Both parts are structured and executed so well that it actually sounds like two tunes perfectly mixed together. In other words: This one's getting a Tech-yes from me.

Just a quick side note: Tunes with a bpm change are usually pretty rare but for some reason there were at least three bigger ones just this week. This one, Kursiva's I Don't Care and Screamarts's The Breach. I'm not sure why everyone decided to release those at the same time, but I'm here for it.

4. Nami - Data One [Data Music]

Recommended if you like: OaT, Wingz, Waeys, Deep DnB in general

What? It's time already? For the Spotlight Of The Week™? Lets go then! But first, a bit of backstory. Like their label colleagues High Tea or Korsakov, Data Music started as a humble monthly drum and bass event. The Moscow-based event series was first held in 2018 and has since then quickly gained traction in the local scene. After a while the organisers wanted to expand their brand even further and decided to launch music as well. And this is their first release! For this debut they choose regular performer at Data events and fellow countryman Nami. As the beautifully ominous album art might foreshadow, this one's going to take us into the deeper regions of the genre. While EP opener Data One and EP closer Correr build the atmosphere, the tracks inbetween, namely Ping, Strobspots and Unspoken, showcase the pure rawness of the sound that Nami has crafted. Data Music and Nami have both proven itself to be ones to watch for sure.

Since I had a really hard time to choose a hidden gem this week, I thought I'd just give a quick shout-out to the runner-ups:

Sili - Whatever It Takes
Heymac - Night Garden (shoutout /u/heymacmusic)
Yerite - Gravitation