Umut presents: Esym – Icarus EP [KP028]
Somewhere between cinematic soundscapes and tight drumwork, Esym finds himself in musically calmer but also much harder realms of Drum&Bass. The young Australian draws inspiration from technology and film and multiplies these elements to his distinctive signature sound. With the ‘Icarus EP’ on Krytika Productions, he is now expressing his creativity and diversity. Six tracks that you definitely need in your life! Founded in 2014, the German Drum & Bass label Krytika Productions has dedicated itself to the dark sound of our beloved genre and is under the guidance of the eponym Krytika.
‘Into Darkness’ opens the EP with a gloomy atmosphere in the intro which turns into an infinitely flowing bright pad and finally tears you into a maelstrom of percussions, pulsating synths and stomping kicks. *imitating Borg’s voice* resistance is futile! Wicked!
In ‘Forbidden’ Esym relies entirely on playful melodies and evil saws. The whole thing is enriched with plenty of FX and risers and finally results in a comfortably drifting sound image to which you can party but also relax.
Talking about cinmatic intros, we now get to the title track: ‘Icarus’. Apart from the absolutely uplifting and full of epicness glaring vibe and a certain tendency to drama, all points that make up the sound of the artist are represented here. Dirty, forward oriented synth riffs unite with a flow of softly played percussions and crunchy drums. If you let yourself into it, you can see Icarus rise to the sun.
‘Realm’ seamlessly follows its predecessor and still doesn’t get boring. I was immediately carried away by the idea. For me, the beautiful pads radiate a feeling of a new beginning and are complemented by the eternally running saw, a touch of distortion and you melt away.
It continues with some more minimalistic stuff, ‘Are You Safe’ is the type of track where I immediately want to start throwing adjectives around. Beautiful, multi-faceted, dreamy… Without further ado a strict diet was prescribed on the drums and in the bass sector there’s a lot going on. it saws less, it stirs rather. Creamy would be an adjective which gives the whole thing a bit more character. I would also immediately attest the masterpiece to slightly liquid traits.
Five tracks deep, one more to go. ‘Distant Mind’ is the elegant and conspiratorial culmination of a wonderful journey. Actually somewhat distanced from the soundscape of the previous tracks. As quite a discoverer the first pad gets me directly and I let myself drift in a sea of endlessly unfolding surfaces and relaxed drums accompanied by the absolutely smooth bass line. Chapeau Matthew!
I would describe Esym and his sound as underrated and epic, one way or another. The release definitely has a red line and it still remains thrilling until the very end! 5 of 5 points, stars, hooks, whatever!
But listen for yourself.
Esym - Icarus EP Label: Krytika Productions Release Date: 23.09.19 Catalog-Nr.: KP028 Links: Label: bandcamp • SoundCloud • facebook Esym: SoundCloud • facebook
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