Picks Of The Week (13.11.21

1. V O E - Chemical EP [Viper Recordings]

Recommended if you like: Koven, MUZZ, Zardonic

Are you surprised? I'm not.

I'm the first to admit that I have what doctors would probably call an unhealthy obsession with V O E's music. Allow me to bring forth some evidence for this claim: One, two, three, four reviews, all chock-full of me fanboying over them. I swear it's not my fault though. Ever since Tom Calvett, aka Tevlo, and Caroline Tucker, aka CARZi, decided to join forces in 2018, they have been at the top of their game. After two years of an unbroken hot streak of bangers on M4SONIC's label Global League, other labels around the world finally realised what they were missing out on. In an extremely short amount of time, the duo from Adelaide, Australia spread their musical goodness across labels like Blackout, Liquicity and ProtoCode, winning both third place in Black Sun Empire's recent Driving Insane remix competition with one of the biggest remixes of this year and Track And Build 2.0's competition with their anthem Giants, before eventually exclusively signing to Futurebound's Viper Recordings earlier this year. Not to mention, they have so many amazing tunes hidden away that they could probably dump an insane 30-track album out of nowhere and would still have enough tunes to keep their normal release schedule going.

Before I get to their first full EP since their Viper signing, the Chemical EP, let me tell you some more fun facts about Tom though. Even after four reviews, I managed to miss some crucial details about Tom's musical background and I feel the absolute need to share them here now, because nobody else would ever listen to me nerd on about this. Did you know, that Tom didn't just produce electronic music under the Tevlo alias, but was also part of a few electronic metal bands? First, he was part of Basstronauts, a band that I literally can't find anything about anymore except that they existed in 2014, then he formed Fugue State around 2017, with him as the lead singer. Also, Caroline and Tom first met in 2016! I knew about the whole story of how they met, but I never really found the actual date before my deep dive this morning, so, safe to say, I am quite excited. Enough of that, let's go on to the music!

This masterpiece of an EP starts off with the title track, Chemical. Right from the get-go, you know this release is gonna be an emotional one. We open to a heavily reverberated Caroline recounting the feelings of grief and confusion one goes through while caring for a loved one whose life has an expiry date, inspired by events and emotions in her own life. Even if you don't know any of that, you can simply feel the pain in her angelic vocals, especially as the song goes further along. In a beautiful real-world parallel, she is still keeping it together for most of it, but the pain just bursts through in some moments.

The grandiose instrumental does a masterful job in enhancing exactly this vibe. First we start with the most minimal, yet most emotionally charged echoey piano, but the more Caroline lays her soul bare with each sentence, the more large-scale does the instrumental become. Powerful Scottish drums, strings that will make you melt in your seat, trumpets, it really is a whole orchestra at one point. One by one, the "organic" arrangement is phased out and replaced by electronic counterparts, as Caroline's voice is modulated down a few octaves into a deeper, almost alien sound. This tension is broken up by her normal voice returning, breaking through this barrier and ushering in the first powerful drop whose bouncy, bassy beat will get you movin'. Halfway through this, Caroline's emotionally charged hook returns, alongside a multitude of other melodic elements, for the emotional climax of this first half.

For the second half the duo increases the scale even further by incorporating a half-time, almost Electro, section into the drop, right before bursting back into the full-speed vocal action. Saying it's one hell of a both memorable and heartbreaking ride is still underselling it, really.

We continue our exploration of the unpleasant emotions with Fight You. This time said inner turbulences aren't caused by a loved one, but by someone the protagonist would rather never think of again. It's about a toxic relationship that the protagonist just can't manage to get out of. Even after "four months of straight silence", they eventually return to them just to ask themselves "What am I doing here, why do I waste my time". I know it's kind of implied with these two talented buggers at this point, but my god, they absolutely nailed the emotions in this one. Not only is Caroline at the top of her game with her vocals here, everything about the instrumental just fits perfectly too. The way the arrangement changes from the minimalistic, string-based atmosphere to the punchy, keytar-lead "downward spiral of doom" that culminates in the exceptionally heavy drop is just perfect. I can feel the regret seeping through in every single part of the track.

