Picks Of The Week (10.02.24

1. hayve - Portal [Monstercat]

Recommended if you like: Myselor, Sophon, Finalfix

After ticking off More Plastic from the list of NCS / Monstercat regulars that deserve to finally be shouted out on here a couple weeks back, it only makes sense to follow that up by looking at another artist that fits this weirdly specific criteria: hayve!

Or should I say artists? That's right, behind that snappy lowercase name are Tel Aviv native Omer Morad and Helsinki-based Aaro Haapanen and Krister Lindalu. Wait, but why does the Monstercat artist wiki say they are a duo? And some of the press shots only feature two shadows? Honestly? I have no clue. I assume one of them joined later on, but that's just an educated guess. You can't even look at the artist credits to get a better understanding, as each hayve song is credited to a different unique combination of these three people. What I do know is that they offer their production talents for other artists to use, one of which being K-Pop collective The Boyz, and that Aaro and Omer throw down some serious Phonk business as THIRST, together with Craig Ferrier and Roy Levy. Neat! But I've gotten off track a little.

This is supposed to be about hayve and their sick drum and bass skills, after all! Well, they are a bit of multi-genre beast, so I can't just skip past that entirely. Right away, their 2019 debut Bit By Bit on NoCopyrightSounds, featuring The Arcturians, went down the Dubstep route, but shortly after, their DnB debut (say that quickly 3 times) Isolation with the one and only Protostar on Monstercat soared right to the top of my personal playlist. In hindsight, this one-two punch was just a timid start to gear up for the real onslaught of bangers that would soon follow. One incredible tune after the other, always violently swinging back and forth between Dubstep and DnB, hayve have been building up a real treasure trove of a discography. Features with Carbin, F.O.O.L, KUURO, More Plastic, Going Quantum and Laminar, with vocals from the likes of Emily Makis, Skyelle and imallryt, on not just NCS and Monstercat, but also Viper, Liquicity, Orphelia, Deadbeats and Space Yacht. And all of it is somehow super sick! Finding a gold needle in the hayve stack isn't hard at all, since it's literally all gold.

Now, the trio are back on their Monstercat grind, kicking off 2024 rather violently with one of their most captivating tunes yet: Portal! With an atmosphere at least as thick as a bowl of oatmeal, we glide towards the ominous titular gateway, where otherworldly voices in our heads dare us to step inside and experience the unknown - but even with all of that effective worldbuilding, I wasn't ready for the breakneck pace of the intergalactic journey ahead of us. In no time, an immaculate back-and-forth between a flurry of squeaky-clean bass stabs and an assortment of various short-fire synths, basses and atmospheric vibes turns into an outright war scene with all sorts of chill-inducing production elements fighting for your attention. Sure, we get a short break in the middle, but then it's right back to carnage, with a proper pounding four-to-the-floor Hard Techno assault, before closing with a supercharged version of the initial call-and-response. And all that in just 2:34!

Might actually be my hayveourite tune of theirs, which is saying something!

Other hard-hitting tunes from this week:

The Clamps, Tryst Temps - Blumhouse
Task Horizon - Respawned: Legacy (Ekwols Remix) / Drowning In Fire (Malux Remix)
Emperor - Thud & Blunder
SOTA - Pray For Me

2. Secula - Daydreaming EP [MODUS]

Recommended if you like: Trinist, Maze, Niallo

Now, onto one of the most slept-on producers currently around: Secula!

Slept-on - or should I say, Septon?! That's right, Sankt Pölten born-and-raised Austrian shooting star Dorian Grassl got his start way further back than his Secula discography might suggest. Way back in the day, before any of that, early teenage Dorian was a bit of a House and Dubstep enjoyer, until one day a friend of his showed him Feint - Snake Eyes, opening up the world of the faster tempos for the then-13-year-old. In 2018, so four years later, the first of his very own productions as Septon were debuted to the world at large on Nuclear Bass. That doesn't just sound like a Jump Up label, it is one! While almost impossible to imagine looking back from here, Dorian actually got his start into the game with disgusting foghorn bangers, with him regularly appearing on the likes of Informal, Pick'n'Mix and Liondub. Soon enough, however, the techy sounds would start to seep in, with releases on Austrian powerhouse Mainframe and Welsh weirdo haven Incurzion that also made their way to this fan by the time 2020 rolled around. You know, I was actually kind of bummed when Septon stopped releasing, as I thought he was putting out some rather cool stuff and I would have loved to hear more. What I didn't realise is that I was hearing more all the time already, as he had simply rebranded to a (se)cooler name: Secula!

