Picks Of The Week (16.05.26

1. BEXLO - Welcome 2 / Maharajah 💎 [SoundMuseum]

Recommended if you like: Aegis, YAANO, Rillium

In the truly infinite pool of talents this genre of ours has amassed in especially recent times, there's few lesser known names who excite me as much as Scottsman BEXLO. So let's take his newest two-tracker as an opportunity to spread the gospel about this particular Hidden Gem Of The Week™️ a bit!

1.1. Bexlo and behold (2020 - 2026)

As is practically guaranteed with every new name I cover on here, the musical story of Glasgow-getter and globe jet-setter Benedict Logie - hence BE(nedict) X LO(gie) - goes back quite a bit longer. While, if my own academic history is any indication, learning all about Dijkstra algorithms and Fourier transformations in his computer science studies, he was also sharpening his Logie-technical skills in something else entirely: music! Inspired by the likes of juuku, Droloe and Vincent, he unveiled his first-ever tune, the surprisingly well-supported, "trap-reimagining" journey 'Tell Me', in 2020, with more experimentations in other electronic avenues following over the next couple of years. Sometimes self-released and sometimes distributed via imprints like Suit Of Bullets, Tribal Trap, and Outplayed; sometimes flipping San Holo, Galantis, and that 'Running Up The Mountain' or whatever it was called and sometimes fully original; sometimes on his own and sometimes featuring fellow talent Akacia - but always worth a listen.

As he graduated with more A's than my battery cabinet, he not only ventured into both the working and the literal world, travelling the US, Australia, Korea and probably more, he also took a big step into something that had been sorely missing in his Benediscography: drum & bass! His multi-genre alias now renamed to TROUBLE CASTLE, the path was clear for a revolution in sound for the main alias, and after a bit of ID teasing in 2024 (many of which I still would love to see released into the wild!), it was finally, finally time for him to present us with his best work so far in 2025: his Isare EP on Skankandbass.

Not one to rush greatness, however, it would take until now for the next crumb of Bexloveliness to fall onto our tune hungry selves' plates.

One last addendum though: since quite recently he's also running a monthly radio show on none other than Kool FM! It's called Minimax, go check it out if you want more Bexlo goodness.

1.2. Welcome 2 / Maharajah

If you're at all into the finer arts of techy drum & bass, you might perhaps already know where I'm dragging you today: Into the SoundMuseum!

Benedict welcomes us to this exhibit par excellence with the opener of his two-fold piece, Welcome 2. Heartwrenching cries of sorrow set the tone that the titular robotic voice so coldly contrasts, before slowly but surely firing up the hypnotic machinery of rearranged humanoid sounds that will accompany us for a lot of this experience. Together with a concerningly irregular heartbeat bouncing below it all, the Gaudían mosaik of vocalisations forms a rhythm so confident in its groove that you can't help but let your body loose as well. Once locked into this main idea, however, Benedict pulls the rug out from underneath us, with a footwork-inspired juke switch-up whose final seconds are amplified by rather aggressive Reggae samples. Throughout this whole ordeal, we're treated to a variety of drums, with especially the outro cycling through a manifold of them.

On the second floor of our cultural excourse here, Maharajah opens up a world of vast emptiness, with auditory sand crackling in our collective ears while hauntingly beautiful howls of the humble Homo Erectus spread throughout the sheer endless void. Slowly but surely, gentle melodicality becomes part of the equation, but before we can get lost in that, an adversary force to the beauty approaches. Thoroughly distorted basslines hitting you with a single, bone-rattling burst of energy before sliding down into the dirt again, ice-cold vocal chops chained to a rhythm of pounding 4x4 kicks, syncopatedly steppy, finger-snapping drums - leaving you with both a sense of awe and quite a bit of sweat on your forehead.

1.3. Conclusion

Masterful vocal chop work, precisely tuned techiness, tightly controlled basslines - a truly BEXpLOsive combination.

2. Xyde - Feral EP 💎 [Phase Records]

Recommended if you like: Justin Hawkes, InsideInfo, Belik

While new, or at least not yet featured, artists are always more prominently on my mind when choosing which release to cover on here, sometimes you just have to go back to someone we already covered, but still deserves way more attention. That someone? Xyde!

