Picks Of The Week (27.04.24

1. Various Artists - Venus Remixed EP 💎 [Stellar Audio]

Recommended if you like: Puzzle, Vici, Cuepric

You guys remember how obsessed I am with Austrian sound wizard Puzzle right? Long-time readers with very good memory will remember how much I raved about his debut EP True Colours back in early 2021, but even those with slightly worse memory might recall my massive enjoyment of his double single on Deep Within in 2023. Ever since Jonas started incorporating his own, wonderful vocals into his fire(le) productions, whether on Empathy Audio, High Tea, or his various collaborations with man like [BORDERS] on FUTURE (might come back to this in a few weeks), I think I've become what scientists call a Super Stan.

Today, however, we take a look at what other talented producers of the techy spheres of the genre have created out of Puzzle's stunningly three-tracking original, the Venus EP on Stellar Audio, back in 2022. If you thought his originals were sick already, you better fasten your seatbelts for what his personally curated remixers managed to do with it, on Venus Remixed, this week's Hidden Gem Of The Week™!

Track 1: Puzzle - Flimmer VIP

As a bit of an appetizer for this rather filling 6 course meal, Jonas goes first and shows off his VIP of the original EP's opener, Flimmer. Inspired by the modern trends of our time, this slight rework takes your usual drop expectations und pulls the rug out from underneath you, not only faking you out, but then hitting you with another short but super hype-inducing buildup, before firing off a fully supercharged version of the original, with each blast of energy going crazier and crazier until things calm down a bit again.

Track 2: Puzzle - Flimmer (Sign Remix)

That's not all the Flimmer action we're getting on here though! For this first third-party remix, Jonas got Estonian multi-talent and -parent Stanislav Bōtskovski, better known as Sign, to sign onto the project. With releases on Sinful Maze, Surveillance Music, In The Lab, VALE and All172Things, he has basically been part of all my favourite underground labels since his debut in 2020, so it's almost surprising it took me so long to talk about him on here! Alongside said label-hosted mayhem-causing madness, he's also been very busy delivering one crazy self-release after the other, sometimes the normal way as Sign, sometimes the collaborative way as ESSENTIE with DMTR, sometimes the more out-there way as PHONEBOT with just his trusty smartphone DAW. However, since said side project took off, he not only gained a whole new appreciation for the flexibility mobile production provides (especially after having another kid), he also realised he could produce tunes just as well on the go as in his studio, so he hit the off switch on poor PHONEBŌT and assimilated the remains into his Sign project.

In fact, this very remix used to be a phonebotleg, until it was turned into the official remix it is now! And who could blame Puzzle for wanting this one included on the package? Not only are the vibes on point during the subdued buildup, the way it launches into this extra groovy, syncopated version of the synth lead, with extra spicy rhythmic pew-pew action happening in the response, is just addictive!

Track 3: Puzzle - Flimmer (Impartial Remix)

For those still holding on to that flimmer of hope for a proper new remix, I've got great news: London-born-and-based Luka Kljutic, aka Impartial took a crack at it too! As Empathee, back when he was just a young lad, his massively filthy jump up selections were already tearing up dancefloors wherever he went, as evidenced by his entries to the Next Hype DJ competitions back in 2017/2018. Over time, he grew to love the more deep and dark roller type beats though, not just for his entry to the Beastwang competition, but also his very own productions, the first of which arrived in late 2018. However, he wasn't quite happy with the branding he had chosen for himself as a teenager and with the arrival of his very first bootleg, of Mura Masa's Lovesick, he took the opportunity to present a brand new him: Impartial! Another couple free downloads later, the Impartial project would go through a bit of a hiatus period though, only picking back up again in 2021 with his bootleg of Concept of Thought's Misty Blue, after which the flood gates of sickness were properly opened. Not only did we get his Stellar Audio debut on the acclaimed Accretion VA EP, Luka also delivered his out-of-this-world (but inside-this-solar-system) Mercury four-tracker, featured on VISION Radio (but regrettably not on here), and his contribution to Soulvent's Soul Music 2022 compilation.

Since then, it has become a little quiet on the release front again, save for a couple free downloads here and there, but luckily, this drought ends now, with, in my opinion, his best work to date, which is saying something! After so much Flimmering, you kind of get desensitised to the catchy melody, leading to multiple remixes in a row risking a sort of "blending into each other" effect, but Luka put so much work into creating unique variations of the lead, even the most worn-down ears will start paying attention again. Not only does the intro take the melody and turn it into an actual orchestral arrangement, full of aggressive strings and all sorts of rhythmic drum action, the evolution the original's call-and-response takes during the drop is simply staggering. The sound design during the relatively subdued calls is so tasty, the way the energy is cranked up to 11 on the response is so satisfying, the back-and-forth between the suave snappy drums and more heavy-hitting ones is just so damn cool, and the energy explosion in the second drop rounds the progression off so perfectly, that this remix has instantly become one of my favourite tunes of the year. Honestly insane.

