Picks Of The Week (01.08.20

This week I want to do something slightly different than usual. Instead of picking three big releases and shining the spotlight on one smaller producer, I want to talk about multiple smaller releases. Yep, this is a Spotlight Special™.

But first, I want to mention some of the bigger releases, just to keep you guys up to date.

1. Quick Overview over the important stuff

Recommended if you like: Staying Up To Date With The Popular Stuff

First off, we have a new single for the mega project that is the Sub Focus x Wilkinson album: Air I Breathe. As expected by the two giants the new single has all it takes to be a hit at festivals: great mixdown, catchy vocals by Clementine Douglas, who you might recognize from Desire, Renaissance or Oxygen, and great melodies. Not the usual festival banger, but rather something to drop towards the end of a set. Speaking of festival bangers, Phibes' remix of Beat Assassin's Home Grown would probably get rinsed from front to back if festivals were actually (properly) happening. Thanks to the immeasurable hype the remix has received over time, the duo even reached the #1 spot on the global Beatport charts. 100% deserved.

This week also saw the release of MUZZ's final single of his debut album The Promised Land. On The Warehouse he takes a slightly different route than his usual more dancefloor oriented and rock-influenced style, evoking memories of Camo & Krooked's Witchdoctor. We also got a new entry in the Linked series by german wizard Phace. In this new installment of his series of collaborations across the scene he recruited italian producer Was A Be. If unique dnb is your thing, this release will make you happy. Speaking of, this week we also got a new gyrofield release. Once part of the spotlight series on here, the Hong Kong-ian 17yo talent has just completely blown up over the last months. Her newest release is the soothing Because You Are You on Pilot Records, UKF's sister label. Since it just fits so well I'm just going to directly quote Drum and Bass Arena here: "Music to hug your loved ones to". Couldn't agree more.

2. BorkerBrothers - Panic Room [Hanzom Music]

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

Let me introduce you to the two german brothers BorkerBrothers! Wait, you already know them? Oh right, we talked about them just a few weeks ago. Huh.

In case you didn't read every one of our threads (in which case I question how much of a real fan you really are), let me recap real quick: The BorkerBrothers are a duo of brothers that is very active in the area around Münster, Germany, from hosting regular local events to more spread out bigger ones. A few weeks ago they also had a really good release on Neonlight's Diascope. Apparently they weren't satisfied with that though because they immediatelly got another EP out, this time on Cologne-based Hanzom Music. Founded in early 2019, they have quickly established themselves as one of my favorite labels for the more deep and neuro focused dnb. Their latest releases by the likes of Razlom, Art1fact, Jestah, Smeerlapp and Hybert Philipps have all been excellent and I urge you to check them all out. Definitely a label to watch.

Right. Back to the newest Hanzom release: The Panic Room EP by BorkerBrothers. This is actually my favorite release by them, by far. I like every single track. The leading single ID is incredible. The slow buildup combined with the incredible, polically-charged vocal performance by BLKJuzo and the great variations all over the drop(s) come together to create an athmosphere that just completely envelopes you. Watching the music video is highly recommended. Perception is more dancefloor-oriented, pushing you forward with its steady, heavy rhythm reminiscent of their Diascope release. The collab with fellow german producer Smeerlapp "No Way Out" is probably the heaviest of the release. The brothers end the release on a high note with the vocal-driven Never Let You Down, a collab with Niila. Beautiful vocals with a banging drop, what else could I ask for?

3. Blacklab - Violet [Soulvent Records]

Recommended if you like: In:Most, Pola & Bryson, Alix Perez

The next entry in our underrated releases showcase is coming from Las Vegas duo Blacklab! They are already more established than BorkerBrothers for example, but still deserve more praise than they're getting in my opinion.

This latest EP was released on the excellent Soulvent Records, Pola & Bryson's label specialising in the soulful sound the label founders are known for. They usually aim to shine a spotlight on promising upcoming producers and vocalists. With this EP they've added another great release to their list of signings.

