Deez ft. Frequency Fodder - Juice [Premiere]

It's fitting that we cap our coverage of the compilation Neurons Vol. 1 from Elemental Minded Promotions (EMP) by premiering "Juice"  by DeeZ featuring Frequency Fodder. DeeZ, formerly known as Satori and going by Andy Widdecomb by day, mastered all 11 tracks on the compilation. Frequency Fodder, a friend of Andy's with mega modular synth capabilities, is a relative newcomer whose contributions to this track leave us looking for more of his work. 

"Juice" is led by a wonky piece of synthesis that sounds once like a psychedelic talkbox, and again like the shuffling of a metallic deck of cards. Distinct and mastered to crystal clarity, it offers a unique tingle for the ear. According to Andy, the pair recorded an hour of audio with Frequency Fodder's Eurorack modular synth rig, which Andy then chopped and arranged into the squelchy, maneuvering delight you hear in the track. 

Having worked with Elemental Minded Promotions for over three years, DeeZ is a pillar of the EMP family. Years ago, Andy struggled to juggle work, production and performing, a dilemma faced by countless musicians and not an easy one to remedy. It was at this time that Tyler Hettel, EMP founder, began managing DeeZ. "It was great timing and really helped me continue moving forward," Andy says. 

For over five years Andy has been practicing the art of mastering music. "I started doing it for two reasons," he says. "One, because I needed to put rough masters on tunes that weren't finished in order to play them live, and two, I wanted to have a better understanding of how it works." Putting a glossy veneer on complex bass frequencies is no small challenge, but it's one Andy has risen to.

The practice also informed his production process. "When I first started, I would notice problems in the mixdowns of my tunes when compressing/limiting them. Now that I know these things cause issues when the tune is mastered, I try to keep these common problems in mind when producing."

For his part, Frequency Fodder is a self-described "Eurocrack fiend", alluding to his synthesizer setup and an apparent addiction to it. You can see and hear more of this rig through some absolutely jamming clips on Frequency Fodder's Instagram, linked below.

We can apparently expect more collaboration from these two in the future. This is great news, as after a few listens to their contribution on Neurons Vol. 1, it's clear who's got the juice at the moment. 

FOLLOW DeeZ:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook    /   Instagram   /   Twitter

FOLLOW Frequency Fodder:   Youtube   /   Instagram 

Neurons Vol. 1: Keota - Wook Flu [Single]

By playing big billings and releasing a consistent stream of singles, KEOTA has remained steady on our radar throughout 2017, and he's elevating again today with "Wook Flu", the ninth track off Neurons Vol. 1, the superb compilation from Elemental Minded Promotions' (EMP). 

KEOTA a.k.a. Tom Brennan is the most recent addition to the EMP family. Though he's never had more than a "wook cold" himself, his effort on Neurons Vol. 1 is undoubtedly sick. KEOTA usually cuts and samples vocals to dramatic and often humorous effect. The choppy vocals in "Wook Flu" serve as another sonic element, instruments in themselves that bounce off a heavily broken beat, dizzying the listener. The synthesizer play is ill. Moist and fine cut synths are nothing new for KEOTA, who has been seriously producing for four years. The synthesis on "Wook Flu", however, is particularly filthy. Tom tell us it's the first tune he's released employing a new FM8 synthesizer. 

Northeastern heads will not want to miss KEOTA performing this Thursday, November 30th at the Middle East Downstairs in Boston with a stacked lineup featuring Jade Cicada, Kll Smth, Smigonaut, and Secret Recipe presented by Rezinate. Speaking of Rezinate, the Boston-based production company released a deep mix from KEOTA just yesterday, which you can listen to here.

The entirety of Neurons Vol. 1 is almost out, but stay chooned. We'll highlight one more choice cut from the compilation this Wednesday (full track list below).

