Still considerably fresh to the game, Mungk releases his most complete record to date this week with ‘No Man’s Land‘ on Romanian label Dirty Beats. The UK producer first caught my attention earlier this year with the aptly named ‘Tribe‘, an uplifting tribal roller now available for free download and I’ve since been hooked on his natural, effortless sound. Fast forward a few months following releases on Dubstep Rotterdam Records, Sub Photic and a guest mix on this very blog (HNYBSSSSNS006), Mungk displays his growth with this large five track EP where we are immersed in his mystical, bass driven world.
From the rich, distinctive opening title track and beyond, we’re treated to a journey of colourful sound design with a wide range of organic sounding instrumentation and quirky sampling. For instance, Mungk puts a grimy edge to an otherwise smooth tribal roller that is ‘Garden Of Eden‘ with disruptive stabs of sharp distorted horns. From that, we head to ‘Ancient Wisdom‘, a magical stomper that paints bright natural landscapes; composing light plucky melodies over thumping bass weight pressure. But just when we feel comfort in this enchanting world, Mungk breaks the spell by taking us into the darker realms with ‘Basilica‘. It’s the most melancholic cut on the EP but still comes through with more detailed percussion and mesmerising strings amongst the murky atmosphere. To conclude the EP Duckem, another talented UK producer to recently feature on Honey & Bass Sessions (HNYBSSSSNS007), produces a remix of ‘No Man’s Land‘ where he delves into deeper depths with a powerful wavy low end, paired with an occasional esoteric synth lead without invading the spacious soundscape he’s effectively reconstructed. A slick remix to finish off a captivating EP that’s matched with similarly beautiful artwork by Dirty Beats top dog Digital Selekta.
DBM006 is out this Saturday (25th May) and available from the Dirty Beats Bandcamp.
Check out Mungk on Soundcloud.
Check out Dirty Beats on Soundcloud and Twitter.