Blacklab have been active as producers since circa 2014 and have achieved releases on multiple bigger labels like Delta9, Skankandbass, Viper and, of course, Soulvent. Their usual sound can be described as soulful liquid, with the occasional excursion into deeper territories, which is exactly why they're such a good fit for Soulvent.

Early Birds is such a vibe that I cannot even find the words to describe it. Great vocals, lovely instrumentals, just perfect. The vibes aren't over after the first track yet though. No, no. Violet continues the absolutely stunning atmosphere of the first track. Some of the loveliest liquid tracks I've heard lately. Columbia is the part of the EP where the duo show us their darker and heavier side with some tribal drums, served along with a lot of heavy bass and a lovely piano on top. Unreal is kind of a combination of the previous tracks, deep and heavy atmospheric bass with a healthy dose of liquid. They actually took the liquid part pretty literally. As in, you can hear water drops throughout the track. Heh. All in all very Alix Perez or 1985-y.

Hugely recommended!

4. Kin:etic - Changes EP [SINE Audio]

Recommended if you like: Alix Perez, Invadhertz

I know, I know, this one was technically released on the 24th July, but since I'm usually only listening via Spotify and it was a Beatport exclusive for two weeks I missed this one on its original release date. I know, shame on me. It's still worth talking about thought.

UK-based Kin:etic is one of the most promising newcomers in his subgenre and is hugely underrated, at least in my humble opinion. He has only started releasing tracks in 2019 and has now already delivered such a high level of quality that it would just be foolish to disregard him. Before this EP he only had one deeper double single on Incurzion Audio and a single on the SINE Audio compilation A SINE OF RELIEF, which makes this his first "full-length" EP.

The home of this "debut" EP, SINE Audio, has been on my radar for a bit now. SINE started as an event series in 2015. Ever since they made the jump from "just" hosting events to a full-fledged label, they've impressed me with their releases. Their first release, Invadhertz's Never Let You Down / Cold Fluid immediately established them in my head as a label to look out for. Let's just say if you like deep dnb, you will like SINE Audio. Whether it's releases by Nemy, AFR or Xolyx, there's a lot of quality to be found in the upcoming label's small catalogue. This year also saw the release of the first label compilation A SINE OF RELIEF, featuring the likes of Mark Dinimal, Waeys, Trex or Wingz, with all proceeds going to charity. The pun in the name makes me like them even more.

Kin:etic's new EP is a very good representation of the deep liquid side of the label. The EP opener Closer immediately makes me want to draw comparisons with Alix Perez (for the second time today). Lots and lots of vibes. The title track Changes with Duskee, fresh of the heels of his collaboration with K Motionz Hack It, is a textbook piano-driven soul soother. So Blue is probably the most soulful track of the release, all the melodies working together with the lovely vocals interspersed here and there just create an atmosphere to die for. The final track, Feelings Mutual, showcases the newcomer's heavier side a bit, while still remaining firmly in the deeper areas of the genre.

A very very lovely release.

5. Cutworx - Zen Champ EP [ProgRAM]

Recommended if you like: Data 3, Bladerunner, maybe Syran?

Time for some more techy stuff!

Cutworx is a Moscow based producer that definitely doesn't fit in the newcomer category anymore, since he already started producing in 2004. Or at least I think so. The only real reference I can find for that spells his name with a ks instead of an x, so I'm not sure if it's the same person. In any case, the Moscow part is true. I hope. He definitely has a few releases to his name on labels like Celsius Recordings, Occulti Music and Kos.Mos.Music.

Anyways.

This latest Zen Champ EP of his was released on the RAM Records offshoot label ProgRAM. The title track already shows us what we can expect from this EP. Fast, flying drums with various glitchy sound effects and vocals thrown in, which when combined create a very interesting dnb experience. While Sides explores more of the glitchy chaos, the final track Rvanina takes us into a deeper direction. The heavy emphasis on the growling bassline that keeps increasing and decreasing in power makes this a very unique way to finish off a quite unique EP.

And that concludes our first spotlight special. I hope you liked it and maybe found some new releases you didn't know about before. If not, then I hope that it was at least kinda interesting to read. If not, well, too bad.