Picks Of The Week (17.09.22

1. Various Artists - Outer Operators LP 💎 [Sinful Maze Recordings]

Recommended if you like: Notequal, Meph, XAETIS

Hidden Gem Of The Week™️ time!

You know Sinful Maze by now, don't kid yourself. Not only have the Czech label and their incredible artworks been featured in the stylish print magazine Rendah Mag, they have also consistently put out a whole bunch of not-to-be-missed releases with both crazy-good and just crazy-crazy techy sounddesign over these past few years, four of which ended up on here. Don't believe me? Well, here you go! So why go back to them for a fifth time? Well, these past few years, among all these other things mentioned above, they have been consistently working on to their biggest project as of today, the 16-track strong Outer Operators compilation album, and if that doesn't deserve a spotlight, then I don't know what does. So let's take a peek into this bag of great tunes by underrated talents that they brought to the table this time, shall we?

Pick 1: prisma-teq - Magniloquente

Let's start with someone seemingly everyone in this bubble of techy dnb lovers, except for me of course, has already discovered a while ago: prisma-teq! While it only took me scrolling through his SoundCloud for a few seconds to realise I was not that fast in discovering him, the prisma-teq alias being created in 2019 means the Malaysian producer is still relatively new to the scene. What if I told you there was a whole 'nother alias even before that though? That's right, this particular story actually goes back to 2017! Way back in the day, mister teq was known as bouncing musicbox, an alias under which he experimented in all kinds of genres, including but definitely not limited to Chiptune, IDM, Future Bass and Halftime. Around 2019 something in him clicked though and he decided to try out this DnB thing out, first under the musicbox alias with pointer, then later with an entry to a gyrofield remix competition, now under the name of prisma-teq. From there on out, the DnB was mostly contained to the prisma-teq name, with the honestly incredibly good self-released growing EP and a sick release on Novatone further proving that he's someone to keep an eye on, and all other kinds of electronic music exploration continuing on under bouncing musicbox. Until the box stopped bouncing in 2021, that is. That's right, the old project is now fully on pause for now, allowing him to focus on all things prisma-teq, including but not limited to his upcoming debut album.

But we're not here for that. Not yet at least. We're here for prisma-teq's debut on Sinful Maze, Magniloquente! I would be lying if I said I didn't need like three tries to write that track name correctly. Our protagonist here didn't randomly choose to give this track an overly long esoteric title though, he earned this majestic title! Our main heavily distorted rhythm-slash-melody doesn't wait long to show up, however the first time we're hearing it we're still ears-deep into an incredibly thick cave-like atmosphere. Everlasting echoes, powerful grumbling from below, it almost makes you feel like the void is reaching out to you. The longer we stay in this dread-filled state, the closer said melody gets, before finally unleashing its raw power. This infectious rhythmic monologue is complemented by an equally wonky melody trying to get a word in, but soon enough we fade out into the cave-like structure again. This time, we're truly lost. However, we persevere and end up in an alternate version of our beloved rhythm, luring us in with a level of funk and steppiness higher than ever before, before switching back to the fast-paced carnage mode again.

Pick 2: Karraki - Onyx

Time for another name I was not aware of in the slightest before this: Karraki! Well, actually, since Karraki is a duo, it's two names: eunki and Acyan! eunki is an up-and-coming all-kinds-of-genres producer from South Korea (Seoul, to be specific), who also does more vocal-based (Hyper-)Pop-oriented stuff under their fauxx alias and experimental Hyper-DnB as bas. Phew! Quite a lot for an 18-year-old! Oh yeah, the list of genres they have put out with the eunki alias includes everything from crazy Half-Time Neuro craziness to Techno, Funk and Garage. And DnB since 2021! Okay okay, and who is Acyan then? Hailing from what feels like the polar opposite side of the globe, i.e. from Denver in the United States, Tyler Acyan, also known under his R&B and Soul alias okCYAgoodbye, has been exploring the wild worlds of Trap and Dubstep ever since the project's inception in 2021. Fun fact: He also has quite the informative YouTube channel, where he showcases all kinds of productions tips and tricks. Once he even went on a cross-country journey, just to get the best foliant samples out there. Guess who he took with him on that trip? That's right, eunki!

Around that time they must have decided to start working together under one name, Karraki, since the first fruits of said collaborative effort already started appearing only a few months ago, from bootlegs of bbno$ - mathematics and Lizdek - MUCUS to a guest mix on the Incurzion Audio podcast. Now we are witness to the duo's very first original track, Onyx! We open to an already highly moody bassline floating through the atmosphere, before everything drops out, giving the duo enough space to start introducing various pace-setting, hype-increasing elements. After an audible boom, we are ensnared by this strangely catchy continously looping melody, on top of some heavy-hitting and rhythmically unique bass hits. Halfway through the drop, however, we escape the loop and the distorted bass stabs rain down chaos on everything that moves. That's not where the progression stops though, no no, the second half gives us even more rhythmic oddities with all kinds of crazy, bassface-causing basses being unleashed on top of it all.

Pick 3: CCX - Unveiled

My last pick of the bunch comes from cryptic pseudonym CCX! Don't worry though, I'll un-crypt these three letters for you. Okay, I don't actually know what the letters stand for exactly, but I do know who is responsible for the project. For this we jump to yet another continent: South America! Right in the middle of the little multi-million people town of Buenos Aires in Argentina, Joaquin Wilson, formerly known as rubik, has been putting out great music since at least 2014. Halftime, Trap, Bass, Neurohop, there was not much in the heavy bass music corner that Joaquin didn't try out. However, in 2016 he left all of that behind and jumped over to DnB, more specifically Neurofunk, and never really looked back. After his debut EP on Matter Records, he became a regular on the WAVE BASS RAVE label, which is where I first came across him a few months ago!

