Mirror Maze Partners with VALE to Release "Frustration" Single

VALE’s 2020 calendar year has been full of niche selections and unveilings; from DET’s Ocha remix album to Result’s Bone Bender EP, they’e touched on nearly ever manner of high-fidelity, guttural bass music. They’re next serving comes in the form of the hair-splitting single “Frustration” from the Los Angeles-based producer Mirror Maze; a relative newcomer into the wider system music radar, he’s clearly got the chops and the acumen necessary to go toe to toe with VALE’s usual roster of heavy hitters.

“Frustration” is a sublimated descent into granular synthesis and novel melodies. With a clear focus on spectral movement over contemporary rhythms, it’s a track that meanders at its own malleable pace, intertwining mad dashes of sonic pressure and calm, low-tide recessions into relaxed soundscapes. It fits the VALE formula like a glove, showcasing incredible production prowess with choice, eclectic compositions. It’s just a taste of the Mirror Maze project, but it’s more than enough of a serving to have us positively curious about what else he’s brewing in the laboratory.

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Voljum - Electric Forces (Smigonaut Remix) [EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE]

Voljum’s debut EP cyberglobe put a laser focus on the intersection between jazz, sound design, and intuitive sample play, solidifying his unique production narrative. Looking to merge new perspectives with his high fidelity palette, cyberglobe (Remixes) makes landfall at the end of this week, and The Rust has been tapped to premiere the Smigonaut remix of “Electric Forces”.

The Rust Music · Voljum - Electric Forces (Smigonaut Remix)[EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE]

With a natural inclination towards all things swing, Smigonaut’s arrangment philosophy slides into the design of “Electric Forces” with ease; Reframed rhythms bring down the energy ceiling of the track without compromising the weight and the mass behind each measure. It’s a careful twist on a playful composition, balancing moody hues and sharp clarity to fully pronounce the song’s attitude. On their own, Voljum and Smigonaut are electrified forces in their own right, so it should come as no surprise that their combined might oozes out of the “Electric Forces” remix.

Pre-order the Bandcamp Remix EP release here

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VALE Releases Result's Eclectic Bone Bender EP

VALE and Result have teamed up yet again; only four months removed from ‘Manticore,’ their initial collaborative neuro drum and bass EP, Result is already back around, loaded to the gills with more cutting-edge concepts and executions. VALE has always tapped so seamlessly into the heart of neuro sound design; they have consistently injected the underground airways with trend setting records since their inception. This new release, Bone Bender, takes listeners deeper into the creative explorations of Result’s musical hemisphere, with a particular focus on brain greasing grooves that push the envelope within multiple contemporary drum and bass sub-genres.

Leading with “Buzzer Beater”, the record starts off with off-the-walls high energy tune carrying a large dose of funk embedded in its groove. The lead synth does great work in the front half of the tune, possessing a distinct tear-out feel, and providing a clever degree of pretense for the crunchy, bass-laden breakdown. The forward aggression in “Buzzer Beater” is juxtaposed by airy atmosphere in “Spasm”; a dark energy roller that offers a fantastic take on drum and bass through the lenses of minimalism. The snare is thick, rich, and teeming with texture, exacerbating each downbeat around a surging bass line . Result effectively uses negative space in the groove to create color throughout the rest of the stereo space, creating a dynamic track that slips in and out of powerful pocketed phrases.

The title track features a drowsy retro synth lead amidst a dark atmosphere. As the arrangement shifts into high gear, it gives way to speaker-busting frequencies. Between phrases, the tune traverses alterations in the cadence as well as different patches on the lead synth, keeping the texture palette fresh from start to finish. “Bone Bender” is entirely reflective of the vibe found across the record, with shredded timbres and fierce sub weight blasting through each layer of sound of structure.

What we have heard thus far from Result and VALE is two installments of top-notch experimental drum and bass. We’re heavily inclined to believe that this relationship has far to go before it reaches its zenith, and if the current trend is any indication, there’s plenty more to come in the near future.

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Enigmatic Austrian Producer Voljum Drops First EP 'Cyberglobe'

The backstory of Austrian producer Voljum is a novel one. He’s a 19-year-old classical pianist who produces electronic music in his spare time, and offers ghost production across several genres of music. He’s released six original tracks to date, and each one demonstrates extraordinarily advanced sound design. Little else is known about the producer beyond this, although perhaps more will come to light following the release of his first EP, Cyberglobe, which is available today through the experimental outlet VALE.