2.1. You can run, but you can't Xyde (2023 - 2026)

So what happened since the last time we talked about Vasco "Xyde" Savino back in 2023? Quite a bit, to be fair! Not only has he significantly shaped the scattimal sound of Gifta's consistently incredible Phase Records as one of the imprint's most prolific contributor, he has also been spotlighted on a certain green circled YouTube channel a bunch of times, worked with Albees, Leks, Gifta, and Vespera, betrayed his home label I mean made excursions to Benny L's TrES-2B, Crissy Criss' War On Silence, and Trex' Trust Audio, and got his creations reworked by the likes of Genic, Portrait, Vici. Now that I've got my conveniently all-encompassing, a tad too long-winded recap sentence out of the way, let's check out the three new ones the Italian maestro has Vas-cooked up!

2.2. Feral EP

Crackling, outright electrifying air, fizzling with anticipation. Ominous, Creeds tribute melodies reverberating throughout the room. Pure, concentrated rave energy coming ever closer. Massive bass stings upping the anticipatory drama levels to unbearable levels, as loops of heavily processed vocals bring their own rhythm to the game. Four hits of the snare, and we're off. If a tune was ever to be crowned "most fittingly titled", Feral would have a great case. Hectic drums, whose chaotic rhythm is further accentuated with piercing percussonary elements, a cracklingly distorted bassline creeping upwards, snares en masse, and even a think break whoop, all of it and so much more can be experienced in this EP opener. Not to mention the many following variations further into it all, with more pronounced start-stop type rhythms and many more heavy drum machinery. It gets me going so much I can barely formulate a sentence that isn't just listing things!

Now done with solo adventures here, Black Lungs sees Vasco bring in regular collaborator and fellow Italo PaCMan. Emerging from the sea of darkness, a place of scary voices creepily crawling underneath our skin, this feature guest waka-waka's into frame with a fine selection of bars, as a minimal arrangement slowly rises in intensity and anticipation below it all. In the blinky of an eye, we're already knee-deep into drop territory, where we're treated to all sorts of exyde-ing sonics. On top of a minimalistic but still ever-so-slightly vertically moving 8th note bassline, screeching sounds the likes you brain has never seen, heard or smelled will keep the ol' amygdala occupied, before PaCMan comes back in to pull us back to Earth. As if the virus-inspired crawler wasn't enough, Vasco switches gears entirely in the second half and instead delivers a full-on breakbeat tear-out with snares in the hundreds.

Why would you stop at just one feature guest, when you could have, and bear with me here, two! Together with MC SAS and that one teacher that occasionally does DnB stuff, also known as Gifta I think, Vasco ends this trilogy of tunes with Angles. A brief mood-setting intro behind us, we smoothly transition into a rolling beat that gives SAS space to deesclate the situation at hand with his soothing musings, but sadly, his efforts were in vain - the escalation still arrives. On the continuing stream of stylish drummery, the Vas and the Gab introduce a set of seriously skattimal growls and a short but sweet, outrageously fonky bassline riff, before our vocalist returns from his break to calculate the hypothenuse of the optimal angle to beat your ass from, while the rest of the team ups the fonkiness levels once more. It's not just all serious and bass-face though, cheeky hashtag-style bars referencing euclidean geometry icons and moments like the beat pausing for a second when SAS gently suggests his opponent stop what they're doing make this one an actual delight. Not to mention SAS' switch into a higher register later on and the elite karate movie knowledge on display in the second half!

2.3. Conclusion

Intricately techy drumwork with more snares than your local Thomann's, atmospheres that venture into advanced darkness, and pure skatimal energy - this EP is something else!

title: "Picks Of The Week (23.05.26 - 29.05.26)" date: "2026-06-01" tags: ['Voidcat Audio','Ridmic'] draft: false summary: "AZO - Singularity 💎 [Voidcat Audio]\nIdle Days, Solid State - Heartbreak [Ridmic]"

1. AZO - Singularity 💎 [Voidcat Audio]

Recommended if you like: Caster, [BORDERS], V O E

I know, I know, I'm a week late with this. More often than you'd think, it takes my other team members' new releases research for me to complete my picture of what's out there in a given week, and this one was no different. However, for me to forgo the list-review continuum consistency like this, a releases has to truly wow me, preferrably in more ways than just one. Well, here we are! Let's talk about this week's Hidden Gem Of The Week™️.

