Apex label BLACKOUT continue their merciless assault on the drum & bass sphere in 2017 with leading neurofunk duo NEONLIGHT delivering a perfectly engineered pair of tracks – BOOM and SLAP as part of #ARCOT01. Hitting as hard as the names suggest, this is output from an artistic entity that flexes every ounce of their masterful production skills while displaying effectively applied diversity in sonic ideas. Following on from their highly conceptual and ruthlessly precise concept album ‘My Galactic Tale’, the duo felt a need to write outside of a cohesive narrative framework with the aim of delivering a series of fresh tunes with the pure aim of smashing up the dance and without any concept. ARCOT (A Random Collection Of Tracks) is essentially the freshest material to emerge from the Neonlight studio that they want to set loose upon the night – brand new music that they just want to place in your earphones and in your decks.

With both tracks, Neonlight’s dedication to making futuristic audio, tinged with a strong Sci-Fi aesthetic, shines through. BOOM rides in on a sweeping theme wrapped in 8-bit nostalgia and interlaced with delicate arpeggios that quickly give way to a more menacing vibe that launches the track into full bossmode. SLAP elicits a more subdued atmosphere, with tense strings backing a sinister undulating synth sequence before plunging into a dirty form of syncopation, meandering through filthy bass frequencies and leading to a second drop that really immerses itself in the dirt with pure sludge halfstep.