From some of his first singles like the raw neuro banger “The Basics”, listeners would be forgiven for missing the classical piano background. It’s easier to identify on Cyberglobe, through the breakdown on “Electric Forces” or the intro on the title track. The steppin’ bassline on this tune and shuffling drum pattern betray a jazz influence. The bassline continues to guide the song, but in no time the drums are replaced by a thick haltime hip-hop beat over which crushing neuro sound design descends. The melody here is clear and powerful, and a vocal sample rounds out the song by riffing about a “computerized world”. Indeed Voljum’s music could be part of the perfect soundtrack for such a world.

Cyberglobe finds Voljum becoming more comfortable with his songwriting and therefore able to take more risks and step away from some of the conventions that have grown around haltime and neuro music in the last two years. This is saying much, because his songwriting was already way out there. It still is, but here he leans more confidently on his melodies to carry the tune. He throws out nearly all convention during the second half of “Conceptual”. The EP also carries the producer’s first drum and bass tune, which is pleasing given that the rest of his catalog resembles halftime drum and bass. Hearing Voljum express himself at 173 beats-per-minute just feels right. The sonic landscape of this tune “Until the Last Breath” is as carefully calibrated as one would expect, full of razor sharp audio effects and envelopes and filters that flip on a dime to reveal new dimensions of bass synthesis.

Not only the willingness but the ability to experiment is part of Voljum’s appeal. He surely loves electronic music, but his deep training in classical piano probably affords him a refreshing approach that others who are more immersed in electronic may not have. That, in addition to some next-level innate talent, puts Voljum squarely on the cutting edge of broken beat electronic music. This Cyberglobe EP may demonstrate to audiences or to the producer himself that he’s here to stay, and that electronic music can be something more for him than a spare time activity.

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Maxfield - Cage of Glass [Premiere]

The enchanting, Odyssean “Cage of Glass” is the third succulent taste of Maxfield’s upcoming EP The Malleable Mirage releasing on February 27th with VALE. The crisp, cutting mid-tempo tunes “Opaque” and “Chucklebup” each premiered on the Inspector Dubplate Youtube channel recently. But coming in at just under nine minutes, and missing the traditional whizzes, bops, and bright colors that entice bass music listeners, “Cage of Glass” is an enchanting electronic bass ballad that finds Maxfield again out on an artistic limb.

Listeners learned from Maxfield’s prior project Under the Pink Umbrella that the producer is not afraid of taking risks in terms of songwriting. Indeed, one distinguishing aspect of Maxfield’s music is that his songs can be twice as long as your average hit, and non-linear; they never take quite the turn that you’re expecting, opting instead for a series surprises that range from the serious to the wacky and irreverent.

“Cage of Glass” opens as if the listener is inside some sort of translucent prism, probably technicolor and highly reminiscent of a film adaptation of your favorite sci-fi novel. Suddenly, the prism because touring through space-time, passing jungles where flute melodies waft through the air and medieval caverns where a court jester sadly plucks away on acoustic guitar strings. Then, it’s off to the future as an array of synthesized percussive sounds scurry through the mix like a centipede. Before long, all these ages and their textures blend into a sonic collage beautiful for its diversity, not for the strength or severity of any one specific element.

Maxfield has indicated before that his music is suffused with themes of space and space travel. These themes are again at play on “The Glass Cage”. It’s open spaces and its windy and momentous melodies conjure images of a vast emptiness that upon closer examination is not so empty. Look out for The Malleable Mirage on February 27th when the full project in all its quirky glory will be available through VALE.

PRE-ORDER: Bandcamp

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VALE - Dmitri's Table Compilation

With a nonstop release cycle and a seemingly endless cadre of producers in their pocket, VALE has become a one-stop-shop for the darker textures and compositions of broken beat electronic music. Having tapped into the likes of Kursa, Seppa, Hurtdeer, and Whynnel over three years ago, it is a safe bet that they possess a keen understanding for the most hair-raising musings from around the world. In just the last year alone, VALE has released tracks from Smigonaut, Voljum, Wessanders, Hullabaloo, and Resonant Language, showcasing the skillsets of what are surely tomorrow’s dons of low-end production. Following up their massive Awareness compilation, their fresh compilation Dimitri’s Table is a parred-down, tactile assortment of nuclear powered sound design.

