Picks Of The Week (06.06.20

1. Merikan - Witchhunter EP [Blackout Music]

Recommended if you like: IHR, Gancher & Ruin, Despersion, Merikan - Absolute Zero

Have you ever wanted to bang your head against a wall while listening to neurofunk? If not, you might want to get to safety, because it's going to get wild. If you've heard of him, you will know that Merikan is one of the maddest producers out there. He's producing exactly the kind of crazy neuro I love. So I might be a bit biased, but I don't care. I'll say it. This might the best EP of the year for me. Warning: Lots of fanboying below.

Right from the start the Italian Maniac hits us straight in the face with the title track Witch Hunter. The long buildup paired with the massive drop gives me goosebumps Every. Single. Time. But the madness isn't even close to being over. Haha. Merikan follows this destruction up with the similarly in-your-face Evideon, which probably means ABSOLUTE MADNESS in Italian. If it doesn't, the meaning should just be changed now. With Pitbull Merikan changes directions to the more atmospheric parts of the neurofunk subgenre, allowing us all to catch a breath for a second. If you know what's coming next you'll understand why such a breather is needed. The final track, Black Antilope, is my favorite track of the EP. Relentless is an understatement. The drop just keeps on going. And going. And going. Absolute chaos. If someone plays this in a club you'll probably hear me screaming in the background somewhere.

If this was the only release this week, I'd still be happy.

P.S: I feel like I always do this, but please check out the Blackout Podcast Merikan did last week. If you liked the EP, you will love the podcast too.

2. Zombie Cats, SubMarine, The Clamps - Gods & Monsters Remixed EP [Major League DnB]

Recommended if you like: Neonlight, Grey Code, Volatile Cycle, AKOV

While I'm still in fanboy mode, let's talk about the Zombie Cats!

The german-australian duo (shoutout to the Niedersachsen gang) have always been a bit of a favorite of mine, but recently they've kicked it up yet another notch. Last year they rebranded their image and sound from their neuro-heavy Eatbrain-y sound to one that is more open to other genres and influences, starting with Last Day. From releases on Viper, Galacy, ProgRAM and their own Zombie Cats label to all the livestream sets they've had, it's safe to say they've been on a roll ever since.

For this release they've decided to revisit an old classic EP of theirs, the Gods & Monsters EP on Major League. They've recruited the french mastermind The Clamps, german technical wizard SubMarine and even themselves for a cheeky VIP. As expected by the lineup, they delivered. Hard. The Clamps's remix of No God grabbed the classic, which by the way probably has the best vocal sample ever, by its core and twisted and turned it around until a whole new pure banger emerged. SubMarine understood the new Zombie Cats sound (especially Always and Did You Know) so well that his remix of NRG almost sounds like a brand new track by the undead felines. I urge you to stay around for the switchup in that track, you won't regret it. The EP finishes strong with the Zombie Cats own techy-but-still-neuro rework of their collab with Safra RA, making me wish this remix EP was longer.

It has been an absolute pleasure to watch the Zombie Cats innovate again and again. I can't wait for what else they have in store in 2020. Which might be more than you think. Like that [REDACTED] for example.

3. Harriet Jaxxon - The Sound [Drum&Bass Arena]

Recommended if you like: DC Breaks, Mob Tactics, Tantrum Desire

Okay okay, I'll slow down a bit on the fanboying. For now.

I was thinking of putting this production debut of Harriet Jaxxon into the Hidden Gem section, but that probably would have undercut her long history in the scene and her contributions to it.

Like many others before her, Harriet cut her teeth in the scene with DJing. While she was still studying music tech courses at college, she got into contact with DnB and Dubstep event promoters and quickly became one of the DJs playing at said events. After many detours into various other genres and styles, like House or UK Garage, it was a gig right before Shy FX that got her back into intoxicating vibes of DnB. After a while of uploading mixes online, RAM Records got in touch and she became a staple at various RAM events. This quickly spiralled into more and bigger appearances at festivals like Rampage or at Andy C's infamous XOYO residency in 2019.

After all this time immersing herself in the dancefloors all over the continent, she finally decided to join in on the fun of production too. And boy does her experience show in that debut. If I was listening to it blindly and you would have told me it's the newest club banger by DC Breaks, I would have believed you. Pretty much right from the start, she's playing with the big leagues. Which isn't necessarily surprising considering her amassed experience in the scene, but is still just a nice thing to see. It really feels like she has put a lot of thought and hard work into it. One of the most polished debuts I've had the pleasure of covering here.

If this first release is anything to go by, this won't be the last time you hear from her here.

4. Shapeless - Dreaming EP [Differential]

Recommended if you like: Leniz, Dustkey, SiLi

Do you like liquid? Yes? You'll probably like Differential.

Differential is a relatively new dutch liquid-focused label that has a consistency in its releases that other, bigger labels can and should be jealous of. Let's quickly go back in time to 2018, the founding year of the label. Unsatisfied with the dutch liquid landscape, a group of friends came together and set out to create a party series for the soulful liquid sound they all shared a love for, which quickly escalated to them creating what is now Differential. Okay we're back. Told you it was going to be quick.

The newest release of this great ensemble features the up-and-coming dutch producer Shapeless. After two contributions to High Tea Music compilations and a collaboration on the Affinity compilation EP on Differential, it is now finally time for a full solo release by him. I think I might have exhausted the amount I can write for this week's releases on the other posts. Just listen to this one. It's really great soulful liquid that, as the title suggests, just puts you in a dream-like state if you let it. That's why it is this week's Spotlight of The Week™!

Runner-ups for this weeks hidden gem:

Janosh - Diamant [PLAY! Music] | great uplifting dancefloor from Germany!
goddard. - Player. [DnB Allstars] | unique deep sounds
Moytra - Incurzion Optics 002 [Incurzion Audio] | weird, weird sounds. great stuff.