We’ve got good news for all the lovers of experimental bass music out there: Saturate! Records just dropped a new EP from Tennessee-based badmen, Moniker and it is out of this world.
Clearly drawing inspiration from both their years of musical experience and their fellow, beat-hustling pioneers of the scene, as well as recent travels around North America for their latest tour with Baht, the Vessels EP is some the duo’s best work to date. It walks the line between gorgeous and gritty, mature and composed without losing a shred of that boundary-pushing flair the duo is known for. The title track displays this juxtaposition perfectly, luring the listener in with a haunting piano melody before diving headlong into waves of sawing, sub-bass fueled synth madness. Other tunes like ‘Caligula’ and ‘Scorpion’ (a collaboration with Zero Tep) lean more towards the trap end of the spectrum; restrained 808s interspersed with hard, rounded kicks bump and clatter in the background as otherworldly arpeggios take center stage. Moniker even tried their hand at future bass and the result is truly stunning; ‘U’ is darkly energetic, with a perfectly pitched vocal sample and emotive chord progressions forming the core of the track. They knocked their originals out of the park, and the EP doesn’t stop there; also featured are seven supremely solid remixes from the likes of Subp Yao, Yunis, Wick-It the Instigator and more.
As usual, you don’t want to be caught sleeping on this latest release from Saturate! Records; Vessels is available in full as a name-your-price download via their Bandcamp page, so definitely grab a copy if you’re feeling the vibes. In the meantime, you can stream the EP after the jump. 
MONIKER
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