Picks Of The Week (20.02.21

In a week that seemingly broke all records in regards to the sheer volume of tracks being released, I'd like to take a step back and redirect the focus on the smaller artists. Yep, issa Hidden Gem™ Only week. Don't worry, I'll still include more in the appropriate places. As an experiment, the Hidden Gems releases are marked with a 💎 in the list at the end of each review.

1. Crash Comet, Rhode - Infatuation [Simplify.]

Recommended if you like: Mage, Blue Marble, Lexurus

Let's start this week off with something uplifting.

Our first entry comes from an artist that has been around for a bit, but has now really started crashing down onto the scene: Crash Comet. The young producer from London, but now based in Bangalore, has started his career as a producer in 2017 with releases on Nu Venture and Invasion Records. A few compilation entries here and there followed, but what certainly gathered him the most attention early on was his winning entry in the Finish My Record remix competition hosted by Danny Byrd and Fader Pro in 2019. In the same year he also released a collaborative double single with fellow newcomer Linear on Differential Recordings!

His newest entry comes on a label that has been making moves for more than a decade: Simplify., also known as Simplify Recordings. Founded in 2009 by Aaron Simpson, who is also the name-sake of the label (simp-son => simp-lify), the Seattle-based label has released literal hundreds of tracks to the world, in all kinds of subgenres, most if not all of them very melodic. In simple terms: They're pretty big.

This newest entry by Crash Comet is Infatuation, featuring the absolutely lovely Rhode on the vocals. Apparently it wasn't enough for her to have a killer 2020, with Magnify, Sanguine and Stuck In Time all being some of my favourites of last year, no, she had to go and continue to smash it this year too!

But back to the track. It starts off with a rainy atmosphere, with heavy breathing that intensifies more and more until Rhode's vocals come in one by one. All the beeps and boops you can hear far away in the background give it a very futuristic flair too. During the verse, the instrumental cuts back the energy for a bit, only keeping an atmospheric synthy melody. All throughout the buildup the instrumental (obviously) keeps building, but is still quite muted. Once the drop actually hits, the floodgates are not just open, they are bombed to smithereens. It feels like you are racing down a neonlight-filled street somewhere in a dystopian cyberpunk future. Like a comet comes crashing down (last comet pun I swear) and you gotta drive away as quickly as possible to save yourself. In your DeLorean.

This energy is somehow increased even further in the second drop. Well, I know how, but it still feels amazing. These slight changes to the melody in the first part, a slight pause before the switch to the second part with the extra melody and, most importantly, this extra crowd of people cheering right as the second part hits. So damn good. I guess it makes sense he moved to Bangalore, seeing as he is now producing straight-up Bangas.

You could say I'm infatuated with this track.

Other Dancefloor things that happened this week:

Wilkinson - Frontline
Culture Shock - Deconstruct
Polygon - Falling (<3)
Mylen - Galaxy 💎
Pete Gamage - All I Need 💎 (missed it last week, oops)
Blanke - Mystery
Tantrum Desire - Resistance
Gram-Of-Fun - Lost In A Dance (NCT Remix)
Chen Boi, Ben Chaverin - Getting Outta Here (Tobax Remix) (also on Simplify lol)

2. Muted Hue - Parting Ways EP [Onyx Recordings]

Recommended if you like: Duskee, Styke, Vowel

Next up, Muted Hue's Parting Ways EP!

The Adelaide-based producer is yet another entry in the sheer never-ending list of producers from Oceania that have seen an incredible spike in popularity lately. Or maybe that's just what it seems like to me, because I've only now started tracking down more producers from Australia and New Zealand. In either case, I'm very glad they are now popping up on my radar. Muted Hue has started producing around 2014ish, as far as I can tell from his SoundCloud, but only had his first "proper" release in 2018 on Boey Audio, the Inkling EP. After another double single on Boey in 2020, it is now time for him to debut on another label he has worked closely with over the years: Onyx Recordings!

Onyx Recordings, isn't that the label that organised the Stay At Home Festivals in cooperation with Goat Shed? You've got that exactly right, that Onyx Recordings! In times of despair and zero events to look forward to, they brought us joy with a headliner-filled lineup and the certified best comment section of any stream event ever. A comment section that not only brought out the crème de la crème by people like Gerry McCann and Joris Bohnson himself (special shoutout goes out to Nabeel), but also made us reevaluate our relationship to our nans. On top of that, they started releasing their own music in 2020! Featuring the likes of T95 & Duskee, Mofes or Thread, the label has not spent any time ramping up and instead just went all-in right from the get go.

So what does Muted Hue have to do with Onyx? Well, he's holding a marketing position within the label! While he has been a part of the team for a while through this already, it is now time for him to join the artist side of the label. Before we start I should mention that the EP is the first entry in the Liquid-focused Jade series of the label. So don't expect the usual nan-kicking action.