The concept of Dimitri’s Table is at once both novel and elementary; Elements combine to form compounds. Compounds have different properties from the elements they are composed of. Reflecting this ethos, every track on the compilation is a collaborative effort. In some contrast to previous VALE releases, this collection of tunes carries an atmospheric weight that is often left behind in favor of razor-sharp bass design and tonal aggression. The first track, “Zappified”, is a 4x4 doozy rendered with all manner of vowel-esque wobbles and crescendo’d bass courtesy of Carlo Frick and Abelation. KLIINE, DMR, and Walrus Tales join forces once again with their track “Eccentric“, a vivacious drum & bass adventure with a little half-time flirting around near the end of the composition. Channeling emotive flavor, Phicizist and Zain Wolf utilize specific note relationships, building and breaking tension with the use of distorted harmonics and rhythmic turnarounds in “Stages of Depression“. DFNKT and GEMO take things through a glitched-out matrix in “Wobble“, breaking apart waveforms inside of granular synthesis. Closing out the compilation, Waeys and Dayle bust out perhaps the thickest sauce of them all in “Merge“, with pulsating, resampled textures rupturing speaker cones and eardrums alike.

2018 has seen dozens of high-octane producers sling their biggest and baddest tunes to date, and for those at the top of that spectrum, VALE is a platform unlike most others. Maintaining a clear musical palette is paramount to the success of a label, and that’s the cornerstone of this compilation’s experience. After a year of non-stop releases and spotlights, one can only wonder what continues to brew deep in the VALE laboratories.

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VALE Singles: Voljum & Devisored

The deep underground label VALE adds to their ongoing stream of far-out, bass-heavy singles today with two raw tunes from two relatively unknown and international producers, voljum and Devisored. The label is gaining recognition for its curation of dark, high-brow experimental bass music. This go-round, they may have outdone themselves.

“monotony” from voljum is just reckless. The complexity here leaves one at a loss for words. It’s like a gauntlet of pro-level snips from the sound design spectrum, from fuzzy to smooth, colorful to sharp, metallic, aqueous and unheard. The crystal clear string bass and flute arrangement in the bridge creates a catchy melody, feigning accessibility. The arrangement - intro, drop, bridge, drop (reprise) - is standard, but the content is absolutely bonkers. “monotony” (the irony of the title reveals itself after a few listens) is clearly composed with the power and precision of a well-schooled musician and the abandon of a mad scientist.

Sparked primarily by the “ghost production” credentials listed on the voljum’s SoundCloud, ongoing discussions have speculated on the producer’s true identity. He offers a comprehensive intake form for ghost production requests, where customers can submit a track in styles ranging from Complextro, Future Garage, and Moombhacore to the usual Dubstep, Drumstep, etc. Customers can obtain the music in any format from an .mp3 to an Ableton 10 project file ( for an additional 95 euros). There may be something to this speculation. Or, voljum could simply be the 18-year-old classical pianist composing electronic music in his spare time, as his SoundCloud suggests. Is voljum the Lebron James of neuro? Either way, obviously stay chooned.

For all this, the second producer on the docket, Devisored (pronounced 'Dev-eye-zerD'), may be even more enigmatic. Hailing from India and with far fewer followers than voljum, Devisored has just two tracks available to the public. “Vulcan”, his third, runs for almost five and a half minutes. Although it’s climactic and possesses some extreme and challenging sound design, it’s more drawn out and emotionally dynamic than the cut from voljum, with development and separate movements. In this way it’s both a counterbalance and a perfect match with “monotony”.

Here’s a tip of the cap to VALE for pairing singles from such unknown artists and popping them off. Here’s another to the artist that plays out “monotony” in one of his or her next sets.

FOLLOW voljum: Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Spotify

FOLLOW Devisored: Soundcloud

High Dude - Withstanding EP

Operating deep in the shadow realms of the Artist is High Dude, a producer, visual artist and PhD student with an innocuous name but a captivating, black electronic sound. The producer’s new release, a four-track mixed-tempo trip down the rabbit hole called Withstanding, is available today on the always dark and lurking digital label VALE.

High Dude, who hails from France, has strong views on art, both with regard to his own creative endeavors and Art at-large. “Art is nothing but the ideal, only worth the ideal; if it's limited to a mere imitation, copy or counterfeit nature, it will do better to abstain; it would only display its own insignificance, by dishonoring the very objects it had imitated.” So said Pierre-Joseph Proudhon in 1865, who is quoted on High Dude’s SoundCloud account. Indeed this rings true. Art that merely imitates is not really art at all, and ought to be left alone. On Withstanding, High Dude matches these bold beliefs with a highly cultivated and intentional sound. Although he deftly incorporates popular threads in broken beat electronic music, these four cuts are distinguished as unique creations possible of arising only from one mind - High Dude’s - at one point in time - right now.

