Your EDM Premiere: AL/SO and Portuguese Neuro Upstart Impex Bring Some ‘Epic’ Tunage Stateside [Boomslang]

It’s nice to see the Korsakov Music’s label manager AL/SO branching out with his own tunes recently. With his collab tracks on Viper with Synth System hitting almost as hard as “Party Every Day” and now his sliced up neuro dual singles “House Party” and “Epic” on Boomslang, the mad Dutchman is proving he’s more than a one-trick dancefloor pony.

Azores-based producer Impex is a relative newcomer but has already put his stamp on Europe with his throwback neuro vibes and epic synths. Hence the track name, apparently. Impex had tracks on fellow islanders Tenerife-based label Histeria as well as Promo Audio Recordings and Sine Function Music before featuring on last year’s Korsakov Future Stars compilation with his dizzyingly intricate track “Methadone.” He also put on some of Protugal’s only D&B club nights Raving Panda and Qo with True Bass and FilthyNoize, respectively, before doing a bit of touring in 2021 and, like many artists during the COVID lockdowns, turning to production full-time. This is where we find “House Party” and “Epic.”

One might think that “House Party” would be right down the line of dancefloor, what with its name and being half Al/SO’s track, but with the chugger of a sub synth and deceptively simple beat, it more than straddles the gap between party stomp and neurofunk. Add an eerie and similarly crunchy main synth and some major wind-up breaks, and “House Party” has that tough-to-achieve balance that will keep the dance moving whilst allowing to the neuroheads to keep their screwfaces on tight.

The fun bits of “Epic,” our YEDM premiere today, are really in the beat, despite so much going on above the bass. The echoey, starburst drumline conjures late-era techstep/early neuro vibes along the lines of “26 Bass” by Scorpio vibes (yes, that is one of the most obscure D&B references you’ll ever hear, thank you). The synth and midlines are neuro-tinged theatrics that bring a lovely sense of impending doom to the track while again a winding buildup drops into more “epic” chaos, letting the dance know there’s nothing to fear but eardrum failure at that perfectly loud, static-tinged first notes.

AL/SO and Impex seem to have lit upon a pretty winning formula with their collab, and Boomslang were smart to snap up “House Party” and “Epic” to reap the benefits. With their wide-reaching appeal and now wide-reaching release partners, there’s no way both of these tracks won’t play on festie stages worldwide this spring and summer.

The “Epic”/”House Party” single drops on Boomslang Recordings this Friday, March 25. Pre-order/save here