Yearning for an even techier and out-there complex sound, Dorian used the downtime the pandemic provided and became an active member of IMANU’s legendary Patreon Discord. Not only did he learn the craft in no time, reaching levels that are simply ridiculous at this point, he also connected with other regulars on the platform like Maysev and YAANO, both of which he separately briefly ran his very own Patreon with. Back to the musical beginning again though. At the end of 2020, only like half a year after Septon was Septgone, Dorian already ushered in the new era of Secularism with the absolutely wild free download Reentry. In 2021, the "proper" debut followed, with Morose on the first edition of the We Are Incurzion compilation series, and things went rather crazy right after. Releases on NËU, Skankandbass, Overview, DIVIDID, STUDIO, all sorts of collaborations with Maysev, remixes for Annix, Tom Finster, Misanthrop and even DnB's favourite trio infernale Camo & Krooked & Mefjus, each tune crazier and more mind-bending than the other. Plus, all that happened in only like 2 or maybe 3 years, depending on how you count it?!

With production this tightly chaotic and a track record this expansive, it was really only a matter of time before he would end up on MODUS, the aforementioned Austrian boyband's newest venture. What started out as a platform for the trio's more unconventional music in early 2022, quickly evolved into a place for only the most forward-thinking music by the best producers around, each with their own unique stunning artworks, especially as soon as they opened their demo submission inbox towards the end of that first year. Signings like Annix, Misanthrop and Synergy just make all-around sense, but soon enough, unexpected names like RageMode, who didn't even do DnB before all these insane MODUS bangers, and even more underrated names like [BORDERS], Artino and Circumference made their mark on the imprint, and I can't overstate how happy I am about every single one of these. Plus, they curated such an honestly impeccable selection of tunes for the massive opening show of last year's Let It Roll, that I kind of want them to co-produce it again, and again, and again. It will not be the last time I talk about a release of theirs here, I can tell you that much.

Now, after his reimagining of Break Away, Secula returns to the label with four originals, on his Daydreaming EP, once again proving he is one of the most fascinating producers our scene has to offer at the moment. Right away, EP opener Unruhe takes no prisoners with its out-thereness, with deeply weird yet strikingly mesmerising drumwork, colourful water droplets and distortion massacres, tasty vocal chops, and straight-up beautiful synths being built up over the course of it all. Stalemate cranks up the vibes with an intricately arranged orchestral intro, whose delightfully charming top melody is violently turned into a heavily distorted, steppy DnB version of it. This might sound simple enough on its surface, but the more closely you listen, the more all the little bits and drum hits that make up this hefty rhythm become apparent. Not to forget the smooth way the gorgeous orchestral arrangement flows back into it all to give us a simply magnificent outro.

Kyanite is just relentless in every single way: The continuously banging vocal chop snare drum combo in the intro, the four rapid-fire kicks before the whirlwind of breaks is unleashed upon us unsuspecting listeners, the cacophony of distorted bass bombs being dropped all over the grid, and many, many more details that make you feel almost claustrophobic. And yet, even in this seeming chaos, Secula found a way to bring it all together to form one unhinged banger of a tune. Lastly, we've got Myriagon (side note: I love these track titles) to close things off for us. Sure, it starts off lovely enough, but the warm embrace of the wonderful string section soon gives way to the never-ending spiral of dissonant synthery that only become more ridiculous as time goes on, while the kicks are throwing so much of their weight against us that I keep thinking someone is trying to break down my door or something. Once again I urge you to take your headphones, crank the volume all the way up and just listen to all the separate things going on to form this melodic bombardement, it really is something else.

If my daydreams were this extraordinary, breathtaking and mind-bogglingly sick, I would never want to return to the real world. Insane.

Other techy things from this week:

NUEQ - Zahara
Osprey - NOS
infinitemusic10 - Patience 💎