Picks Of The Week (29.05.21

1. The Caracal Project, Skylark - It's about time we run into you [DIVIDID]

Recommended if you like: IMANU, gyrofield, Circumference

It's about time we talk a little about these two.

With these two I'm talking about The Caracal Project and Skylark, of course. They've just dropped probably the best EP of 2021, after all. But wait, but who are these producers named after big floppy-eared cats and a small brown bird even? Well, let's find out!

Let's start with The Caracal Project. Félix, or Oscar, depending on the day, has been at the forefront of experimental, genre-bending Drum and Bass since the very start of this project. After his more "classically" Neurofunk debut single on Black Inferno Records USA's Various Artists EP Extraction in 2017, he immediately pivoted over to a sound that was deeper and more Caracal Project-esque on his debut EP Fallin' on the excellent Impact Music. A sound that was unique enough that it lead to his first Noisia Radio play right away. Also a sound that was unique enough to quickly catch Neurofunk connoisseur Phace's attention, which lead to his double single Go Get Some / Botfonk on NËU, the Hamburgian (I don't think that's a word) producer's label for up-and-comers. According to his 2020 UKF interview Phace actually even invited him to his studio for a few days of 1-on-1 collaboration right after the double single got signed, which directly lead to the follow-up, the Homegrown EP, a few months later. At this point everyone following the scene's up-and-comers closely knew who Félix was. Releases on IMANU and Abis' DIVIDID, Noisia's VISION, Black Sun Empire's Blackout Music and UKF followed, all of these just in 2020. The Caracal Project isn't just known for genre-bending drum and bass anymore though, in the meantime he has also started producing dubstep, the first example being his collab with Leotrix New Lesson. Just like a lot of his contemporaries, he also started a Patreon in 2020, where he regularly shares samples, production insights and exclusive tracks. He doesn't do that alone though. Enter Skylark.

Skylark is yet another example of a french DnB talent pushing through the thicket of releases with high-quality production to recognition from all over the international scene. He started out on Skankandbass in 2016, followed by various outings on the legendary Dispatch Recordings. Just like his collaborative EP partner, he's also part of the modern dnb super-group that is Music Squad, which also includes the likes of IMANU, Buunshin, Grey Code, Vorso and many many more. After the first few dispatches of his signature deep sound on said legendary label in the early years earned him attention from people like Noisia, he soon branched out to new label after new label, including the likes of Overview Music, DIVIDID, NËU and even VISION. If you've paid attention to the unique blends of Techno and Classical influences he's creating in his productions, he's probably on your list of artists to watch. Well, if you like that sort of stuff at least.

Enough talking about labels and history or whatever, let's talk about the EP!

It's about time we run into you starts off with the strongest EP opener I've heard in a while: the musical experience that is Quick Of Breath, featuring the breathtaking (hehe get it) vocals by the Swiss-based vocalist LaMeduza. I've liked and even loved a lot of both frenchmen's output over the last few years, but this track exceeds everything that came before for me. Even though it might not end up being in my top 5 most listened tracks this year (you know I'm too much of a dancefloor fanboi for that, sorry guys), it will almost certainly be one of the first tracks I'll mention for the Best Of 2021 threads. Just the way it is structured is already so damn satisfying. The incredibly dramatic intro with LaMeduza blessing us with her angelic voice over war drums and massive basslines synced to her vocal performance, the first bit of the at first mostly instrumental drop moving forward in a still relatively relaxed way, the first time LaMeduza's vocal re-enters the song and the Watercats-esque drums just keep increasing in power, that little pause followed by an incredibly goosebumps-causing explosion of sound, the noticeably more aggressive continuation of lyrics with the instrumental rising and rising in tension until it explodes into one last chilling cry. Amazing amazing amazing.

I imagine it's hard to properly follow up on such an amazing experience. Not for these two though. Run might be more "traditional" structurally than the opener, but there's just so many great unique things about it that it doesn't feel any less magnificent. Imagine the unique sound of The Caracal Project, from the drums to the type of melodies, combined with the more dramatic and melodic side of Skylark's sound (like on The Chase), mix it together with a whole lot of "newschool" vocal chops and you get Run! In the second half the tune at first takes a route that's a little less dramatic sounding, focusing mostly on the quickly rolling drums and the various little deep sound bytes chiming in left and right, before ending on a heavy, more melodic note. In short: the best parts about both producers mixed together.

Next up we've got Into You. The most distinct thing about this track is the more funky-wonky rhythm of the drums and melody throughout most of the track, reminiscent of The Caracal Project's early work like Go Get Some, but with way more weight behind it all. However, it doesn't stay like that for very long. The first half of the first drop builds itself up more and more until it is seamlessly transformed into a more high-energy rolling version of itself for a few bars, before returning to its wonky origins. Strangely addicting tune and a half.

