Release Date: 19th November 2021
This November, American cult hero Dev/Null debuts on Trickfinger & Aura T-09's Evar Records with MICROJUNGLIZM, an 8-track album that explores the power and beauty of darkcore, jungle tekno and breakbeat rave. Chopped drums, hairpin turns and alluringly emotional pads open up a time portal between the past and the future, decorated with haunting samples and musical Easter eggs that show off Boston-based Dev/Null's deep history as a rave historian and scholar.
MICROJUNGLIZM's fantasy suite was written over the last year, arranged and sequenced entirely without a computer. Dev/Null fell in love with Teenage Engineering's PO-33 Pocket Operator – a portable, pocket-sized sequencer that he started using during his DJ sets to create special versions on the fly. The limitations of making entire tracks inside the PO-33 immediately suggested the sampling techniques and stylistic hallmarks of early jungle, already one of Pete's longtime obsessions.
"The PO-33 has some of the same low-fi sonic charm as retro gear used back in the day," Pete explains. "8-bit samples, 11khz mono sound, kind of like an Amiga computer. It's been really fun and exciting to have my own tracks to throw into sets – even if they're raw, unfinished 3-minute things which get played once and never again. A few of these tunes were done for my sets at parties thrown by Aura T-09 in L.A., so I'm happy they're coming out on her label."
While these tracks may seem maximal, they are minimal to Pete's ear – a departure from the intricately sliced and information-dense breakcore for which he's known. The album emotionally bottles the essence of a bygone era with an individual palette of influences, from UK grime anthems to Italian horror soundtracks. Pete is not merely trying to tap into the cultural zeitgeist for all things jungle and breakbeat rave – he's already been here, stoking the fires of this scene since the early 2000s with his tastemaker blog (Blog to the Old Skool), his cult vinyl reissue label 8205 Recordings, and his deep dive radio shows: Demon Poetry on NTS and BTTO (with new-era jungle torchbearer Tim Reaper) on Jungletrain.net. MICROJUNGLIZM itself follows on from the momentum created by Pocket Selector, Dev/Null's 2020 outing with the PO-33 on the Modern Urban Jazz label, run by veteran UK drum 'n' bass producer Justice.
a1. E-Yeah
a2. Dark Fours
a3. Breath
a4. Broken Bell
b1. Warning Sign
b2. RNG Rmx
b3. Orchstomp
b4. Time 2 Rhyme
Release Date: 14th January 2022
Wheez-ie's uncompromising rave anthems get a wild ride of remixes from Tim Reaper, VTSS, DJ Stingray 313, Aura T-09 & Cardopusher
An of-the-moment remix EP full of bold, dark, and relentless warehouse thrillers.
On January 14, L.A.-based producer Matt "Wheez-ie" Mauldin follows up October 2021's Horizons release on Evar Records with an of-the-moment remix EP that's cathartic, riveting, uncompromising and altogether powerful. Wheez-ie gathers together an all-star cast of dancefloor iconoclasts who reinterpret his singular '90s-referential rave visions to thrilling affect – this is all killer, no filler warehouse music for those who are brave enough to take the ride.
London's jungle modernist Tim Reaper reworks "Horizons" – a Summer of Love-ready breakbeat epic with cinematic, near gothic overtones – into an homage of sorts to early LTJ Bukem, cutting up Wheezie's melancholy synths into a twinkling fairyland that dances atop a weighty ton of chopped amens and classic jungle subs.
Detroit icon DJ Stingray 313 trades in the punishing techno vibes of the original "Anon" for something equally fierce – a versatile 139 bpm slab of expertly-machined industrial electro that pairs perfectly with the sample "You think you know me, you don't," which could well be a rallying cry for Wheez-ie's unexpected musical stylings.
The surprises continue on the remix of "Pressure," tackled by Evar Records label head Aura T-09 with the wildly eclectic Barcelona-based Cardopusher. The duo transform Wheez-ie's aggressive free-festival hard trance into a cheeky and modern riff on early Paul Van Dyk/Tiësto/Love Parade anthems. Gossamer layers of Aura T-09's angelic vocals and tunneling Acperience arpeggios are offset by a wildfire of hacked breakbeats and Dominator synth stabs, revealing Cardopusher's rich breakcore past.
Rounding out this fully mental and totally unexpected remix pack is a nasty, naughty fingerblast from the Berghain dark room via Polish-born, Berlin-based VTSS. Where other remixes add the breaks, the fast-techno goddess strips back the early '90s breakbeat hardcore onslaught of the original and replaces it with an equally relentless industrial 4/4 beat – the entire tune is a masterclass in the intensity for which she's known.
Uncompromising and utterly of-the-moment, the Horizons Remix EP explores new shades of the themes that infuse Wheez-ie's original: dystopian futurism, uncertainty, dark beauty and rave catharsis. Don't sleep!
a1: Horizons (Tim Reaper Rmx)
a2: Anon (DJ Stingray 313 Rmx)
b1: Pressure (Aura T-09 + Cardopusher Rmx)
b2: Shut the Door (VTSS Rmx)
