Within seconds of listening to any of his creations , it is blatantly evident why Never Say Die wasted no time snatching up 501 and signing him to their immensely talented roster of artists. His infectious blend of cacophonous sounds and samples effortlessly feed into one another creating bass music reminiscent of no other artist. Bold, heavy, and melodic, 501 operates at his own frequency.
His latest release,his Beat The System EP, is yet another work of art demonstrating that his crafty interplay of raucous and harmonic soundscapes are one of a kind. Kicking off with the aptly named, “And It Begins”, 501 initiates this sonic journey with washed out synth lines, and a playful melody that build and jump head first into a full fledged skirmish of vocal sampling, slightly erratic sounds and a profound bassline. Continuing on, the EP moves to the inventive electro house flavored record “Vulture”. “Vulture” reminds me of something you might hear from 501‘s label cohort, Habstrakt. Fusing sounds that I frankly can’t even describe, “Vulture” is anything but just another mainstream electro house tune. The final two original records of the release, “Beat The System” and “Inside The Machine” bring a slightly heavier feel to the conclusion of the EP while still flaunting an onslaught of sounds and sampling only 501 could be responsible for creating. “Beat The System”, the title track of the EP, builds around a sample eerily similar to Knife Party‘s “Internet Friends” but fortunately, strays and develops into something entirely different. Cleverly supporting the vocals with a barrage of synths, lasers and jarring bass, “Beat The System” is pure 501 from start to finish. “Inside The Machine”, my personal favorite of the EP, builds with vocals reminiscent of an actual chorus before dropping into an expertly arranged composition of harmonic synths, chords, and talking bass. The last tune of the EP, Protohype‘s remix of “Vulture” is by far the longest and heaviest track of the EP. At first, I wasn’t a huge fan of the remix, but after multiple listens, I have really grown to appreciate this remix for its grit and addicting counter melody. Protohype‘s remix embodies a sense of grime and aggression that 501‘s compositions often lack and I thought the inclusion of Protohype‘s track was an excellent choice. 
All in all, I’m not sure that 501‘s Beat The System EP fully surpasses his Smash EP from 2012, but after just one listen it is immediately clear that when it comes to forging his own unique identity in bass music, 501 is in a league of his own.
Beat The System is out now on Beatport and can be purchased here!
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That EP is awesome. Cant stop listening to it.