1.1. AZOidcat

Due to this only being his second-ever release, with, for once, no previous alias to point to, I don't even have that much to say about our protagonist, Vancouver-based, Costa Rican film industry worker slash production talent Sebastian Monge. I could lead you through his IMDb page and talk about he worked as a Key Grip on various movies, did VFX for short film 'Fowl Fate', or even directed Pieces Of Us aka Memory Puzzle, but even though I find that sort of stuff incredibly fascinating and I could try to marry his background in filmmaking with the cinematic worlds his tracks build up so effectly, I do have to admit I am not a licensed officiary and should probably stick to the music to not lose you all.

Outside of his Still Spinnin' EP earlier this year and the fun fact that he's apparently been working on this production thing for more than a decade now, however, I don't even have anything else to talk about on the music side either. Then perhaps I could tell you something about the label he's been working with, Voidcat Audio! Or Voidkat, if you were to run it throug their DnB name generator. Founded by Canadian DJ and producer MAU in 2026... oh goddamnit. We're too early for any backstory to have emerged on that front as well!

Alright then. Without further AZO, let's talk about Singularity!

1.2. Singularity

Ironically enough a two-parter, Singularity Pt. I starts this experience off by transporting us into a world of dreamy floatiness, with a delightfully tiny stream of water dribbling down our paradise house's pipes, but as the haunting vocals enter the game you begin to realise we've got a storm a-brewin'. Slowly but surely introduced in this dramatic setup but only fully unleashed in the following drop in air pressure, a supremely sparkly, preciously pretty 8th-note synth melody takes us on a joyride in the upper echelons, while dirtily distorted rhythmic basslines fight their own fight below. Seems like the machine takeover starts off quite nicely! Once we get the optimistic parts behind us, however, war drums and larger-than-life reese basses signal the change that's about to occur. Entirely new melodies, now twisted into unrecognisability, attempt to keep living as the supercharged basses crunch their way into the foreground and the drums go all-out. It's rare to see a progression this satisfying in a track!

The best part is, the progression isn't even done yet, technically. Pt. II keeps the apocalypse going by not even attempting to paint a happy picture in its opening. Melodies that will haunt you in your sleep, thoroughly distorted basses and brash, broken beats up the stakes another couple of notches, in anticipation of a true world-ender of a drop. Dramatic, Dune-esque melodies on top of a sandstorm of most hectic drums and all-encompassing reeses, battling it out against a response of relentlessly hammering synths and even wilder drums, each hit amplifying the energy piercing into your ears, before things become even more staccato and higher-pitched for the climax. One last time, we start up the machinery in the second half, with a delayed drop packed with analog, almost breakcore sounding beats, before switching right back to our scheduled carnage.

1.3. Conclusion

I'm sure the apocalypse will have plenty of downsides, but if this is what it sounds like then I welcome it with open arms. Humongous!

2. Idle Days, Solid State - Heartbreak [Ridmic]

Recommended if you like: Voicians, Laminar, Jessee

After so much heaviness and drama, how about we take a look at two of modern day dancefloor's most underrated names out there? Let's talk about Idle Days and Solid State!

2.1. Idle Days

Researching Benjamin "Idle Days" Goossenaerts has been one of those rabbit holes that just never seemed to want to end. I already felt knowledgeable and like a real fan for having been there from the very first DnB tune the Belgian lad has put out a few years back, but the story went so much further back I'm afraid my previous superfan card has to be revoked. Born and raised in the Belgian kind of Essen, Benjamin has been putting the work in as a vocalist since at least 2010, when he first uploaded 'Crystal Tears' in memory of his late grandpa. Not much later, he not only started his own band Viva Revival, but also ventured into the wild world of vocal covers. Once the band life wrapped up about 10 years ago now, the covers started increasing in frequency, with especially 2020 seeing anyone from Ed Sheeran to John Legend being regoossified. He even did a little Christmas thing!

