Picks Of The Week (13.03.21

1. Kray - The Peak 💎[Eloisa Records]

Recommended if you like: Koherent, Rohaan, Screamarts

First, let's talk about Kray!

Kray is one of those up-and-coming producers, which I wish I had found sooner. The Hong Kong based producer only has a few officially released tracks out there at the moment, but those are all gold. Since his first release, the lush Astral EP on the Taiwanese label Mettāsonic in 2019, he has gone on to be featured on Shoot Recordings, Unchained Recordings, which he is the Head Of Distro And Operations of, and Eloisa Records. He's also been named one of the "Top 10 Underrated Drum and Bass Acts from Asia" by Beatport. Even without considering this newest release I'd agree, but this EP catapults him even higher on the list for me.

The Peak EP is released on the great Eloisa Records. While it has only been founded last year, it is part of the Inperspective Music Group, which makes it a direct sibling label to Inperspective Records. In other words, even without a year-long history there's still some real experience and knowledge behind the team. It is highly diverse in its output, having featured everything from cheeky jump up to extremely lush liquid. Yes, extremely. That Styke EP and some of the entries on the I Am Eloisa compilation LP, especially Will Miles - Summer Down Under, were some of my absolute favourite liquid tracks from 2020. After having featured EPs by the likes of pyxis, Bungle and Sublimit, Eloisa is now presenting the first full-length label debut of Kray.

The EP kicks off with the incredibly vibey Everytime. The echo-y piano chords, vocal sample and bouncy minimal synth melodies are paired with a few strings that give off a bit of an Asian flair (I wish I knew the names of instruments), which together creates a relaxed Café-like atmosphere. That is, until the switch hits. During the second buildup Kray hits us with a stripped-back four-to-the-floor section that puts the focus on the synth melodies and elevates this loungy wobbler into quite the unique experience. The second drop itself is lush as before, but features a few more drums and other elements so the energy drop-off after the hype buildup isn't too big. Perfect introduction into this EP's sound.

On Overflow we are delving deeper into the techy parts of Kray's sound that shined through here and there already. The drums are more synthetic and faster, there's a staccato synth melody going on, everything is techier than before. I hope you are prepared for more 174bpm techno action after Everytime, because Overflow also features a 4x4 part during the second half. Briefly switching from the fast-paced drums to the more rhythmically "consistent" 4x4 allows the listener to take a little breather and makes the return of the techy dnb drums all the more hard-hitting.

Speaking of taking a breather: Next up we've got Not Too Late. If I had to describe it with one word, it would be warm. Everything about this track lulls you into a deep heavenly dream that you don't ever want to wake up from. Those vocals. Those fluttery synths. Those atmospheric basses. That little pause before the it's not too late vocals come in. I simply love this tune.

With Current Under's room-filling yet dreamy bassline, it's continuously rolling break-heavy drums and loads of other small little details coming in and out of the track, Kray closes the EP off in style. Even though this track is produced in a completely different way than its predecessors, it oozes the same warmth and soul. He managed to keep the tracks all quite different from eachother, while still maintaining an overall consistent vibe throughout.

Incredible well-produced EP overall. One could say it's Kray-zi good. The Peak of his production so far. I'm not only saying that to get the puns of my system, this EP is actually really good.

Other liquid and uplifting things that I really liked from this week:

Murdock - Waterfalls
Degs, Charli Brix, Nu:Tone - The Connection
LSB, DRS - Stop The World (Lenzman Remix)
Various Artists - Full Fat 01 [Goldfat Records]
Decades - Indifference
Origin8a & Propa, Benny Page - Harmony
Yerite - Millenia 💎
Monika & Akuratyde - Haunted 💎
Emba, Scott Haining - Holy Ground (well, the liquid mix at least)
Matt View - Don't Stop / Garden State
Counter Culture - Constant Paths 💎
Sub:liminal - Memories Of A Guzheng
Shadows - Reflection EP 💎
Various Artists - Future Symptom [Hospital Records]
Anwius - Shadow EP 💎
Audioscribe, Aleya Mae - Oracle
AROHA - L2K (Tokyo Prose Remix)
Used - Jailyard

... it was quite a big week for liquid.

