Picks Of The Week (18.07.20

1. Spor - Anachronic EP [Sotto Voce Records]

Recommended if you like: No one does it quite like him (or maybe Noisia)

Guess who's back? Back again? Tell your friends? It's me! Oh yeah, Spor too. You heard that right. We actually got a new Spor release. In 2020. No, you're not dreaming. No, it's not a different person that is named Spor too. Or just a weird one-off single. It's actually Spor, aka FeedMe, with a full-blown 6 track EP.

Okay maybe we are all dreaming. But let's just enjoy it while it lasts.

Anachronic is Spor's first full release since 2016's Black Eyed EP. However, he did not just use that time to expand his horizons as FeedMe, he also put a lot of effort into making his return as glorious as possible. Two weeks ago, he premiered the visual journey he created himself just for Anachronic On UKF's Hypervision stream. Full of cyberpunk-inspired HUD overlays and anime robots or martial arts masters fighting against each other. This may sound random without context, but trust me, it fits the atmosphere of the EP perfectly. Highly recommended.

As expected from the master himself, Spor's new EP features some of the most interesting and addictive drums I've heard all year. Whether it's the intro tune In Rixa, the super funky Beam Cannon, the title track Anachronic or the epic martial arts inspired Your Mind Is Like This Water, Spor's unconventional drum patterns will keep you hooked. In a direct comparison, Cohesion is a way more straight-forward track. Don't let that fool you though, the track is still slammin'. The switchup halfway through the drop gets me EVERY TIME. For the final track, Jonathan Gooch went the extra mile one more time and got none other than himself as the vocalist on Count My Blessings, which is a bit more soft than you'd expect from Spor. If you like Darkest Hours (like me), you will probably like this one though.

2. NCT - Astrophysical LP [Liquicity Records]

Recommended if you like: Polygon, T & Sugah, Maduk

Let's get some good vibes going in here.

Even though Liquicity (the label) was founded in 2013 and released probably hundreds of tracks at this point, you couldn't find a full solo artist album on there. Until last Friday, that is. And who would be better suited for this label milestone than Liquicity and High Tea Music veterans NCT! Yeah okay okay, Maduk would probably also be quite fitting, but NCT definitely works too.

First off: yes, NCT doesn't just consist of their namesake Jeroen Nai Chung Tong, who you might also know as the one with the glorious hair, his DJ partner Alexander Witschge is also part of the group. Okay got that out of the way I hope.

The dutch duo mostly known for their uplifting vocal-driven dancefloor sound started their album promotion work around 8 months ago with their first single and title track Astrophysical. What a great way to kick off an LP this track is. The Ariana Grande-esque vocals provided by Skyelle, the uplifting yet highly energetic drop, the way the vocals come back into the drop, ahhhhhhh. I love it. Actually one of my favorite tracks by them. It sets the vibe perfectly. We continue with Now Or Never, this time with vocals by the vocalist of a local band, MONTBLANK. Compared to Astrophysical we have now definitely crossed over to more of a chill atmosphere, while still retaining the danceability and upliftingness of it all. Dancing In The Rain takes one more step in that direction by not even being in the dnb tempo at all. I can clearly imagine myself dancing to this tune in the rain at Liquicity Festival. The next track, a collab with Viper Recordings founder Futurebound called The Feeling, never fails to put a smile on my face. Makes me feel all the feelings. This is followed up by the final single, Afterlife. If you liked Astrophysical, you will probably also like Afterlife. If you love Astrophysical as much as I do, you will probably eat Afterlife up. Even while I'm writing this I just want to dance. Lost & Found and Before I Go are more beautiful in the melancholic sense. The vocals on the former just make me feel like I'm listening to a somber track by an Indie band. The Outsider's collab Overcome is one of the most interesting tracks of the album, fusing drum and bass with a kind of minimal future bass with some techy goodness thrown in for the second drop. Remember MONTBLANK from Now Or Never from a few sentences ago? They're back on New Horizon! Featuring some very lovely guitars and strings. Just beautiful. We still have one more track to go though and NCT decided they want to go out with a bang. Of course I'm talking about Electrify, the collab with fellow dutch duo T & Sugah. As expected, it's massive. Can't wait to hear that one live.

All in all, I'm a massive fan.

3. Arkaik - Fade Determined LP [Flexout Audio]

Recommended if you like: Ill Truth, Survey, Sustance

Want to feel like your headphones or sound system are simply inadequate? I've got just the right album for you!

Just like Liquicity, London-based Flexout Audio had lots and lots of releases, but never featured a full-length solo artist album. This also changed last Friday with Arkaik's Fade Determined LP! Both albums are the same length too. Huh.

Since they were founded way back in 2011, Flexout Audio has easily become one of the best sources for quality deep drum and bass. They've always been great but they've definitely had a killer 2020 too. Great releases by Data 3, Subtension, Klinical, GROUND and more! Now, another entry in their series of great releases: Arkaik's debut album!

The Farnhamian (before you google it: near London) producer slowly eases us into the atmosphere with the intro track It's Raining In My Mind. Which is actually needed, because what follows is an album that goes deeper than anything I've covered here yet. It's one of those albums that make you sad you cannot experience them live (yet). Hearing The Chair, Ten Four, Can't Stop or Addict on a big system would probably blow me away. Arkaik really pulled out all the deepest wubs he could find for this one. For Radiator Funk I'm pretty sure he actually just turned on his Radiator, sampled the noises it makes and somehow made it danceable. What this album also showed me is that Arkaik seems to work pretty well with other producers, all three collaborations on this album are top notch. Whether it's RD2101 with Skylark, The Upsidedown with Coma, or Stroboscope with Creatures, they are all quite different while still being distinctly Arkaik tunes. Turn your subwoofer up for this one.

4. BorkerBrothers - This World / Kaleidoscope [Diascope]

Recommended if you like: PRFCT Mandem, Ripple, Data 3

It's time for this week's Release That Flew Under The Radar™! Last week I was visiting people in Münster, Germany. As fate would have it, a few days later the BorkerBrothers, a local producer duo based in Münster, pops up on my releases list!

BorkerBrothers are, as you might have guessed from the name, brothers. They have worked hard to strengthen the small but loyal DnB scene in Münster, from their regularly hosted High Voltage event series to the huge Sub Union event, bringing the local dnb scene together, with a few international artists like Benny Page thrown into the mix. After releases on Lifestyle and Cologne-based Hanzom Music, they have now also joined Neonlight's Diascope label with the double single This World / Kaleidoscope.

As expected on Diascope, both tracks are just excellent. Parts PRFCT Mandem, parts Data 3 with a dash of Ripple. Which apparently makes for a great combination. If any of this sounds interesting to you, give them a listen! And check out their Testament EP with Smeerlapp, good stuff.

Other Hidden Gems this week:

Halflight - Out Of Love [Device]
Mindloader - Deadline / Hollow [Detached Audio]
Xenon - Raving In Kreuzberg EP [Off-License Records]
Grim Hellhound - Synthetic Sunrise / Paranoia [Huski Records]