Picks Of The Week (14.01.23

Kia ora, my dear readers! In case you don't remember, last week we did an (accidental) spotlight on artists from the metropolis that is Reading, UK, and since I kinda like having geographical themes like that, I have come to the executive decision to do another one. Instead of a single city (because let's face it, that one was a huge coincidence), I'll be looking at two great releases from the same incredible country today: New Zealand!

1. SUUNE, Catch-22 - Break Your Heart / Dreams [Surveillance Music]

Recommended if you like: Intercept, Psynchro, Jon Tho Listen: Spotify

First up, we've got the super-mega quintuple collaboration of SUUNE and Catch-22!

With both groups based in the one and only Christchurch and their shared love for the heavier sounds, it was only a matter of time before they linked up for one huge banger of a release. Let's introduce all the players in this magic constellation first though.

Back in 2019, George Mulder and Matt Ellis, originally from Timaru, had started working together musically under the name SUUNE (pSUUdoNEm?), entering a couple mix competitions and just generally making a name for themselves. It didn't take very long for their third member, Joe Ioane, to join the group and SUUN enough, the trio had started destroying dancefloors all over the area. Like a SUUNami. If you're from Aotearoa yourself, chances are you have seen them on a lineup or two, with them having supported Dimension, Kanine, Flowidus, Camo & Krooked, Culture Shock over the last couple years. Production-wise, their humble beginnings can be seen in a couple of bootlegs and collaborations with fellow Kiwi duo Pirapus, which lead them to their first solo releases on Lunchbox, Totora Records and Sky High Recordings. You might also remember them appearing on Pirapus' remix EP last year with a truly ridiculous spin on Have It All!

Now the trouble-causing trio is linking up with devilishly dynamic duo Catch-22! Consisting of Billy Reid and Tom Prayoonyuang, more easily pronouncably known as Prang n' Mav, the two have been catching the waves of DnB that have been flooding the country since around 2018. Similarly to the aforementioned trio, they have also been getting their foot in the door by participating in various mix competitions all around the area, winning at High Voltage, getting bronze at SIMBA and ending up as a finalist in the one hosted by Eatbrain. After bootlegging their heart out for a little while, 2021 finally saw their first release come about on none other than DnB Allstars. This high profile release didn't just quickly net them their first million streams, it also earned them considerable attention all over the world, resulting in even heavier follow-up releases on DeVice and my beloved Hanzom Music. Just like their collaborative partners for this week, they have also been active as DJs all over the country, supporting René LaVice, Enei, Pola & Bryson, Alcemist and goddard. in the process.

For the quintet's first official collaborative appearance on the scene they reached out all the way over to the pretty phenomenal Porto-based platform Surveillance Music! Under the precise guidance of Jon Tho (who you might also know under his old alias Fragz), Vowel and Blast, SRVLNC has been firing off incredible releases from all kinds of talented newcomers ever since being established in 2019, as you might remember from my reviews of Jon Tho's Sundials EP and Kit Jones' Isolus EP. Not only have they managed to cultivate an consistently impressive sound over the past few years, their striking visual design is also just incredible all-around. After another massive year of releases in 2022, with the continuation of the Blacklist VA series, spicy remixes for the aforementioned Sundials EP and great solo introductions to the label from fellow New Zealandian Intercept and a little excursion to the lands of the Liquid from Xeonz, it is now time for SUUNE's and Catch-22's double single, Break Your Heart / Dreams.

The first stop on our double-sided adventure into the techy corners of the country, Break Your Heart, might start in an almost Dancefloor-y fashion, with a simple yet really neat little vocal sample on top of an atmospheric backdrop, but the longer we linger on in this setting, the more the track's real colours start seeping through. More and more, it drags us down into some really ominous vibes, until it launches this naughty combination of a groovy, heavily distorted bassline gnawing at you from below and an almost mechanical bark erupting regularly. It's not just a one-and-done deal though, all throughout the track these elements are arranged and rearranged all over again all the time, sometimes hitting you a with short burst of 4x4, sometimes tweaking the bassline in all sorts of satisfying ways, always keeping you on your toes.

