Now this is something the rave scene may not have seen since Carl Cox et al. A complete 180 from the well-known bass house producer Barely Royal as he takes on the 174 world as Sovryn. It’s a bold crossover move but not as bold as it’s been in previous years. As bass house has started to vibe with dubstep and halftime, and they all use similar bass synths, a bit of genre jumping was bound to happen into hard D&B territory. Of course it begs the question: can Sovryn FKA Barely Royal pull off what so few have managed in the past? Static Vision, his forthcoming EP on Korsakov Music, is the answer.
Static Vision is a sort of prequel of things to come for Sovryn and a cross section of what fans can likely expect for the house-cum-D&B producer. The first two tracks, the title track featuring Gid Sedgwick and “Somebody New” featuring Ruth Royall, are Sovryn’s vocal and melodic offerings. “Somebody New” has a nice liquid/dancefloor crossover vibe, however, while “Static Vision” brings the pain with a punishing drum track driving the pop-infused vox. Both melodic but they also carry very different styles.
The last two tracks are much harder in nature. EP closer “Everybody” is a dancefloor-heavy yet pseudo-neuro banger with a little of that melodic spice in the intro and break. It’s a definite jumper, with a slappy beat to drive the hard, metallic synths forward and punctuated by a cheeky hip hop vocal sample. Well-balanced and fun, this track will plug into any dancefloor set with ease.
Our premiere today is another heavy track from the EP called “Invasion.” With lots of neurofunk vibes, Sovryn takes on the toughest technical subgenre with ease, combining grinding synths, a classic D&B kick drum combo and some loose, old school snares to make a track worthy of any hard D&B label. The melody in this track is all but gone, with just a little ambient fun at the intro and break. It’s likely this track was done in this format on purpose, for Sovryn to challenge himself and also to just jump in the deep end with his new Monkier and sound. It’s a bold move and, if history has taught us anything, neurofunk favors the bold.
If you listen to Sovyrn’s work as Barely Royal, it’s pretty easy to see he had the chops to make some epic D&B all along, despite how jarring a crossover from bass house may seem to some die hards. It’s always nice to find out we have more fans than we think and when an artist emboldens themselves to join the ranks of the toughest genre in EDM, they should be applauded. Luckily, it’s going to be much easier for Sovryn, as Static Vision also happens to be polished, technically sound and contain some blistering bass. Welcome to the club, Sovryn.
Static Vision drops Friday, February 26 on Korsakov Music. Click here to pre-order or pre-save.