Picks Of The Week (19.03.22

1. NOŪS - Amber / Kyga 💎 [Selfreleased]

Recommended if you like: Circumference, Tom Finster, Maysev

From the sheer limitless ocean of talented but vastly underrated producers, NOŪS emerges with a stunning two-parter. Yep, it's time for the Hidden Gem Of The Week™️!

A little bit of background info first though. While largely anonymoūs, there are still a few tidbits known about the swiss producer: His name is (probably) Noel Stucki and he has been producing various electronic music under the moniker of Mo or Mo Harper since at least 2014, branching out into the wild world of DnB with his new alias NOŪS since August 2021. That's where my research hit a dead-end. Told it was just going to be a little bit of info!

I'm not going to lie and say I found this release all by myself, so here's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth: I stumbled upon it through the premiere from the formerly disgusted cat with pretty good taste in DnB, All172Things, as part of his new wave project. I know, I'm a fraud. However, my point isn't (just) self-deprecation here, but that you should check out All172Things if you get the chance, there's always some amazing new stuff to be found. Like this debut double single by NOŪS!

We kick things off with Amber, which leads into the wonderful emotional world of NOŪS with beautiful synth melodies, heavily processed vocal samples and an atmosphere that tells the audience that something big is coming. And man, does it deliver on that promise. Some super unique wet yet crunchy snares act as the backdrop to an exchange between between nautical synth wubs and a menacing bass growl. I'm not sure why all my adjectives are water themed, but what I am sure of is that this arrangement of strange sounds works extremely well. Not long after, the vocal sample comes back in, now more chopped up than ever, but still methodically melodical. Not only is it expertly crafted in a production sense, it also resonates with me emotionally, evoking a ton of nostalgic feelings and thoughts. Another plus: It has a beautiful outro!

On the flipside we've got Kyga, the track that initially made me curious about the whole release! After the crackling fire of an intro already shows us some of the weird sounds NOŪS is capable of, the drop shows us that he is great at creating mesmerizing rhythms from these sounds too. While the 16th notes keep a steady pace, each of the other elements of the composition are chopped up in a way that they all have their own rules when it comes to placements and rhythm, ultimately resulting in one hell of a funky flow. Following a stripped-back version giving a bigger focus on the drums and the atmospherical background melodies, the last third of the drop brings back everything in fuller force than ever before in one extremely satisfying crescendo. The second half goes back to focusing on the surrounding melodies, but also plays around a lot with the rhythm of it all, sometimes going heavily syncopated, sometimes going nearly full 4x4.

A debut double single with incredible songwriting, a ton of uniquely beautiful sound design, and lots of experimentation that will keep even seasoned listeners on their toes. In other words: Enormoūs.

2. Niallo - Unsettle EP 💎 [South West Riddim]

Recommended if you like: Freshney, Kit Jones, Screamarts

You know what? Let's give another great up-and-comer a spotlight. Exactly, it's time for another Hidden Gem Of The Week™️!

To be more specific, let's talk about Niallo! While still very much a new face to the scene, you might remember I featured the Bristol-based newcomer on here around half a year ago, so I will leave the background check as an exercise to the reader. The easiest exercise ever, in which you only have to click the link to find out more, but you still technically have to do something!

Anyway. Niallo continues his way to the top with a four-track EP on none other than South West Riddim! Formed in 2019, the gang from Exeter came together to bring some proper riddim's to... well, the south west of the UK. It's a pretty self-explanatory name. What started as a event-organising organisation quite quickly expanded during the pandemic to include guest mixes, then free download releases and finally full-blown releases. You might expect some disgusting (in a good way) bri'ish jump up from the name and, to be honest, you wouldn't be totally wrong. However, there's way more to the label than just that, with Niallo's return to the label, his Unsettle EP, being a great example. So let's talk a little bit about that, shall we?

Niallo starts his return to the label with the title track Unsettle. After an intro full of ominous chanting, pewpew lasers and just a whole bunch of spooky atmosphere, Niall presents us with a uniquely funky rhythm crafted from chopped up vocal sampl-eh's melded together with a stepper beat forged from metallic snares, with a wonky yet huge bass as the cherry on top. During this first drop all the elements go through various rhythmic variations, each seemingly more well-fitting than the last one. Right when you think you've heard them all, the second half with its brief 4x4 and half-time sections and the beautiful outro proves that there was still some untapped potential for the atmosphere to become even richer.

On to the second track of the EP: Backroom! Just when the beautiful intro makes you comfortable with the thought of going on a proper space journey, things start turning creepy. When the melodies turns a little bit too ominous you already suspect something is foul, but as soon as the creepily glitchy voice starts talking about the titular Backroom, you just know something murky is coming. The drop confirms our suspicions with some of the wonkiest wubs I've heard in a while, going back and forth on the quickness scale, in tandem with the drum loops accelarating and slowing down. To close this first half off, the main rhythm is turned into a relentless 4x4 quarter pounder, with the snares just going at it without holding back. This leads into a more subdued 4x4 section with the kicks providing the rhythmic backdrop for the serene synth melodies, before Niall takes us into one final emotionally climactic half-time section. Wild track!

Delicious dish number three on this 4 course menu of an EP is Flutter. Niall presents us with yet another atmospheric movie score of an intro, before the large squeaky-creaky door is opened slowly and the titular flutter barges in and causes mayhem all over the place. How? With a machine gun fire of hard-hitting 16th notes, of course! However, it's not just crazy chaos, with the perfectly timed fire pauses Niall still manages to create a real sense of steppy rhythm that makes the whole thing not just bass-face worthy but also danceable as hell. Just like before, Niallo isn't satisfied with just one face-mangling rhythm though, which is why we go into 4x4 part towards the end again. If you thought the 16ths hit hard before, just wait until that part, it feels like it was put on overdrive mode. To calm the nerves a little again, we are once again left with one final half-time section, where even the flutter slows down a bit.

Last but not least, Bingus! This one doesn't just have a great name, it's also a really fun exploration of Niallo's production at slower tempos. With its still relatively fast strange-sounding 16th notes it's a bit like the slower, glitchier aftermath of Flutter, which, now that I think about it, explains the placement on the EP. It's basically a closing chapter on the journey through the various strange rhythms and melodies presented on this EP.

Niallo continues to impress with a ton of beautiful melodies, bassface-worthy riddim's and almost unsettling amount of fun variations. Never a dull moment!