Catch-22ndly (really stretching my pun limits today), we've got Dreams on the flipside, with another wonderfully atmospheric vocal singing us a sweet sweet lullaby. However, if you think this one will be any easier on the heart than its predecessor, you are sorely mistaken. After the intro slowly but surely abducts you into the mysterious and actually quite scary dreamland, the quintfecta hits us with a rather unnerving 4x4 section, full of pounding basses and glitches trying to break through. However, after this short transitionary period, it's back to syncopation, where aggressive bass stabs play ball with the lullaby vocals, now all sliced up. While this type of structure is repeated in the second half, they managed to keep it interesting by cranking up the craziness levels on everything. Not only is the buildup even more hype-inducing and the 4x4 switchup longer, everything in the more syncopated part is now also so heavy that whole elements are phased out for multiple seconds at a time, giving a full spotlight to each and every one of them and resulting in quite the unique flow.

Not only is the production on here incredibly technical and dynamic, with nothing staying the same for very long, it is also heavy as hell, in a clean-yet-dirty kind of way. Keep an eye on these five!

Other deep and/or techy things from this week:

Blooom - Get Low / Mia (feat. Maria-Lea)
Evolved - Drafting
gyrofield - Femme Fatale

2. HAZEY, Erin G - For A Moment [Dark Machine Recs]

Recommended if you like: Phonetic, Artino, Genetics Listen: Spotify | YouTube

Completing this sextet of new New Zealand talent is a name you might remember from here from nearly two years ago: HAZEY!

A lot has changed for Auckland-based Charlie Spicer since the last time I wrote about him nearly two years ago, for his debut single Back To Life. Not only is he now qualified to design airplanes thanks to his now-finished Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, his artist career has also seen a steady flow of successes: He is now represented by the One Eighty Artists agency, which lead to performances at all the Gold-prefixed events out there, from Gold Rush to Golden Lights, plus appearances at the legendary Rolling Meadows and Rhythm & Vines festivals, he was invited for a couple guest mixes, including for Mollie Collins' KissFM show, and celebrated his label debut on ShockOne's Dark Machine Records with the absolutely massive banger Run last year! Just a couple months later, he now returns to D to the M to the R with yet another wonderful entry to his impeccable discography so far, For A Moment!

Debuted live at Rhythm & Vines and premiered on the best radio DnB show out there, George FM Drive, this new stop in HAZEY's journey featuring fellow Aucklandian Erin G on the vocals has already been making quite some waves before its release and it's easy to see why. Right away, Charlie brings in a whole bouquet of delightfully colourful synths, ranging from the atmospheric to those teasing the lead in the background, and soon enough, Erin joins in on the fun and blesses us with a rather lovely vocal performance to complete the picture. After building up the atmosphere for a little bit, we switch gears and start building up the hype instead, with the, at this point relatively muted, instrumental increasing the punchiness of its drumwork more and more while Erin switches back and forth between longer and shorter lines of lyrics, resulting in an honestly way too catchy sequence of events. While we're still busy processing this future persistent earworm, we're already launched into the drop, where HAZEY not only showcases his impeccable synth game once again, but also brings some really full Dancefloor drums and heart-warming basslines to the table. In the second half, we slow things down to Half-Time, giving the basses and synths even more space to present themselves in all their glory.

If he keeps this high level of quality, he's gonna be around for more than just a moment, that's for sure. My advice? Don't HAZEY-tate, just listen to his music already!

Other Dancefloor releases from this week:

Culture Shock - A L O N E
V O E - We Will
Wiguez, Josh Levoid, Maryqueen - Get Out Here
Delta Heavy, Lauren L'aimant - Against The Tide
Andromedik, Murdock, Dualistic - Light