After giving Tom's keytar skills even more of a spotlight during the drop, Caroline's vocals come back just a tiny bit later to really underline how much of this dangerous cocktail of emotions she is portraying here is filled up with anger. To quote the lyrics, she really is screaming out the poison here. With one final hard-hitting half-time section the duo ends this burst of energy. Just wow, man.

We've got one more stop on our emotional rollercoaster. Well, technically three, but we'll get to that. First, let's talk about Enemies. Just like most of V O E's music, this is a deeply personal one. It is about the hardships of long-distance relationships in the current pandemic age, and the emotional fallout that comes from a blossoming connection whose life was cut too short due to the restrictions regarding international travel. Right as the wound was still fresh, Caroline tearfully wrote and recorded a vocal, which was then turned into a full-on melancholic dancefloor banger in that very same night by Tom. At 4AM, i.e. two hours after Caroline's message, the first version was done. I wish I also had a Tom that could weaponize my life events into DnB bangers.

Anyway. As you might expect from this backstory, Enemies is less of a in-your-face banger than usual. It focuses more on the "dance the tears away" aspect of the V O E spectrum, with a synth lead that is so catchy it will haunt you in your dreams and probably the most straight-forward dancefloor arrangement of the EP. That might sound simple, but trust me, it's effective. Even after nearly 100 listens (not even a hyperbole, I just checked my stats and I'm very close to it), I still belt out Let's put up our walls at every single listen.

That leaves us with two more tracks: Take What You Want and Come This Far. You've heard me rave on and on about these two a few months ago already, so I'll keep it short. I just want to say that Take What You Want hits even harder if you listen to the whole EP front-to-back. I honestly didn't know that would be possible. Having Come This Far soothe us with its wild Neurofunk percussions at the very end of the EP also strangely makes sense.

What can I even say anymore. This is the best EP ever, there, I said it. At least in my opinion of course. It's simply incredible how well these two can convey all these very raw emotions through their music. It's a quality I value very much in my music, so I feel extremely blessed to have someone in our scene who can do it this well, and with these ridiculously high production standards too. V O E are the future of Dancefloor and Neurofunk.

Other dancefloor things from this week:

Metrik - Utopia
Pendulum - Nothing For Free (Kove Remix)
CLIQUES. - Anaconda
I.C.U, Hybrid Theory, Nehanda - Burn / Sick 💎
Shining - IDGAF (Zardonic Remix)
Ruzer - Hope We Can Be Friends / Tacet Mortem
Various Artists - Riot EP
MEWONE! - Breathe

2. Нейромонах Феофан — Древнерусский рейв LP [Нейромонах Феофан]

Recommended if you like: Magnetude, Russian Jump Up Mafia, Receptor

Don't worry, you didn't accidentally turn your browser settings to Russian.

In a week that is bursting with incredible releases, I thought it would be nice to shine a spotlight on something that might usually be overlooked otherwise, at least in the usual DnB spheres. Introducing: Neuromonakh Feofan's brand new 8-track album Ancient (Russian) Rave (thanks Google Translate)! Let's talk about the artist themselves first though, I feel like you've got a multitude of questions. I'm not sure I'll have enough answers, but I'll try my best.

While on one of their forest walks, way back in 2009, band members Feofan and Nikodim thought of the idea of working together on a combination of genres unlike any other: Drum and Bass and Russian Folk. After a bit of bedroom producing, they actually formed a full band, together with The Bear: Neuromonakh feofan ("monakh" meaning "Monk"). Oh yeah, did I not mention that one of the members performs dressed as a bear? With the formation of the full band they also decided to fully lean into the old Russian spectacle of it all: The other (non-bear) members perform on stage wearing bast shoes, kosovorotkas and sarafans, the lead singer remains mysteriously anonymous, covering his face with a big Eastern Orthodox-style hood, and there's all sorts of spectacular things happening on stage at all times. Did I mention the bear?

This isn't just an aspect of their relatively recent live shows though, they have always worked all kinds of traditional Russian and/or Slavic things into their music. Whether it's their use of the Balalaika as their main instrument or the fact their lyrics are always full of old Russian words and even contain some Church Slavonic, all of it enhances the vibe they're going for. When you combine all this with some unflinchingly banging DnB as its backbone, you end up with an extremely unique and simply fun experience. After their 2015 debut album, which can be translated as "Drum in the Soul, Bright Rus' in the Heart", reached the Russian iTunes top 10, the band not only went on to win the Yandex "Russian Independent Performer of the Year" award, they also started touring all over the country! Even after countless EPs and a few albums, some of them even including live-in-concert albums, it seems like Neuromonakh Feofan are not slowing down one bit. In fact, this week saw the release of their newest creation: The Древнерусский рейв LP, produced in collaboration with none other than Magnetude!

