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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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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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.

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FOLLOW Devisored: Soundcloud