Picks Of The Week (19.11.22

1. Ewan Bristow - If So I Am 💎 [Yamatai Records]

Recommended if you like: NOVALU, Secula, [BORDERS]

For this week's Hidden Gem Of The Week™️, it is my absolute pleasure to introduce one of our very own subreddit and /r/dnb Discord regulars, Ewan Bristow!

As one of the rare instances of a person in DnB just using their own name as an artist name, the Swindon-based young 'un has been pursuing this music thing since at least 2020, with his debut, a collaboration with azotix, having arrived in early 2021. Of course, Ewan was still going by the name of MIDAS back then, undermining my whole opening half-sentence, but the Bristow dynasty did start very soon after that. Across the next few releases, among them collaborations with Hydrae, Hurleybird and Trn, plus releases via Influenza Media and In The Lab, he explored all kinds of styles within the genre, sometimes even breaking out of the DnB corner entirely. In a way, you never quite know what you're gonna get with a new Ewan Bristow track, the only thing you can truly count on is that it's going to be sick.

With this new double single of his, Ewan also became a part of the Yamatai Records family. Never heard of them before? Not going to yama-lie, I've only been familiar with them since earlier this year too, so let me yama-try to paint a picture for you. Maybe with less of these stupid puns though. Founded by James "Illusive" Williams and Kelly "Rockall" Rockall in 2019, the Kent-based newcomer label with a special focus on underground deep, dark and techy DnB has slowly but surely been building up a portfolio of excellent music by following what I'm just gonna call the industry standard label pathway™️. You know what I'm talking about: first came the sick Free Downloads by their resident artists, in this case by the likes of XAETIS, R3IDY, BEDDY, Niallo and Corrupted Mind, followed by a series of resident and/or guest mixes, eventually leading into their first paid release in 2021. Among the aforementioned veterans, they also introduced completely new names like Nuke, Kalane and Altered Concept to the scene, with a seemingly endless stream of sick EPs. Which brings me back to Ewan and his brand new double single If So I Am!

With one swift lo-fi drum hit we enter the first half of this package, This Isn't Us. In basically no time, Ewan effortlessly introduces beautiful piano chords, atmospheric stabs, distant trumpets, relaxing guitars and the lo-fiest of the lo-fi synths and drums, resulting in a truly wonderful arrangement to study/relax to. While there technically are sections in this that would qualify as "drops", everything just flows together so smoothly that it just becomes one big experience. A big vibe, as one might say. From one end of the energy spectrum to the other, Ewan follows this up with Lost In Possibilities. Unlike its predecessor, this one takes its time with the intro, slowly building up a wall of purified atmosphere that is then violently torn down with powerful synth spears. Like stabs, but more violent. After a short intermission featuring the return of the thick intro atmosphere, the synths come back stronger than ever, launching an all-out assault on the listener, before going full circle and ending it all with the now more beautiful than ever intro synths.

With this level of quality, both Yamatai and Ewan will be (Bris)towering above the competition in no time.

2. Maysev - Self-Shading EP [DIVIDID]

Recommended if you like: IMANU, The Caracal Project, Tom Finster

Usually I try to go into different directions with each review, so as to cover as much of the spectrum of DnB as possible. However, sometimes a release comes along that is just so special, so unique, so noteworthy that I have to throw all pre-made plans over board and just have to cover it. Maysev's brand new EP on DIVIDID, the Self-Shading EP, is exactly that.

You might remember Alexander "Maysev" Lipka's name from around a year ago, when I talked about his debut EP Onward on NËU. So what has happened with the Regensburg-based producer since then, you ask? Well, after the powerful (in both the musical and the emotional sense) Just Friends self-release, Maysev has experimented with a couple other genres, with his releases on Saturate Records and its sister label SoundMuseum, while collaborating with fellow up-and-comers Matens and Secula in the process. Speaking of Secula, since October he is also running a joint Patreon with Mr. Dorian Grassl! Shortly after debuting on the legendary DIVIDID on Secula's EP, Alex has now been given the opportunity to express his own artistic vision, with the aforementioned 5-track Self-Shading EP. So let's dive into that then, shall we?

