Northern California’s ShadowTrix Music continues to drop icy-fresh goodness left and right; this new EP from Humboldt native, ChopsJunkie, is an absolute buffet of digitized, alien bass music.
We’ll be up-front and say we’ve been waiting for this one ever since we stumbled upon the man himself during a renegade cabin set at last year’s Emissions Festival; his skills have only increased since then, and this EP feels like a culmination of that progress. Entitled Cage Malfunction, the release features six original tracks guaranteed to make you feel like you’ve just been abducted and chucked into a simulator. The sound design here is raw and aggressive, with gritty, sub-bass fueled rhythms taking center stage atop clattering percussion. Tunes like ‘Strutworthy’ and ‘Procrastinate’ demonstrate this perfectly; however, ChopsJunkie is no one-trick pony, and the vibes can turn on a dime. While low-end never leaves the equation, tracks like ‘Creepin’ and ‘Wasabi’ deliver a more atmospheric, adventurous experience through otherworldly synth arrangements and syrupy melodies. Fellow Humboldt beat-hustler, RZL, is heavily featured throughout the release, lending his own special brand of crunk sauce; there’s also two absolutely killer remixes from STM’s own SuDs and Kozmo.
ChopsJunkie has made Cage Malfunction available as a pay-what-you-want download via the ShadowTrix Music Bandcamp page; if you’re a fan of artists like NastyNasty, Eprom, and SAYER, then you definitely don’t want to be caught sleeping on this EP. The full stream is below, happy listening!
CHOPSJUNKIE