1. Pluto Era - Nautilus
2. tsimba & Smigonaut - Headspace
3. Maxfield - Little Death In The Morning Sun
4. Scatz - Illgamesh
5. iX - Desert Form
6. Jizzy Fra - Sensi Star Dub
7. Face Plant - French Press
8. Phydra - Particle Board
9. Keota - Wook Flu
10. DeeZ - Juice ft. Frequency Fodder
11. Zoo Logic - Void

Follow KEOTA:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp   /   Instagram 

KEOTA a.k.a. Tom Brennan is the most recent addition to the EMP family. Though he's never had more than a "wook cold" himself, his effort on Neurons Vol. 1 is undoubtedly sick. KEOTA usually cuts and samples vocals to dramatic and often humorous effect. The choppy vocals in "Wook Flu" serve as another sonic element, instruments in themselves that bounce off a heavily broken beat, dizzying the listener. The synthesizer play is ill. Moist and fine cut synths are nothing new for KEOTA, who has been seriously producing for four years. The synthesis on "Wook Flu", however, is particularly filthy. Tom tell us it's the first tune he's released employing a new FM8 synthesizer. 

Northeastern heads will not want to miss KEOTA performing this Thursday, November 30th at the Middle East Downstairs in Boston with a stacked lineup featuring Jade Cicada, Kll Smth, Smigonaut, and Secret Recipe presented by Rezinate. Speaking of Rezinate, the Boston-based production company released a deep mix from KEOTA just yesterday, which you can listen to here.

The entirety of Neurons Vol. 1 is almost out, but stay chooned. We'll highlight one more choice cut from the compilation this Wednesday (full track list below).

1. Pluto Era - Nautilus
2. tsimba & Smigonaut - Headspace
3. Maxfield - Little Death In The Morning Sun
4. Scatz - Illgamesh
5. iX - Desert Form
6. Jizzy Fra - Sensi Star Dub
7. Face Plant - French Press
8. Phydra - Particle Board
9. Keota - Wook Flu
10. DeeZ - Juice ft. Frequency Fodder
11. Zoo Logic - Void

Follow KEOTA:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp   /   Instagram 

Scatz Tells Tales with "Illgamesh" off Neurons Vol. 1 Compilation

Considered one of mankind's earliest great stories, the Epic of Gilgamesh is a 4,000-year old Mesopotamian tale of an archetypal hero king. Thus the sonic storyteller Scatz is bold to parlay this piece of history into the name of his newest tune,  "Illgamesh", the fourth track from Elemental Minded Promotions' thick 11-part compilation Neurons Vol. 1. New cuts from the compilation will continue to drop on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays throughout November. 

The absence of traditional song structure is fundamental to Scatz music. This may give one the impression that the music is another misdirected mess of bass mayhem. On the contrary, by avoiding traditional song patterns Scatz accesses a more fluid form of compostion, creating one-of-a-kind movements - stories - that hold listeners at attention. "I’ve always been passionate about the magical craft and power of storytelling," Scatz tells us. His real name is Mitch Bilodeau, and in addition to producing he co-founded the vital left-field bass platform WUMP Collective with his brother Ronny from their home base in Connecticut. 

 "Illgamesh" darts in all directions. The mythical Mesopotamian king flashes back and forth, felling the Great Cedar with powerful kick drums, slaying the Bull of Heaven with broad and sharp synthesizers, and seeking eternal life with immortal melodies. Chopped samples from Mitch's own voice - "I will live another day" - are manipulated into mere vocal blips, glitching with guitar samples to producing a disorienting effect. The drums are smashing, with a particularly thorough kick. There's a grab-bag of glitches throughout the song, but Scatz maintains space in the mix, generating a laid-back atmosphere during intervals between pounding, somewhat purple bass. "The “ill-” in the title was my attempt to humorously transport the idea of this old figure of lore into the interweb-driven, meme-centric, modern society that we call home," Mitch says. "I like to think @illgamesh would be his Twitter handle if he were around today." 

