Hidden beneath the arches at Fire Nightclub in Vauxhall, Cyberfunk smashed onto the Drum and Bass scene with a label launch party in March 2015; with a delicious line-up including Dillinja, Break, Skeptical and of course the founder himself Xtrah. Since then Cyberfunk events have become one of the ‘Get the good whisky out’, ‘Gonna bell in tomorrow.’, ‘Might pre-buy a ticket.’ kind of nights. Next event is the Cyberfunk Christmas party on the 16th of December at Qube in Victoria, Super early bird tickets already sold out so get involved.
Pitch Black is the third release from Cyberfunk and the debut solo release from Austrian Producer Phentix, released 16th September 2016. I would love a slightly more original EP name in all honestly, had a quick look on a popular search engine that rhymes with Bugle and found at least 6 others named the same, most born from extreme metal bands, but I won’t get unnecessarily judgmental, let’s see what the tracks have to say.
First track ‘Pitch Black’ eases you in with melodic tones before thrusting you straight into a Bass face worthy drop, clean yet with a peppering of dirt, reminiscent of a can of Stella I enjoyed on the last night of Glastonbury; this tune has that bounce that you just can’t help but move to, a strong start and my favorite track of the lot.
Next up Phentix has teamed up with Italian Producer ‘Disprove’ for the track ‘Vicious’. Disprove is the creator of the track ‘Call the shots’ a personal favorite of mine released on ‘Invisible Recordings’, the label curated by Drum and Bass heavyweights Noisia. ‘Vicous’ takes the E.P to a whole new tone of Darkness, that isn’t afraid to strip down in this cold weather; here we are left with beautifully timed deposits of Succinct drums and heavy Breakbeat precision, that can always be expected from a collaboration with this Neuro-master.
The whole E.P is smooth but switches it up just as you start to feel too cosy, similar to that feeling when you miss the last step running down the stairs. The third track ‘Informer’ has the highest BPM of the E.P at 174, but continues the stripped back sound, no frills, just raw Drum and Bass which sounds effortless, the sign of a gifted producer.
For the track ‘Informer’ Phentix collaborates with Dutch producer ‘Signal’, I remember Signal’s set in Room 2 at Fabric back in April with Critical; and ‘Informer’ certainly doesn’t disappoint, with the same deep, dark, and heavy sound. Not to be forgotten, ‘Babylon’ is a digital exclusive track that really brings the EP to life, I can already hear the eerie screams of ‘Babylon’ that will make their way over the bass when the track is played out.
I genuinely enjoyed this EP, solid work from Phentix. I feel a bit guilty to be sat at home with a cup of tea and Hob nob after that, which is always a good sign for me. Cyberfunk moves firmly forward with this release, and I’m now eagerly awaiting the line-up for the Christmas party, more of this please!
Take a listen below!
On a slightly sad final note, I am always transported to the same place when listening to all varieties of Drum and Bass, that place where I feel free in the middle of all the chaos; Fabric. If you’ve been stuck in the arm hole of your jumper for the past few week’s haven’t heard about the closure of the Club, then take a look at https://www.fabriclondon.com/
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