Maske, the EP opener and also German for "mask", opens to some wonderful acoustic guitar chords, which are instantly corrupted by some bit-crushed-to-death bleeps and bloops. However, the corruption seems to fade away again quickly, as the whimsical synth melody ushers in the syncopated drums, heavily distorted bass bounces and other atmospheric greatness of the buildup. Said melody cue also throws us right into the drop, where the happy synth is contrasted with the now even more heavy-hitting basses, as if in constant conflict. This fight between light and dark continues, with the light becoming more melancholic as time goes on by incorporating more of the acoustic guitar elements from the intro, until it eventually, once again, succumbs to the bit crush. It's the auditorial embodiment of having to smile on the outside, while an inner sadness is pulling you into the abyss. Hence the name of the track, I assume.

There's probably something deeper going on with the follow-up, Coelano, too, but my language skills fail me here. Doesn't mean I can't talk about the track though! Now that our ears are accustomed to distortion, Maysev cranks it up even further, which is immediately noticeable in the very heavily auto-tuned and dissonant Spanish (purely guessing here) vocal, but is taken another couple steps further in the fast-arriving drop. Everything is more aggressive, the syncopated breaks, the ear drums obliterating kicks and over time even the basses become more aggrevated. This might sound unpleasant on paper, but what can I say, it all kind of works together? After we have reached peak otherworldliness, the voices start dropping in pitch and with it, the tempo of everything begins to slow, eventually leading into a sick Half-time second drop.

Next up we've got Aversion, i.e. the opposite of what I feel about this track. Right from the start we are introduced to the track's central rhythmic device, in the form of this continuously tick-tick-ticking futuristic clock sound, surrounded by hectic mechanical sounds and what could be recordings of explosions from New Year's Eve. Once the chaos comes to a stop, Maysev brings in some truly alien-sounding synths, priming you for what's to come. While the buildup synths were already an interesting experience on their own, it is the drop where they and the accompanying bass really begin to shine their brightest, massaging your ears in ways you never imagined. However, even that pales in comparison once you reach the second drop, where the synths reach a level of richness, fullness and straight-up bliss that is just indescribable. While more straight-forward in its structure and execution, this one is just so out there in its sound design that I can't help but absolutely love it.

From the euphoric we turn over to the depressed, on Dead End. We start off with vocals so heavily processed that you instantly feel like you're being pushed underwater, a first impression that is solidified by the minimalistic water droplet type snares. Not for long though, as we emerge from the auditory abyss shortly after, with the now clear, sorrowful vocals powerfully bringing their emotions to the surface. The drop sees the return of the snippy drums, alongside a soul-soothing bass mirroring the melancholic melody, giving us some respite from the heartbreak of the vocals. However, soon enough, the vocals work their way back into the mix, eventually culminating in a spiral of desparate calls for help in processing whatever has happened to our protagonist here. There are no solutions though, we simply go back to the liquid gold that is the drop. The desparation never really leaves, with the vocal coming back in again towards the end. Even when the second drop has already ended, Maysev takes time to let the emotions sink in, with a stunning outro. Man, I love this tune.

Lastly, we've got the title track and only pre-release single of the EP, Self-Shading. Smack in the middle of the wonderful vibes of the intro, with beautiful guitars, synths and some pitched-up hints at the vocal that will come in later, there is one thing that stands out: It's all in 7/8! Before we have time to react to this rather unusual time signature, however, we are already knee-deep in the sea of vibes that is the drop. While all the aforementioned melodies, atmospheric elements and warm basses are certainly a big part of it, it's the multi-layered high-pitched vocal that elevates it all to true greatness for me. For the second half of it all, Maysev decides to move back to a more typical 4/4 time signature, which leads to both the vocal and the drumwork becoming more hectic. Slowly but surely, the tension rises and rises, before exploding right into our faces with some seriously goosebump-inducing synths on top of the syncopated drums. In a proper full-circle moment, the bit-crush effects from Maske start creeping back in, corrupting every last bit of the arrangement until only noise remains.

I had already rated Maysev very highly before this, but he has truly reached another level of excellence with this body of work. Creativity, musicality, sounddesign, songwriting, everything about this EP is so unique and incredible at the same time that it's hard to really compare it to anything else. Outstanding.