Dread Or Dead Records have quietly become one of the most consistent labels about, to the point where I’d say they’re one of the most underrated! With the likes of Substrada, Ninety and Nova gracing the label, DOD have kept themselves ahead of the curve by picking up music from those that will most likely become dominant forces within the genre throughout the next few years. So it bodes well for the latest member to join the crew, the ambiguous Nizth.
The Russian producer has tacitly put out some interesting material recently, appropriately gloomy as it continued to fester within the underground. For his latest project, three of Nizth‘s original beats rise to the surface for ‘Mannequin‘ EP, plus two remixes by WZ and Q100. In fact today, I have the pleasure of presenting WZ‘s remix of the EP’s title track, ‘Mannequin‘.
For the most part, Nizth‘s ‘Mannequin‘ chatters with flickering synths, breaking through the swampy lows that Nizth abides by. Stark, minimal yet ear catching, it’s a sound I’ve been compelled by over recent years, particularly thanks to the cutting edge productions from the likes of Pharma and Ninety, but here we have Nizth nailing the sound in his own devilish way! ‘Seen‘ captivates with an even trippier lead, bouncing and oscillating between deep and damaging 808s, until the funk escapes the dungeons upon ‘Liberation‘, a refreshing twist on Nizth‘s murky sound. Most notably, he tinkers with the drum selection – a lot more natural with a lot more intricacy, grooving alongside the hypnotic pulsations of fiendish bass. Two fellow European producers lend their skillsets to the project and put their individual spin on a couple of tracks. For today’s premiere, Czech based producer WZ rips up ‘Mannequin‘ limb from limb, adding more insanity to the mix both in terms of the system crushing weight and synth mutilations. Estonia’s Q100 rounds up the EP with his choppy take on ‘Seen‘, which features some of the filthiest bass design, from the brain melting flutters to the skull piercing distortions, all wrapped into a killer flow that retains the very essence of the original track.
From the unexplored swamps of dubstep, Nizth does what Nizth does best on this latest appearance. One that wholly exhibits a sound he’s developed in recent years, resulting in his most succinct record so far. And like always, you can’t deny that the addition of a couple of remixes elevates the release to another level, achieving another well rounded and well curated body of work to feature on Dread Or Dead.
‘Mannequin‘ EP is out now and available to download here.
Check out Nizth on Instagram.
Check out WZ on Soundcloud and Instagram.
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