With Unveiled he now unveils the skills he has acquired over the years, showing off his talents to a completely new audience over here in Europe. Right away, we are treated to a gorgeous synth moving left, right, back and forth, as if dancing around in the room. After a brief interjection from the emotional and heavily processed vocal sample, all kinds of beautifully sounddesigned bits, bops and melodies lead us into the drop, where all hell breaks loose. The furious onslaught of swift synth stabs is only paused when the vocal comes back in, but once it has done its thing, it's right back to stabbing. Over time, the vocal seems to soften up the track's stabbing urge a little. In the second half things switch up into a super fast, techily rolling kind of vibe, allowing us to heal our wounds a little. Really lovely track that somehow manages to combine the heaviest parts of the techy subgenre with a lot of emotionality.

Conclusion

That's of course not everything this wild compilation has to offer, far from it! Everyone from label regulars like Notequal, A.way, Decades (with Aznok) and Chiyu, to established artists releasing on the imprint for the first time, like Furious Freaks, Yatuza, Intercept, Humanon, to brand new up-and-comers that you should keep an eye on, like Makah, Moody, Noise Parfumerie and [BORDERS], has brought their A-game. A true treasure trove of talent, gathered from all over the world. Sinfully amazeing.

Other neuro and techy things from this week:

Teddy Killerz - INEEDU / SOYUZ
Zombie Cats - MOVE
Prolix, Voicians - Anything You Say
Secula - Orchid EP
Niallo - Simpler / Hexagon

2. Koherent - Bleep Test EP [Overview Music]

Recommended if you like: Amoss, Klinical, Waeys

Just wow, man.

The Koherent boys Josh Ackerman and Luke Nicholls have always been some of the best producers in the liquid and deep spectrums of DnB out there in my eyes, as I have already discussed in my review of Bliss two years ago. They might not be the most prolific artists out there, with basically only one EP dropping per year, but that one release per year is always so damn good that it's always absolutely worth the wait. With this year's addition, the Bleep Test EP on my beloved Overview Music, they outdid themselves though.

Take the EP opener, Red Lipstick, for instance. Straight-up incredible, right away. We already get a glimpse into what awaits us on here in the intro, but trust me, you are not prepared for what the track really holds in store for you. Right on the drop, a massive rumbling bass grabs you by the heart, rocking you to your very soul. This is only the start of an ever-evolving progression though. Not only does the wonderful feature vocalist Collette Warren start flexing her soulful vocal muscles more and more the further we get along, with bass spikes bursting in between her pauses, the duo also quickly starts weaving the masterfully moody melody teased in the buildup into it all.

Before you can get too comfortable though, the melody's power gets boosted so much that any head that isn't turned yet will be turned, from sheer disbelief alone. After each burst of energy, Collette returns the call with a soulful response of her own. Man, do I love this part. It is ingrained into my brain at this point. It is the point where this song goes from great to amazing for me. We continue on with all kinds of incredible variations on all the elements we've seen on display so far, right up to the very end. Every 16 bar block is fresh as hell. Not to mention Collette's fun live-show energy, from her meta commentary ("Can you turn me down for a second", "Can we get some more bass please") to her thanking a Bristol crowd for coming out tonight. And all the fun little details like a background ticking sound appearing when she sings "the clock is ticking". Just class all-around.

How do you even follow this one-of-a-kind opener up? With one of the coldest tunes ever, of course! In other words: next up we've got the title track Bleep Test. As the name suggests, there's plenty of bleeping and blooping abound, but the way the track builds itself up and up and up (and up) in the intro makes you wonder where this is all heading. Then it hits you. Pure bass. Bleeps, bloops, the whole shebang. While I'm wondering how ridiculously loud this maximalist minimalism would sound like on a soundsystem, a voice asks us what we're doing right now. Well we were just thinki - what the hell is this switchup?! That's right. The Koherent boys pulled a fast one on us. While we were busy processing their computer bleeps and bloops, they pull the rug from underneath us with the absolutely most ridiculous switchup ever. Complete with maximum wonkiness levels on each bleep wub. Touché, Koherent, touché.

From this bleeping ridiculous stepper we now move over to the equally aptly-named Analog Roller. Old R&B vocals sped up to some rather high levels, a supremely menacing bassline and a set of drums that go so fast you feel like you'll get pulled over for a speeding ticket even if you're just walking. Everything just has that feeling of underground racing in the middle of the night to it. To quote a rather prominent persona in our scene, "IT SHOULD BE IN NEED FOR SPEED UNDERGROUND 3". Or something like that, I couldn't find the exact quote as his account seems to have been banned. The sentiment remains though! Lastly, we're finishing this tetralogy of tunes with Stab Trilogy. Gotta love these consistently accurate track names. While the titular eerily catchy stabby triplet is certainly the main star of the track, it's the surrounding parts that really make it stick in your brain in my opinion. The suavely soulful sample, the swiftly swinging snares, the slightly syncopated, strangely saucy basses mirroring the stabbing's every move. Just wonderful.

In fact, the whole EP is just wonderful. It's not too often that I agree with the usually over-the-top pre-release hype, but in this case, the hype is most definitely deserved. It really is one of the best EPs of this year.

Other deep and dark stuff from this week:

Forum - Symposium LP
CRSV, Silentium - Mannequin / Sweet Mistakes 💎
Various Artists - Segments: Section Two 💎
Various Artists - Format 1 EP 💎