2. XAETIS - READY / ONLY 💎[Expedite Records]

Recommended if you like: Annix, Synergy, IMANU

Let's get a bit heavier, shall we?

My second and last pick for this week comes straight from the underground. XAETIS, also known as X A E T I S (but I don't want it to look like I'm m o c k i n g him the whole time), is one of the freshest newcomers I have had the pleasure of discovering lately. As with so many of the newcomers lately, he's based in the dnb metropolis Bristol. Honestly, that city is bursting with sick newcomers at this point.

XAETIS' musical journey started as a Post-Rock/Prog-Metal drummer, but soon after he found his way to the electronic side of production. In 2017 he first started channeling his post-rock background into electronic music, with styles ranging from Ambient to Post Electronic Rock. I won't even try to talk about any of these genres too much as I know exactly nothing about them. What I do know is that he started his slow transition to dnb with the track Is It? in 2018. It wasn't until 2019 when the genre distribution of his output shifted to mostly drum and bass though. If you've got a bit of time on your hand, I hugely recommend going through the past few releases on his SoundCloud, there's a lot of pure gold in that stream of free downloads.

This latest release of his comes on underground neurofunk label Expedite Records! Even though it was only founded a few months ago in August 2020, the Bristol-based label has already shown that it is a force to be reckoned with by releasing banger after banger by the likes of SYNE, Niallo, Frannabik, Foks or Visceral. You might not recognize some or any of these (I won't blame you), but trust me, they are all pushing out some great music at the moment and Expedite bundles all those talents into one sick label. Probably won't be the last time you're going to hear from them here. Back to XAETIS now though!

After his first appearance on the label on the Expedite FOUNDATIONS LP in 2020, XAETIS is now READY for his first solo release on the label. I swear I'm not shouting these, these names are just all uppercase.

The title track of the double single release wastes no time and immediately plows through whatever is in its way. Ready or not, here it comes. Not long after hitting play, you are greeted with the short yet incredibly catchy main melody that is going to guide you through this track's journey. Its high-pitched playfulness is contrasted by a glitchy ever-evolving counter-melody, creating a uniquely fun call and response. As if that wouldn't already make for a great track, XAETIS decided to go even further in the second half. First he bashes your head in with some meaty heavily distorted four-to-the-floor rhythms, then he lulls you into a false sense of security by slowing down to half-time, only to go back to full drum and bass speed one last time. What a rollercoaster of a track.

It's not over yet though, that wasn't the ONLY track on this release. If READY was a sonic rollercoaster that goes off the rails, the second track ONLY would be an atomic bomb. During the buildup you can already feel what's about to hit you. The highly-processed vocal gets increasingly high-pitched, while the bass lurks in the background menacingly. Right before the track fully hits the drop, a first teaser of some heavy sharp bass stabs brings the hype to its high point. Then the track goes completely full throttle by dropping into a gigantic room-filling techy bass with minimal drums, that is playing call and response with an even heavier version of the bass stabs we heard in the buildup. Throughout the track, these two elements get mashed up and mixed together in various different ways, keeping the listener on their toes the whole way through. Incredible huge track.

Other neuro or techy things from this week:

V O E - The Darkness / Sirens (<333)
Annix - Substance
Burr Oak - Zero Alpha EP
Neonlight, Wintermute - Influx VIP
Teddy Killerz - Ghosts
Teddy Killerz, Dion Timmer - Rediscovery
Finalfix - Hypocrites
Shadow Sect, Sinister Souls - Put Your Hanzom / Brand New Shit
Ripple - Violet (Manta Remix)
Black Sun Empire - Arrakis (Rillium Remix)