Picks Of The Week (04.05.24

1. Skrimor - Boogie Woogie / Club Girl [Evolution Chamber]

Recommended if you like: Gydra, Punchman, Absu_NTQL

You know what we should talk more about on here? Neurofunk. Not even joking, the last proper Neuro spotlight here has been months ago, and frankly I cannot stand for this injustice anymore. So let's talk about Neuro's biggest shooting star of recent times: Skrimor!

Dzmitry Vilchytski, the Warsaw-based man behind the incredible project, is one of those people whose music isn't just well-produced and hard-hitting, he is also able to effortlessly tap into that fun, cheeky Eastern European energy that makes you want to get up from your deep slav squat and get movin'. This combo of technical prowess and musical diversity with a healthy chunk of Neuropunk attitude immediately convinced a ton of established artists across the subgenre, leading to one release after the other on Neuropunk (of course), Eatbrain and Korsakov, shortly after Garud from Teddy Killerz started working as their label A&R, plus remixes for Jade, Gydra and, well, Teddy Killerz.

That kinda omnipresence, plus all the support across the scene, almost makes you forget that his journey as Skrimor only started a little bit more than a year ago somehow?! Sure, his artist bio expands on his background a bit more and talks about how he's been involved with music since 2005, when he played in a Nu-Metal band, saw the dubstep/dnb/bass music light in 2007 while in Vilnius, graduated in 2012 and explored electronic music some more in Poland. But then, 11 years of nothing later and bam, a sick debut release on NickBee's Axon Records kicking off an avalanche that the Neuro scene hasn't seen in a while, and apparently isn't gonna stop anytime soon. Case in point: Now, after debuting on the label's wonderful Transmissions compilation series just a couple weeks back, Dzmitry is once again returning to Magnetude's, Task Horizon's and Receptor's one and only Evolution Chamber to deliver two slices of his infamously, undeniably, certifiedly raw material to the masses: Boogie Woogie / Club Girl.

We kick this one-two-punch off with a mantra to conquer any of your everyday problems: Boogie Woogie. Train delayed? Boogie woogie. Waiter brought you the wrong food? Boogie woogie. Wife divorcing you? Boogie that damn woogie already! To help us all achieve this serene state of boogie-woogie-ing, Skrimor brings us only the crunchiest of chugger basslines, propelled forward by some heavy drums, with an incredibly funky combination of cheekily distorted neuro stabs and the titular vocal mantra adding that extra bit of spice on top. Not yet enough for you to get your butt movin'? Alright, then let's go straight to the Club, Girl! To get even the laziest mofo up from their seats, Skrimor brings out the big guns: only the dirtiest of 8th note chuggy basses that even briefly turns into 4x4 later on, only the largest of neuro whomp melodies and, most importantly, only the catchiest, earwormiest vocal of the year, if not the decade! Might sound simple, but trust me, this one is a bop. Sometimes less is (Skri)more, after all.

I'm genuinely obsessed with the raw energy Skrimor is bringing to the scene lately. Even after a ton of sick output in the past year, I'm still skriming for more.

Other neuro from this week:

Redpill - The Chase EP
PAIN - Push The Pusher (Zardonic Remix)
Teddy Killerz - Do U L Me
Mean Teeth - Bring Back The Funk Remixed Part 1
Perplex - The Basilisk
JIROBASS - Izolite / Carbon 💎

2. Aegis - Pressure & Existential 💎 [DIVIDID]

Recommended if you like: Buunshin, Maysev, Emperor

Now for a debut release that's putting all sorts of established artists to shame: Aegis, with his double single Pressure & Existential.

While this actually is the first officially released Aegis production that I am aware of, which automatically makes this our Hidden Gem Of The Week™️, the rabbit hole does of course go way deeper than that. Residing in the North Brabantian metropolis Tilburg, Nederlander Joppe Damstra has been involved in music-related endeavours since he was in the Dutch equivalent of high school. Whether it was playing in bands like Young Spirit, Locked Out or Rabble, organising events of his own, most notably the band battle tournament Fame Game in 2018 and the Save The Night events, or interning at Korsakov from 2019 to 2020, Joppe undeniably has always had an unstoppable drive to become an integral part of the music scene at large, in every possible corner. As you can maybe already tell, over time, the love for all things electronic outgrew everything else. Not only was he laying down some crazy DnBeats at some of those events, either under his real name or as BMBRMN (bomberman?), he also kept himself busy working all sorts of label operations jobs at Dimensional Music.

For our purposes though, the really interesting part begins just slightly after all that, in 2022. On the one hand, because he became part of the team at ABIS' incredible DIVIDID label as both their Event Manager and resident DJ, on the other, because that's when Aegis was finally born! Across a proper onslaught of insanely sick DIVIDID label nights, Joppe jumped on the decks in places like Vienna, Bristol, Lyon, Maribor and all over Germany and the Netherlands, converting one city after another to Aegisism, with a slew of DIVIDID dubs and, eventually, even his own creations. I remember one day last year I was supposed to go to their takeover in Berlin's VOID club, something I had been hyped about for ages (or should I say aeges), but because my body simply said no, my friend ended up going alone. When they came back the next morning, there was one thing they couldn't stop raving about: that Aegis dude. After finally experiencing his selections myself a couple months later, I can now see what they were on about - dude is a wizard. Now, with his debut release finally released, we can see if his wizardry also extends to production!

I'm happy to report that it absolutely does! Pressure opens up pandoraegis' box of destruction rather beautifully, with ominous synths constantly ringing in your ears, a delightfully eery vocal haunting you in your dreams, explosive basses going off in your face and incredibly intricate, fierce drumwork working up an actual wildfire of a storm - what a crazy introduction into the scene! As if that wasn't already huge enough, we've also got Existential on the flipside doing serious damage. Whereas the opener was still strangely lovely, this one is just downright evil. Especially that otherworldly lead synth is filled to the brim with menacing energy, but the back and forth we're getting on the drop, where the unrelenting ratatatat is interrupted by a somehow even more sinister, proper all-encompassing bassline - that shit is just ridiculous man.

I'm having problems finding puns stupid enough to fully articulate my love for this insane debut release. I'm having Aegissues, one might even say. Genuinely though: This is a crazy-good first release and I cannot wait to see what else Aegis will accomplish in the future!

Other techy things from this week:

Various Artists - Antimatter:2 EP 💎
Misanthrop - Open World EP
Onetral - Flow 💎
VENAL - Metamorphosis 💎 (only found these two recently)