Lastly we've got Time. Not only does Time completely nail that "heavy, rolling, techy" energy that I absolutely love in that whole newschool subsubgenre, it also engulfs that vibe into an ominous sounding cinematic atmosphere. An example for that psychological horror feeling I'm referring to is that extremely heavy breathing that can be heard right from the start, which only ever really leaves the listener's side for a short while in the second half of the track. Like something is right behind you. In that second half the rolling rhythm of it all breaks down into a more rhythmically unique section, with the drums being cut back nearly completely and only coming back one by one. A great ending to a great EP.

While the insanely good Quick Of Breath might be this EP's figurehead, it is definitely worth it to take a closer look at the rest of the release. You might miss some of the best forward-thinking DnB tracks otherwise. One of the best EPs this year for sure.

Other deep and techy stuff from this week:

Klinical - Sinful EP (so so so good, I might just cover it at some other point)
Meph - Unifying EP 💎
Archaea - Pumpin' Groove / Simple Attraction 💎
ShortBall - Moving Mountains 💎
N-Mon1c - Le Ux / Pinnacle 💎
SUUNE - Signal

2. Lexurus - Waveline EP [Liquicity Records]

Recommended if you like: Sub Focus, Polygon, Andromedik

As a proud wearer of the Liquicity flair, I think it's also about time to talk about the Dutch label a little bit again. More specifically, about Lexurus' debut EP Waveline!

If you'd ask me what my favourite newcomer or underrated producer would be, Lexurus would be very high on the probably way too long list. The dutch newcomer from The Hague has been incredibly consistently putting out great tune after great tune, ever since he started releasing music in 2015. Wait, but are you even a newcomer anymore when you're around for that long? Are you even a newcomer anymore if you've been part of T & Sugah's High Tea Music since 2017 and a regular on Maduk's dancefloor behemoth Liquicity since 2019? Are you even a newcomer anymore if your tracks are becoming so big they're being played out since months by the likes of Sub Focus and Wilkinson? Well, maybe not. The fact that, even with this amount of recognition and success, I still feel like he deserves way more attention, speaks volumes about just how great his output is though. Did you know that he also runs the 22k subscriber heavy electronic music showcase channel Grizzly Music since 2016? Well, now you do!

If you haven't heard much about Lexurus before, this is the perfect opportunity to check him out, since this debut EP contains a lot of his greatest tracks of the last few months. The seemingly simple but extremely catchy "uplifting stomper" Crystalize gets a whole new extended intro with Prelude, which makes the whole atmosphere of it even more easy to get lost in. Surely you've also already heard the stunning Magnify, featuring the insanely beautiful vocals of Rhode. If not, you can also check out my review of it from last year. Spoiler: I liked it so much it was pretty much my personal anthem of 2020. But have you also heard how American DnB ambassador Justin Hawkes flipped it into a way a heavier, rolling version of itself? Surely you've also been losing your mind to Continua, the collaboration with Dualistic that's been present in literally all dancefloor-focused sets since it's release in January?

That's of course not all though, this EP also brings us a few completely fresh goodies!

The first one is Oblivion, which represents Lexurus' return to Halftime, 4 years after About You on High Tea in 2017. Compared to About You though, Oblivion is sitting more on the hard-hitting side of the subgenre. It is still very recognizably a Lexurus track though. Even as someone who isn't necessarily a huge fan of Halftime, I can still appreciate all the little details, the atmosphere and the as-expected really clean production that went into this one.

The next new addition is the titular Waveline, a collaboration with probably my favourite dnb duo Polygon. Sometimes when two artists you like collab together the end result is just a little meh, either due to extremely high expectations, because it's just different than what you expected or because it's just meh. This is not one of those. Waveline is the perfect mix of both acts involved: the perfect choice of a unique vocal you learned to expect from Polygon, the incredibly catchy synthwork from Lexurus, the squeaky-clean production from both of them. Every single one of the many, by themselves already great, pieces fit together just right to form one perfect dancefloor anthem that won't leave my playlist anytime soon. With already 70 listens while writing this sentence, Waveline has shot up into my top 5 most played tracks of 2021 in less than 7 days. To say I love it would be a massive understatement.

Last but absolutely not least we've got Reminiscence, which might be a word that took me three tries to write correctly, but is nevertheless a really fitting title. I blame my banana thumbs. Anyway, what's important is that it's a vibe and a half. With the help of the beautiful vocals of Dave Marriner and the production talents of dutch electronic music producer Roses, Lexurus managed to craft a real "keeping your eyes closed at the rave because you don't want to show that you're crying" type anthem. Not only are the lyrics very nostalgia-inducing, the rolling break-y drums and the little 2012 dancefloor wubs in the background of the instrumental also very much take you on a trip down memory lane. My favourite part has got to be the synths though. Man are those melodies ever gorgeous. Makes me feel like I'm at the last set on the last day at Liquicity Festival.

If you like Liquicity-style dancefloor, you will love this EP. I certainly do.

Other great dancefloor from this week:

Blaine Stranger, Voicians - Sirens (<3333)
K Motionz - Tell You
More Plastic - Rewind
CLIQUES. - Are You There? (VIP, Kleu Remix and Acoustic)
Memento Mori - Reason 💎