In 2021, it was finally time for the name I have come to love him under - Idle Days - to emerge, with more electronic inspired pop like 'Better Days', 'CHANGING REALITY' and 'Lying to me' seeing him belt out on future bass beats, melodic techno house vibes and more that my mostly dnb brain cannot put names to. Real goossenerds will know there was a big difference though: He wasn't just using his voice, he was actually producing these tracks as well! While still prolific as a vocalist, with us DnB people probably recognising him from Buunshin's 'I'm Okay', he got better and better at putting the beats together himself, and by 2023, he made the jump that would define the rest of his career - he released 'Over It', his first-ever DnB tune! On imprints like Martin Garrix' STMPD, NoCopyrightSounds and its off-shoot Arcade, Radar, Wobbles & Waffles, and most prominently, absrd, Benjamin has been jamming out one anthem for the ages after the other, while also becoming the voice of huge tunes of fellow Belgiants Used and Andromedik. Nowadays, you can catch him playing at places like Tomorrowland, Rampage's shows inside Sportpaleis and at Lommel's Kristal Park, and many more.

Speaking of Lommel...

2.2. Solid State

The second half of this tune's particular equation comes in the form of Sam Jensen, aka Solid State - and was born and raised in said Limburgian city! While in a way even newer to the scene than his compardre in misdaad here, Sam's history in music is also more expansive than you might expect. I don't have as many sources for this decade of his journey, but his antics as DJ Antum supposedly reach as far back as 2012! Jumping forward eleven years, Sam was in need of a new name for the production career he was about to launch, so the Mesopotamian goddess was ditched in favour of his most favourite way of storing files: Solid State was born. After his 2023 debut on DeVice, 'Take You Up', it would take him up to 2025 for new goodness to emerge, but my god, did it ever wash over us in that year. Not only did we see his official DeVice follow-up, we also got to enjoy his excellent High Tea debut 'Let You Go', his Riot debut with similarly underrated newcomer LICIA, several remixes of it, and one more Riot anthem to close it all off.

During all of this, he also won the Andromedik Invites DJ Contest to play at Antwerp Expo in front of me and a couple thousands others, won the Black Out TD contest, and topped this marathon of musical goodness off by running an actual one. After regularly smashing it up for the Lokale Helden nights in Lommel, he also started venturing outside his home town, with the most notable event so far having been his debut at Cologne's legendary Bootshaus, but there was still one ultimate dream left: Playing at Rampage Open Air. Guess where he was announced to play at this year?

So what have these two Belgian supertalents cooked up together then?

2.3. Heartbreak

An electric guitar softly raising the anticipation with constantly looping two-note playing, a faint 8th rhythm coming ever closer, and a bass laying down its notes all do their part in setting the tone for Heartbreak, the duo's first-ever outing on Liquicity-offshoot Ridmic. In this bubble of loveliness, Benjamin hey there delilah's into frame with a somber tone, as the rest of the arrangement is expanded to include gentle whomping and smoothly rolling drums. More and more our vocalist in charge gets into it and by the 45 seconds mark he truly starts owning his Taio Cruz inspired relationship behaviour in full-chested voice, while the beats make way for hype-inducing 4x4 claps, until it all comes to a head in the drop. Whompy whomps fighting it out against the already teased, brassy synth melody in most earwormy fashion, as a now thoroughly powerful 8th-note guitar strumming bassline, with Benjamin chiming in every now and then. Incredibly delightful as that already is, it's the things that follow this formula, like the full return of our microphone commandeur, the in my ways absolutely dreamy breakdown, and the short burst of 4x4 hype before the eventual return to syncopation in the second drop, that not only bring me endless joy, but show just how pro these two are.

2.4. Conclusion

A fantastical vocal performance, an incredibly catchy lead, a production that just hits all the right notes - an anthem through and through.