Across the EP, High Dude flexes foundational European styles like dubstep and drum and bass. His take on each style, though, is far from traditional. With “Artless” (what superb entendre - High Dude is also a poet) the producer places sophisticated, grainy sound design and well-manipulated foley samples within an arrangement defined by the simple tempo and dark, atmospheric pads native to dubstep.

As a sucker for 170+ bpm music, your correspondent’s favorite tune on this release is “Epicenter”. It’s a mental take on drum and bass. Small, diamond-cut glitches and other delightful details perk one part of the ears while the undulating synthesizers grab hold of the body. The percussion is acoustic and classy, and a muffled voice that sounds like an airport announcement acts as a subtle, disorienting touch. The song closes in a deep, aqueous ambiance that lasts for mere seconds but projects great power. “Shaman’s Weeping” is mysterious, seemingly unable to settle on which emotion it wants to project, therefore leaving the listener in a perplexing limbo. Stylistically, the tune is noteworthy for it’s strange interpretation of psydub material

“My productions aren’t there to entertain. They cannot be consumed. You must think to understand them and accept them as they are. As pieces of art.” These words come from High Dude himself aka Lohan. Someone so self-aware of his creative products deserves a deeper look from listeners who are enthusiastic about the ideas and subtext behind art. If one endeavors to investigate his catalog, peep prior releases on Outtallectuals, Aquatic Collective, and Upscale Audio.

FOLLOW High Dude: Official / Soundcloud / Instagram

VALE Singles: WESSANDERS

VALE is a digital label with a judicious ear for sharp, dark sound. Often, that sound is presented through a progressive arrangement or a unique take on rhythm. The label's latest single, "Mouth Breather" from New England experimental bass producer WESSANDERS, hits on these themes like a bullseye.  

Straightforward minor chords weave spiderwebs and cast shadows above spidery synthesis. The song goes through three consecutive "build-drop" sequences, with a full soundscape ducking out to reveal a pocket packed with a swelling bassline and perky percussion that shifts in time and tempo. WESSANDERS aka Kai Felsman likes to leave some space in the mix for each piece of audio to breathe. That's definitely the case with "Mouth Breather". There's enough musical elements here to make it complex, but not so many as to overwhelm. The foley sounds snap into syncopation with the infected synthesis. The bassline and drum beat interlock and project an angular groove. 

The atmosphere on this cut is low-slung and spooky throughout, in the style of VALE. It's only slightly darker than the vibes WESSANDERS usually curates, and it's certainly got the same aggression that marks the rest of his catalog. To date, Kai has not released an extended or long play besides a mini-mix from around Christmas time. He clearly knows how to flex a digital audio workstation, though. The complex arrangement of the tune also signals that his familiarity with music writing may run deep. Hopefully more work from this young producer is waiting in the wings somewhere. 

FOLLOW Wessanders:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp

VALE Singles: Walrus Tales & Anti_Negative & Kliine

Diving into the Mariana Trench of electronic music does not require any certifications, expert training, student loans, or even a manual. What it does require, however, is an appetite voracious enough to track the sheer volume of releases on a daily basis. Enter VALE, an upstart label that specializes in all things dark, doom, and gloom within contemporary bass music. This week they present a triple threat production between Walrus Tales, Anti_Negative, and Kliine, and it most certainly slaps.

The track creeps in from the get go with synthesis crawling around the frequency spectrum, and quickly drops into a full crunch of neuro-hop. The percussion is particularly alluring all over the track with an extremely organic timbre, a la good sample choice, as well as crisp compression to bust each tone through the speakers. The track dips in and out of intensity, mulling over gentle piano melodies whilst allowing the darker elements to assemble in the background. Come the last minute of the track the ears are treated to a maelstrom of high velocity cuts and stabs, only for the tune's elements to fall back over itself and end on a righteous key line. 

If what you seek is hi-fi low-end production coupled with a grim attitude, then look no further. VALE has a consistent release cycle to make sure everyone gets their just deserts on time, every time. Keep both ears focused on this small collective of sonic muckrakers, or risk falling behind on the latest in all things cutting-edge and experimental.

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