The 8-tracker starts off with the title track Древнерусский рейв, which should wake up anyone in less than 10 seconds. Seriously, after 8 seconds it immediately launches into a Hardcore barrage, before slowing down a bit and letting Feofan showcase his signature vocals. Yep, this track is a bit harder than the usual Feofan-fanfare. Yep, it's still absolutely sick. While I definitely enjoy the 4x4 assault, my favourite part still has got to be the last drop, where the band goes into more classically syncopated Neurofunk rhythms. Next up, we venture out into Heavy Metal-inspired territory with Небо ("Sky" or "Heaven"). Sick melodies on heavy electronic guitars, exceptionally epic chanting by Feofan and the band (seriously, those give me chills every time) and an ever-changing rhythm that smoothly swings back and forth between half-time and full-speed DnB all keep things fresh throughout. One of my favourites of the album, just for the sheer epicness.

Neuromonakh Feofan follows this up with a more emotional journey vibe on До берегу ("To the shore"). While I obviously can't understand anything, the tone and production of it all makes me feel like it's an old tale about the Man And The Sea. Not only do the beautiful background choirs evoke this feeling of grandness, the instrumental is also more-than-ever focused on melody it seems. Every bass hit feels like a huge wave crashing up "to the shore". Beautiful stuff. However, after this more emotional tale, it's now time to party! While Дуб ("Oak") might start out with a slow jamming of the balalaika and accordion, after an initial chant from Feofan, the instrumental quickly speeds up to the usual speed. Once it hits 174, we are immediately greeted by a choir of men singing their hearts out. Even the drop is turning the fun dial way up by going for a straight-up Jump Up vibe. Definitely the most fun track of the LP, and probably the closest I'll ever be to a night out in a Russian pub.

After this night of partying, we need to calm down a little. Luckily, the next track on the album, Три заветных лепестка ("Three cherished petals"), fits that vibe perfectly. Beautiful melodies, from both Feofan and Magnetude, all around. In fact, this is probably the most chill tune I've ever seen Magnetude produce. Very very lovely! Enough of that though, let's go pedal to the metal again, on Мир бывает злой ("The world can be an evil place")! Right from the get-go we are thrown into this happy-go-lucky acoustic performance with a very gleeful Feofan pushing us forward and forward. Slowly, the demeanor changes though. The fun fast-paced energy slowly morphs into a menacing yet melodic Neurofunk extravaganza, exactly as one would expect from Rustam and James. Not only is this drop quite the energetic joyride in and of itself, its power is increased even more by the stark contrasts to the verses. Great track!

Next up, we've got На заре ("At Dawn"), which you might remember from my recommendation way back in January. I absolutely love this one. That 4x4 buildup right before the drop with Feofan singing the titular На заре gets me hyped every single damn time. And then that drop! Holy moly, Magnetude really just went straight in with their usual signature heaviness on this one. However, Magnetude aren't the only one killed it here though, there's something Feofan's vocal performance on this one that I love even more than I already usually do too. Definitely my favourite of the LP! Last but not least, we've got Новая телега ("New cart"), where the group experiments a little with some slower acid-y psytrance-y rhythms. This new, slower cart is upgraded to a brand new, shiny and fast model halfway through the track, and we go right back into the 170s with a fun DnB drop full of all the acid synths you can imagine. Really enjoying the genre experimentation on this one.

All in all, a diverse ride through all kinds of different subgenres and styles with vocals the likes you've never heard. I love it.

Other Neurofunk/heavy things from this week:

Psynchro - Lexicon / Morgenstern (insaaane)
Fade Black - Polaris / Elysium
Holotrope - Busy Guy 💎
Hyperlynx - Ego Death 💎
Tasha Baxter - Full Moon Flex LP 💎
Grey Code - Simple Things (Remixed)
Kutlo - Static
Spekski - Focus EP