The EP kicks off (might be poor choice of words after that disclaimer) with White Lies, a collaboration with Bazil MC. Even though I was initially very confused, because I associate the used vocal sample a lot with a Liquicity track, that feeling quickly went away as Muted Hue used it in quite a different way. Lush piano melodies provide the back drop for a back and forth between the beautiful vocal sample and Bazil MC's bars upon bars. There's really not enough of this kind of MC and vocalist interplay in drum and bass and I'm glad we're getting more of it here. Many vibes were had.

Good news for piano fans, because the piano action continues on White Lies. Funnily enough it also features a vocal sample I instantly recognized from another track, one that is considerably heavier and darker than this one. Not going to lie, it's super fun to hear all these samples that have been ingrained into my brain as something dark or energetic translated into a melancholic liquid context. The absolutely lovely piano is joined by an occasional very spacey synth melody that gives the track another vibey dimension to it. Simply drifting away here.

Okay I can't fool you any longer, of course it's not a 100% liquid release, it's still a Onyx release at its core! On Horizons Muted Hue shows us that he can also switch it up quite well if he wants to. The piano and space synth give way to some seriously deep and heavy bass combined with fast and techy drums. A combination that hits just right. It's not just that though, the way the bass builds itself up and down throughout the hectic drop and that little stuttery melody in the background give it that little extra atmospheric flair to make it a thoroughly enjoyable towards the deeper parts of his sound.

Not enough bass? Not a fan of fast drums? I've got just the remix for you then! The EP closes with a remix of Horizons by Invert Era that packs some serious heat. The Brighton-based newcomer shifts the production away from the quickly rolling nature of the original towards a more head-nodding bass-heavy stepper flow. I'd love to hear this one on some big speakers, just to feel my whole body vibrate.

All in all, a seriously diverse EP that I fully recommend to anyone who likes the liquid or deeper sound of things!

Other liquid things that happened this week:

Nu:Tone - Little Spaces LP
IMANU - A Taste Of Hope
Brainwork - Hollow/Phantasm
Various Artists - Point Of Origin, Vol 4 [Shogun Audio]
Phoenix Laoutaris - Flowers (Lenzman Remix)
Temam - Bubbling Joy / Analog Honey
Rag'n'Bone Man - All You Ever Wanted (S.P.Y Remix)
Leniz, Perspective Shift - Hazy (feat. Matt Freeman)

And because it fits here, other deep/dark/techy things:

latesleeper - Bushwa / Wake Up Slap
Evolved - ENCOUNTER001 💎
Creatures - Gonzo Transmission EP
Screamarts - Endless Journey Inwards
Skylark - I WAS / OBSESSION
Various Artists - Polychrome Vol. 4 [Hyperactivity Music]

3. Confusion - Hesitancy EP [Neurofunk, What Else?]

Recommended if you like: Traced, 2Whales, Despersion

When I first heard the new EP by Confusion, I didn't hesitate a single second to put it on my "to review" list!

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get tired of stupid jokes about track titles and artist names. I hope not.

Confusion is one of the countless great Neurofunk newcomers emerging from Eastern Europe. With roots in Let It Roll's homeland, the Czech Republic, Confusion has always been surrounded by unimaginable masses of Neurofunk from the start. He himself has only been active as a producer since around 2018, but has already landed releases on labels like High Resistance, Hanzom Music and You So Fat Records. I am aware that this reads like someone just took a list of my favourite neuro labels, considering I really like Confusion's sound that kind of makes sense.

This newest release comes on Neurofunk, What Else?, a label which is deservedly gaining more and more attention in the neuro scene lately. Since being founded by VIRUS in 2016, the label based in Vienna has sought out to deliver all kinds of neurofunk releases by underrated producers to the world on their SoundCloud and YouTube channels. And I'd say they have been damn successful at that. Very recently they have also started releasing their tracks on Spotify too, which made me a very happy man. It's a shame I can't add some of the older ones to my playlists (looking at you, Cyntax - Block Drop!), but I'm super glad I can add the new ones now.

Like this new EP by Confusion for example.

It's not often you get a EP with straight-up bangers all the way through, but this is one of those. Whether it's At Least with its ultra hype intro, relentless drop and catchy af vocal sample, Bad Luck with its 4x4 hype buildup (haven't had one of those in a while, eh?), aggressively wonky bassline and rolling rolling rolling drums, the title track Hesitancy with its drums that get your head and body moving, or Crowbar with its catchy forward-pushing rhythms and its grill bar vocal sample, as a neuro lover you will find quite a bit of gold here.

Other Neurofunk stuff that happened this week:

Black Sun Empire - Don't You Stasis (V O E Remix) (<3333)
Prolix - Waiting
Phace, Submarine - GHETTOSHIT
A.M.C - ENERGY (Redpill Remix)
Quadrant, Iris - Libation EP
BLVCK CROWZ, Eskei83 - TAKING IT HIGHER
Sovryn - Static Vision EP 💎
Corrupted Mind - Disengage 💎
Judokay - Breathe 💎