Track 4: Puzzle - Glow (Moekel Remix)

Jonas didn't just reach out across the European continent for his remix candidates though, he knew he had a couple sick ones right at home too, starting with my go-to underrated artist for years now, Moekel! Straight outta Graz, Austria, Michael has been gracing the scene with one uniquely vibey and/or heavy release after the other, with me covering him a bunch of times along the way. Since last time we talked about him on here in 2022, he's expanded his reach into the scene a lot, finding success on wonderful labels like onesevenfour, DIVIDID (via the WeAreHumans compilation), and now Stellar! For this wonderful collision of two worlds I adore, Moekel brought out some of his finest technical work yet: we've got the pounding 4x4 hype buildup letting us know that this version of Glow is gonna be more in-your-face, the vibey vocals being chopped up and turned into a staccato synth feast for the senses, proper electric energy emitting from the distorted laserbeams in the second half and just an all-around stimulating, forward-driving energy. Moekelicious!

Track 5: Puzzle - Beam (Dub Ten Remix)

Don't worry, we've got more Austriathletes to marvel at on here: Certified Ty-roller Dub Ten has also contri- and de-buted! Since we talked about his most wonderful debut release on here last year, the Empathy Audio ambassador has not just been delivering all sorts of sick singles and even his debut EP on the home label, he has also spread his wings and flown over to the Yamatai and Flexout (or XOU, technically) camps with some rather big chunes - and now, he's adding Stellar to his label rollerdex (intended)! For this joyous occasion, Gabriel took on the synth whirlwind Beam and turned it into a proper club banger. Allow me to explain what the hell I mean with that: Not only did he reign in the synths a bit and packaged them up with an intensely rattling growl for some catchy back-and-forthery, he also managed to bring down the whole crazy emotional energy a bunch of notches by turning the synths into these gloomy versions of themselves, leading to a way more sinister overall atmosphere. Not to mention the aggressive drums and the down-turning bassline that'll make you feel like the plane you're sitting in has just entered a nosedive, filling you with a sense of dread - in a good way! I give this one a Dub Ten outta Ten!

Track 6: Puzzle - Beam (TEK-DIF Remix)

For our last stop here, we've got a name my fellow subreddit enjoyers will surely have seen roaming around a bunch: TEK-DIF! Consisting of Connor Simcox, who used to DJ solo as Simmo and won a The Office-themed pub quiz once, and James Canning, who is too private for me to find anything out about, this Nottingham-based duo has not just been grinding on the production front since at least 2019 now, Connor has also been hitting the promo grind all over the relevant subreddits ever since they joined forces, which is how I first found out about them back in 2020! After a slew of already rather sick self-releases (Inversion is my fav from that era), they landed their debut EP on Forest Biz, and just a year later, their contribution to the woodland venture's Nocturna compilation, Intrepid, got premiered on VISION Radio! They had already been around for a while, but over the next couple years the dynamic duo entrenched themselves into the scene more and more, racking up all sorts of unique, sometimes even multi-genre, releases across Breakbeats & Basslines, Impact Music and the aforementioned tree enterprise, and guest mixes on Subtle and Reprezent's radio shows - eventually landing on Puzzle's radar, leading to their Stellar debut!

They, too, chose to rework the synth firework Beam, but they took a (tek-)different approach. With an emphasis on breaks, in that it both features a lot of wild, breaky drum action and the synths take little breaks in between the onslaught, Connor and James offer not just this package's most rhythmically interesting take on Puzzle's originals, with the rather large bombshell explosions going off everywhere they also manage to rattle you to your very core all at once. Very sick stuff!

Conclusion

Turns out Puzzle isn't just amazing at picking out and putting together incredible sounds to turn them into insanely creative end results, he is almost even better at doing the same with remixers. Of course, this kind of techy sound is rather niche and underground, hence the Hidden Gem status, but as far as I'm concerned, this package is just one instant classic remix after the other. I love all of this so much.

Other techy things from this week:

SiLi - The Journey LP ❤️ (couldn't fit it in anymore sadly)
Dossa - Mamunabu (his solo debut!)
Neezko - Muttnik / Zikade 💎 (from last week but still!)
Rido - Keep Austin Weird
Refracta - Forgotten (Notlost) (that part is part of the actual title and not from me)