Picks Of The Week (11.09.21

Yes, this week is one of those "Lennart is traveling and only has little time to review things" weeks. I hope you still enjoy!

1. Brainwork - Impatience EP [Context Audio]

Recommended if you like: Alix Perez, Operate, GEST

Let's talk Deep DnB!

While I'm already a huge fan of all things liquid, it's really the Deep Liquid stuff that gets me going the most. There's something about the dreamy atmospheres, the bass and the rolling drums that really speaks to me. From all the great producers in that niche, the producer that has hit that exact sweet spot the most in the last few years is the Australia-based artist Brainwork. You haven't heard of him yet? Well, good thing he has just released his great new Impatience EP, giving me a proper reason to finally talk about him here!

What you might not realise when listening to his impressively vibey music is that he hasn't even been around for that long. However, his output very quickly clicked with a lot of different labels in the scene. Since his first few collaborative releases with fellow Sydney-ian mnml in 2016, Mr Keegan "Brainwork" Panetta has gone on to release on labels like Differential Recordings, Skankandbass, The Chikara Project, inHabit Recordings and Huski Records. That's a pretty impressive list. With this new EP we can now even add the excellent up-and-coming label Context Audio to the mix. Wait, you haven't heard of them either? You need more context on them (sorry not sorry)? Alright, let's delve into their story a little too!

Just like Brainwork, the self-proclaimed "little label with big plans" has been active since 2016. The group met through the Phaze2 Soundsystem, which was owned by Graeme, now the expert for all things technical at Context Audio, and where the label's managing director, Cyan, was a resident. Don't worry if you don't recognize any of the names here, the most important part about all this is that they've since then managed to become one of the most consistently great labels in the soulful deep Drum and Bass sector.

How, you ask? By building on a strong core of artists consisting of people like Kusp, Changer or OaT, of course! Once people realised the just how high the quality of the music Context was putting out was, the bigger names started pouring in: Klinical, Wingz, Invadhertz, Manikin and that's just the tip of the ever-growing iceberg. An iceberg that now also includes the Australian talent Brainwork and his Impatience EP!

And what an EP this is. On all five tracks we are treated to a masterclass of how soulful deep rollers should sound like in this day and age. While each track certainly falls into that already quite specific niche, Brainwork manages to make each of them stand out. With its heavily rolling drums and its very distorted bassline rattling you to your core, the title track Impatience is the most in-your-face dancefloor roller of the bunch. Revival however takes more time to really get going. By letting the excellent deep and dark atmosphere, achieved through its smoothly rolling drums and heavily reverberated vocals, take the reign for most of the track, Brainwork manages to make the switch to the warm yet heavy bass feel all the much heavier.

Leave It feels like a compromise between the two approaches: you've got the smooth and echo-y atmosphere going on, while still having that huge bass creeping into the mix every now and then, keeping you on your toes the whole time. Similarly, Inertia feels like its predecessor's more vibey cousin. Everything about its production is just more stripped-back and relaxing, while still keeping the structure intact. Last but absolutely not least we've got Open Your Mind. Not only are all the ingredients even more refined than before, the way this EP closer progresses throughout these glorious 4 minutes is just a sight to behold. My favourite track of the bunch probably.

Beautifully atmospheric yet also heavily rolling, from front to back, that's what this EP is. One of my absolute favourite styles done in such a perfectly clean and satisfying way that I can't help but just praise the hell out of it. As Brainwork himself put it, this is his most complete work yet.

Other deep and liquid things from this week:

Wilkinson - If You Want It
IYRE - Raindrops On My Skin / Glowing Embers
Sonic Rain - Future Citizen EP
Riya, Collette Warren - Two Sides Of Everything
Makoto - What You Need EP
Kasra, Catching Cairo - Guilty / Kanjiru
Swayed - Radiant 💎
MidKnight Moon - Freezing Point / Replica
Livid Cheese - Lost In The West 💎
Cesco - ABR (Monty Remix)
Data 3 - Matter LP

... and honestly a whole lot more, it's been a great week for the more relaxing sides of dnb.