Picks Of The Week (05.03.22

1. Magnetude - Valhalla [Evolution Chamber]

Recommended if you like: Rusty K, Despersion, Neonlight

Tonight we dine in VALHALLA!

You remember Magnetude, right? The british-russian duo with productions so shiny-clean that you might go blind yet so disgustingly dirty that their whole discography might as well be marked NSFW, cinematic storytelling so out of this world you could write entire novels based on it and, of course, such a distinctly amazing style I struggled to name anything in the recommended if you like part that even comes close to them. Ring any bells? No? Well, I'm not going to open my dusty stalker file on James and Rustam again, you can just go over to my review of Goodbye to see for yourself.

After 8 long months since their deep dive into the wild world of videogames, the duo now takes on a brand new cinematic Neurofunk journey, destination: Valhalla! We open into a cold night, with the winds breezing through the small Viking village this story takes place in. In the distance you can hear war drums drawing closer and closer, while the wind gently carries with it a song, gently whispering its beautiful melody into the ears of the villagers. However, while beautiful, this melody is not one of peace and quiet, it is one of war and destruction. The Viking army relentlessly marches to the beat of their war drums, while the beautiful melody starts becoming more sinister. As the all-encompassing darker-than-black thunderstorm cloud starts throwing lightning bolts into nearby trees, the melody is swiftly transformed into the haunting cry of the Viking's war horns echoing across the vast landscape.

Before the sleeping villagers can react, the first of many fiery arrows flies right through one of the windows, slowly but surely engulfing the building into an unforgiving inferno. Some tried to fight back against the ambush, but they simply stood no chance against the sheer forces of nature that these war machines were. As the village succumbed, its ashes carried away by the wind, the beautiful melodies returned, now more melancholic than ever. However, it wasn't the only raid the blood-thirsty Vikings had planned for the night. Once more, the war horns give the signal for the final pillaging of the night. In their barbaric rage, they sliced, stabbed and shot through the villagers left and right, managing to overrun the village in a matter of seconds. Even more so than before, the inhabitants stood no chance. No prisoners, no survivors.

That's what it feels like to listen to this tune. Pure rage, utter chaos, sheer energy. Uniquely cinematic, with a ton of variations, incredibly high-energy, fantasticly fast-paced, Magnetude through and through.

Other Neurofunk from this week:

KRYØS - Let Me Go 💎
Miditacia - Rave, Surrealism 💎
Rabbit Junk - Pathogenesis (Kaixo Remix)

2. Various Artists - The Black Hole Series RMXD 💎 [Stellar Audio]

Recommended if you like: Tom Finster, Synergy, Circumference

Come gather round, let's take a look at the talents of the future™️ together!

It's safe to say that the new wave of DnB, spearheaded by the likes of IMANU, Buunshin and The Caracal Project, has brought forth a ton of great new talents over the last few years, from basically all over the world at this point. However, even in these very specific masses there's one city that stands out: Bristol! One (half-)Bristonian label in particular has been putting out astronomically great music by names you might not even have heard of yet and deserves a full-on spotlight: Stellar Audio! Even though it has only been established in April of 2020 (great timing), they swiftly managed to build up a quality label through its various compilations that aren't just visually captivating, but also feature tunes with some of the sickest sound design around. Seriously, I love every single part of the label, from the way they take the time to fully introduce every single artist to the visual branding. Their upcoming events in the Bristol area are looking to be incredible too. I know this is supposed to be about the music, but I just had to get that out. We're in luck though, the music is great too!

This week saw the release of their biggest project to date: Their 11-track remix compilation The Black Hole Series RMXD! As always, going through all of the tracks is just a bit much, so I'll focus on my favourites. However, let it be known that this is one consistently high-quality compilation and I recommend listening to the whole thing if you've got the time. Since most producers on this release are complete newcomers or extremely underrated, this is also my Hidden Gem Of The Week™️! Alright, with that out of the way, let's go!

Quick backstory fun fact time: Each of the artists involved in the first remix I'm choosing is part of (or a close friend of) the Resonate Records collective based around Imst, Austria! Despite the Records part of the name, they are not a label, but more a group of friends trying to organise parties in an area of Austria that just doesn't have too much going on, DnB-wise. They also all happen to be insanely good producers too! For this particular project two of them, Karim Ben Salah, aka Vortex, and Daniel Gabl, aka Daney, took on Jonas Feurle aka Puzzle's Grey Glitter in a Hall Of Mirrors. Originally a 1 minute and 22 second long atmospheric intro for Stellar Audio's Ergo LP last year, Vortex and Daney now somehow reworked it into a full-on DnB tune. Not only did they add their own lush vocals, which they also used for great vocal chopping action, they also threw in a ton of new melodies and a big chunk of pure vibes. The first drop is already quite delightful, but once it gets to the second half the track really comes together for me. These beautifully otherworldly staccato synth rhythms, which later turn into a flurry of I don't even know how to describe these sounds, aren't just uniquely produced, they also give the whole track a kind of melancholic feeling that I can't get enough of. Just an amazing remix altogether. Did I mention that is their first ever release? How insane is that?!

While we're still on the topic of Resonate Records members, I've also got Puzzle and his remix of Massive Zebra's impressive original Im Nebel on my list! Ever since his True Colours debut EP last year, which I also featured on here, I have become a huge of Mr. Jonas Feurle's output. Whether it was new DnB in the form of Tempera or multi-genre experimentation like on his mesmerizing Diaries Of A Daydreamer EP, I always know that I'll get pure quality from him. Of course, this remix continues that streak. Once again, the first drop's quick-firing techy drums, stompy basses and wild machine gun 16th note synths already convinced me to like this track a lot, but once Puzzle brought out the euphoric synth explosions in the second drop, I knew that I love the track. Not to mention the great atmosphere throughout. Man, I love Puzzle's stuff.

While we're on the topic of producers I love and that I have featured on here once before, let's talk about man like XAETIS and his remix of Im Nebel! Instead of the synthy route, the brilliant Bristolian takes us on a wild joyride way above the speed limit, with the drums thrashing everything around it so quickly it's hard to fully see with the naked eye. It's proper fast is what I'm trying to say. We slow down a bit during the breakdown, but a pounding 4x4 section lures us straight back into the madness that arrives just moments later. Seriously, that combination of the snare being fired around incredibly fast and the speedy drum shuffle makes for one hell of an energetic flow. Throw in some deeply-wobbling bass, and you've got a banger on your hand.

There's so much more great music on this compilation that I sadly don't have the time to delve more deeply into. For instance, the production debut of glitch artist Gaijin, something new from Breakbeats & Basslines founder adhd, the return of Fifa-Youtuber-turned-producer Buckley, and more great remixes by BENJI RBM, Dubruvvas, Narna, Atypical and Bijuugen.

This Black Hole Series doesn't quite live up to its name, as instead of consuming all light it instead shines a bright spotlight on the incredibly beautiful sound design and production of some of most underrated producers of our scene. A true gold mine.

Other deep, dark or techy things from this week:

Refracta - Point & Shoot
Technicolour - Satisfy
K Motionz - Shutdown Season
Archaea - Under The Veil 💎
Geostatic - Obsessed 💎
Dopplershift, PAV4N, Wingz - Vibin'
Theoretical - Murky Waters EP
Diffe - Polar 💎