Ultimately "Illgamesh" is an unconventional take on a sound - bass music -which is, well, unconventional in itself. The tracks adds special flavor to the already dynamic Neurons Vol. 1. Stay chooned to The Rust throughout November as we highlight more choice cuts from the compilation (full tracklist below).

1. Pluto Era - Nautilus
2. tsimba & Smigonaut - Headspace
3. Maxfield - Little Death In The Morning Sun
4. Scatz - Illgamesh
5. iX - Desert Form
6. Jizzy Fra - Sensi Star Dub
7. Face Plant - French Press
8. Phydra - Particle Board
9. Keota - Wook Flu
10. DeeZ - Juice ft. Frequency Fodder
11. Zoo Logic - Void

Follow Scatz:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp    /   Twitter   /   Instagram

Smigonaut & Tsimba Collab on Elemental Minded Compilation "Neurons Vol. 1"

Elemental Minded Promotions (EMP) has earned a reputation for touring top-shelf bass music through Connecticut and the greater Northeast. They now embark on a new venture with the release of Neurons Vol. 1, a dynamic 11-track compilation of exclusive tracks from EMP’s favorite up-and-coming producers.

Taking an alternative approach, tracks will drop every Monday, Wednesday and Friday throughout November instead of all at once. The first cut, "Nautilus" by Pluto Era, premiered earlier this week. The compilation contains tracks from each artist represented by the management arm of EMP - DeeZ, Keota, Scatz, Smigonaut, & Tsimba - and The Rust will highlight each one.

Today we offer "Headspace" by Smigonaut & Tsimba, the first collaboration between these producers. It's not what we expected. We can't recall any drum & bass releases from Smigonaut, and haven't heard this tempo from Tsimba in years. 

“We were both chillin’ one night listening to some drum & bass and talking about how we want to make more of it,” says Mark Evans Musto a.k.a. Tsimba. “He [Smigonaut] approached me with the melody and it was on.”

Simple but clean synth pads backlight the track. A subtle bassline beneath balances well with the prominent piano melody above, creating a mellow but driving groove. Tsimba’s drums are physically engaging throughout, with the hi-hats running like a 100-meter dash. When the song appears to be verging on reprise, it drops into a half-time shakedown with all the fuzzy sound design and off-kilter percussion that we have grown to expect from these two.

Mark has been working with EMP longer than any other artist. "He really was basically there for the birth of EMP," says founder Tyler Hettel.  "We kind of wanted to see how far we both could make it within the music business and what two kids from CT could do."

The path which led Josh Kipersztok a.k.a. Smigonaut to EMP was more roundabout. A superior sound sculptor, Josh attended Berklee College of Music (where he met  collaborator Skyler Golden a.k.a. Jade Cicada) and currently works for iZotope, a company that designs award-winning audio software and production plug-ins. “I met Josh through Andy [DeeZ] when Andy remixed 'Lost At Sea'," says Tyler. "I loved Andy's remix and when I dove deeper into Smigonaut's catalog I was thoroughly impressed." Forgive us, Tyler, but impressive is an understatement, and "Headspace", is a unique and unexpected addition to that catalog.

We would be caught off guard if either performer dropped “Headspace” in a set. Our next opportunity to hear this comes when the Swarm Tour swoops through Smigonaut’s hometown of Boston on 11/30. Josh will be lending support alongside fellow EMP artist Keota.

Stay chooned to The Rust throughout November as we highlight more choice cuts from Neurons Vol. 1 (full track list below).

1. Pluto Era - Nautilus
2. tsimba & Smigonaut - Headspace
3. Maxfield - Little Death In The Morning Sun
4. Scatz - Illgamesh
5. iX - Desert Form
6. Jizzy Fra - Sensi Star Dub
7. Face Plant - French Press
8. Phydra - Particle Board
9. Keota - Wook Flu
10. DeeZ - Juice ft. Frequency Fodder
11. Zoo Logic - Void

Follow Smigonaut:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /    Bandcamp 

Follow Tsimba:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /    Bandcamp   /   Instagram