Picks Of The Week (20.07.24

1. Crash Comet - Tales Of Summer [Galacy]

Recommended if you like: Dustkey, Etherwood, Fred V, Porter Robinson

Wake up babes, Porter Robinson released a new album! Oh, that's not dnb at all, you say? Fine, dear reader, you win that round. Luckily, our good friend Daniel Patterson (Porterson?), better known as Crash Comet, used the 3-year solo release hiatus - barring his Empaths collab on DeVice - he had embarked on since we talked about his massive EP on the late and great Differential to learn all sorts of new skills and techniques to fully transport(er) that early spring/summer Nurture feeling Mr. Robinson perfected so much on his sophomore album into the drum and bass realm, while still infusing his own personal style into it all. Of course, he was still very much around during all of this, spinning up his regularly updated Daily Liquid playlist, playing some lovely sets all around the UK and, like, getting married, but for a release-focused affair like this one, that time felt like an eternity! This week, as record temperatures scorch our brains, Daniel finally gives us our very first taste of this new sound to cool off in the grass: the Tales Of Summer EP, released on Liquicity's most wonderful sublabel, Galacy!

Melancholically beautiful pianos full of acoustic, live character gently introduce us to the wondrous world of title track Tales Of Summer, which Dan populates with one delightful element after the other. While the absolutely amazing Sinne, for my fellow liquicifans perhaps known from Dustkey's Take A Moment, joins in on the loveliness with a vocal that brings out the sun on even the rainiest days, distant seagulls transport us to the beaches of our dreams, the drum action gives us the break(s) we all needed, and the piano expands into a rollercoaster of beauty - and then there's the drop! Fast-paced drums flowing like streams of fresh water, warm rumbling basses underneath keeping us company even in the dead of night, and the knock-out combo of auditory prettiness that is the vocal's continuing journey and the pianos ebbing and flowing in and out to form an entirely new, delightful melody. The breakdown, however, pushes the positively radiant nature of it all even further, with violin accents splashing concentrated synth beauty into the air, each particle sparkling all around us, smoothly flowing into the somehow even more beautiful second half, where additional synths, think break breaks and more lovely melodies take it over the top to outstanding. Plus, that piano outro is just so damn good in its realness that it actually made me look outside my train window more than once to check the weather.

On Through Forest Echoes, the soft breeze takes us into the woods, where the flora and fauna's hustling and bustling, from chirping birds to chiming winds, is underscored by a constantly wandering piano and punctuated by gentle guitar chords, as the light shimmers through the tree tops. Eventually, we make our way to the rushing stream at the forest's core, where the marine life methodically dashes and splashes through the complicated and chaotic water flows, represented by some excellent breaky drumwork, while euphoric synth strings emphasise the beauty of the surrounding forest atmosphere. That distant vocal at the tail end of the drop is my personal favourite, but there are honestly so many wonderful little details to discover on this enchanting journey!

For our third summer story, The Colour Of Dreams, we keep things simple at first, with sparse piano chords providing the backdrop for Enliza, who you might remember from us talking about Son's liquid anthem Shaped To You, to lay down a somber yet infectious chorus, but once we cross the magical 28 second mark, a whole world of beauty opens up to us. Gentle guitars, soft drumming, layers of background vocals - but, of course, it's the drop where Dan really let's loose. A rolling drum loop full of fun little sounds you wouldn't expect, interspliced with think break whoop's, continuously delight-inducing guitar riffing, incredibly effective beat pit stops to spotlight Enliza's most lovely vocal performance, and in the second half we even get some additional synth action to round it all off.

Lastly, we're speeding down the highway one last time on our way home, on Sounds Of Serenity. With pianos and think break cuts filling up the summer air all around us, we're already primed for more high-octane action, but the pace at which we launch into this bass-driven chase down the hill still caught me off guard at first, especially considering both the all-consuming droning of the lower frequencies of our engine and the smoothly rolling, think-break-laden drum work surrounding the wonderful melodic arrangement. It's tunes like these that make me wish I was traveling by car instead of being in a stuffy train, at least for a little bit. Plus, the music box outro is cute as hell!

I'm so so glad Daniel has crashed right back into our lives after being gone for so long. I really did miss the way he weaved together all-around lovely melodies and stunning vocals with his signature love for delightful details, something this newest EP delivers in spades. I'm so in love with it I didn't even feel the urge to do a ton of stupid puns - that's how powerful the imagery and beauty of it all is!

Other liquid from this week:

Etherwood, Riya - Illuminate
Alix Perez - Elastic Soul
Technimatic, A Little Sound - Lakota (LSB Remix)
Hugh Hardie, Purple Velvet Curtains, Luvly - New Season

2. INVOLVER - Czardas [FUTURE]

Recommended if you like: Mozart, Chopin, Vittorio Monti

Let's bring in some fine arts into the mix, with INVOLVER's reimagining of recently TikTok-famous 1904 Vittorio Monti piece Czardas. But first, who is this capslocked classical connoisseur?

While this particular name is still relatively fresh, I've actually made the backstory section of this one easy for myself again: it's a rebrand, baby! As VovKING, among many other multi-genre aliases, and often together with his former partner-in-bass Topolsky, he ruled the electronic music scenes with his out-of-this-world sound design and unique ideas. Keen to know more? Why not read up on our deep dive into his shenanigans back in 2023? Because I sure as hell won't be retreading that same ground here again! After more than a decade of royally sick beats, bass and bangers, however, he decided it's time for something new. A reboot. Or should I say a roboot? ...Why? Well, in late 2023, Volodymyr decided to trade his face with that of an android, becoming the one they now call INVOLVER! Straight out the gate, Mister Roboto has unleashed some seriously smashing, tastefully techy dancefloor destroyers on Technique, Rampage, Nemesis, and Don Diablo's labels Generation Hex and FUTURE, the latter of which is also where we return to for this week's classical expedition!

Right away, we launch into Monti's piano-driven piece and it quickly becomes clear why it has gotten so much online attention in recent times - the whirlwind of pianos isn't just technically impressive to perform, it's an absolute delight to listen to as well! Before we get too deeply attached to the purely classical aspects of it all, however, the electronic parts get INVOLVED with a truly massive bass tearing it all apart, sure to be catching ravers off guard all over the world. Slowly but surely, the piano man comes back in to the drum and bass mix, with crowds chanting him on, until INVOLVER launches an assortment of his signature futuristic sound wubs that will give every raver the rest.

New name, same fun energy, intricately unique sound design and massive banger qualities. Not only is this Czardas reinterpretation a fusion of sounds we don't get to hear all too often, it's also a straight-up banger I want to hear in every set from now on please and thank you!

Other bangers from this week:

Tom Finster - No Compromise (Lukher Remix) (❤️❤️❤️)
Fourward - Show Me Love
Culture Shock - The Time Is Now
Friction, AEON:MODE, Lauren L'aimant - State Of Mind
MEWONE! - Jin-Roh
Killer Hertz, Navigator, Harry Shotta, Tonn Piper - Killa Man Jaro (w/ V O E Remix)