textura

VA: Audience of None
none60

A fitting sequel to none60's None of the Above collection, Audience of None has a title one would naturally assume emerged during the pandemic; in fact, it was chosen almost immediately after the earlier compilation's 2019 release. Further to that, the title of “Evil Earth,” the opening track on the new collection by Silent Dust (Dan Blishen and Andy Hobbs), was likewise coined before the virus hit. No matter: the dozen tracks collectively capture the none60 style, even if a slightly more dystopic vibe's present overall.

Silent Dust's statement “We release music by ourselves and also by far more talented people!” (on its Soundcloud page) is typically cheeky, but the truth is no artist's none60 tracks are better than those by the showrunners. No better proof is needed than “Evil Earth,” as dazzling a heavy-hitter as Blishen and Hobbs have crafted. Drenched in crackle, the piece is introduced with an ominous synth figure and an unsettling sample featuring women musing about the possibility of extraterrestrial life before the beats thunder in to complete the picture. As liberating as the track feels with the groove added, the mood of suffocation and desperation never dissipates.

Others perpetuate the retro-futuristic vibe in sleek productions that push up against the conventional boundaries less imaginative producers are content to operate within. Without ever settling too cozily into any one genre, the contributors pull from drum'n'bass, dub, jungle, and techno for their productions. Arlow's lumbering “Bear Dub” plunges into a heavy dub-techno zone sure to get Deadbeat fans salivating; Mauoq opts for a funkier treatment in the snakecharmer “Jallo Ride”; and 3VS's“Elevated State,” Margari's Kid's “Roundmoor Gardens,” and Hathor's jungle-thrusting “Lustrum” seethe with lethal intent. Elsewhere, Jaskin & Uneven get two spots, the bass-roiling “Thumb Technique” first and the bonus “Fiction (Tellus Remix)” coming at set's end, and, yep, that's Miles's voice drawling through the trumpet-smeared d'n'b pulse of Joakuim's “Nocturnal Jazz.”

Here's a release that should come with a “Forbidden to play at low volume” sticker. Every cut achieves maximum impact when the walls shake and the floor rumbles.

June 2021


	VA: Audience of None none60 A fitting sequel to none60's None of the Above collection, Audience of None has a title one would naturally assume emerged during the pandemic; in fact, it was chosen almost immediately after the earlier compilation's 2019 release. Further to that, the title of “Evil Earth,” the opening track on the new collection by Silent Dust (Dan Blishen and Andy Hobbs), was likewise coined before the virus hit. No matter: the dozen tracks collectively capture the none60 style, even if a slightly more dystopic vibe's present overall. Silent Dust's statement “We release music by ourselves and also by far more talented people!” (on its Soundcloud page) is typically cheeky, but the truth is no artist's none60 tracks are better than those by the showrunners. No better proof is needed than “Evil Earth,” as dazzling a heavy-hitter as Blishen and Hobbs have crafted. Drenched in crackle, the piece is introduced with an ominous synth figure and an unsettling sample featuring women musing about the possibility of extraterrestrial life before the beats thunder in to complete the picture. As liberating as the track feels with the groove added, the mood of suffocation and desperation never dissipates. Others perpetuate the retro-futuristic vibe in sleek productions that push up against the conventional boundaries less imaginative producers are content to operate within. Without ever settling too cozily into any one genre, the contributors pull from drum'n'bass, dub, jungle, and techno for their productions. Arlow's lumbering “Bear Dub” plunges into a heavy dub-techno zone sure to get Deadbeat fans salivating; Mauoq opts for a funkier treatment in the snakecharmer “Jallo Ride”; and 3VS's“Elevated State,” Margari's Kid's “Roundmoor Gardens,” and Hathor's jungle-thrusting “Lustrum” seethe with lethal intent. Elsewhere, Jaskin & Uneven get two spots, the bass-roiling “Thumb Technique” first and the bonus “Fiction (Tellus Remix)” coming at set's end, and, yep, that's Miles's voice drawling through the trumpet-smeared d'n'b pulse of Joakuim's “Nocturnal Jazz.” Here's a release that should come with a “Forbidden to play at low volume” sticker. Every cut achieves maximum impact when the walls shake and the floor rumbles. June 2021