Stream/Download - https://cygnusmusic.link/ljogk9x
As 2024 rolls on, Spynal Records continues its relentless forward progress. This time, New York-based jungle mystic Krugah brings his inimitable style to the label in the form of the "Divine" EP. Across five selections, he presents his altogether unique aesthetic, which explores classic jungle forms refracted through a completely modern sonic prism.
Present throughout the "Divine" EP is Krugah's penchant for combining disparate elements together to create an unexpectedly cohesive whole. Whether it be the pitched down, yet peculiarly warm vocal sample riding along the tense science fiction vibe of "So Divine", or the almost peppy, old school synth melody behind the percussive barrage of "Around the Planets", his sonic canvas is always surprising. "Round the Bend" is another example, blending old school atmospherics with dub reggae flourishes and vocals. It's also an excellent example of Krugah's mastery of the drum edit. Permeating the entire release, in fact, he's a man obsessed with turning drum loops inside out and upside down, chopped and re-chopped, and rendered to a sonic pigment that he can brandish in previously unexplored ways, like Futura 2000 given access to a freight car for the entire night, without a security guard to be seen. "Rhodes Chune 2" sees him execute this skill at its most jazzily restrained, which is still joyfully dizzying. Track five is the final boss, the fittingly named "Drums Alive Redux", where Krugah brings 90's-era Metalheadz dystopia to a drumfunk clinic which would make even Paradox blush. But don't be fooled by the sensory overload...this producer's grasp of the funk never weakens, and the sum total of the EP's soundscape is literally breathtaking.
The "Divine" EP is a new tangent for Spynal, and Krugah is perhaps the most appropriate producer to lead the label down this path. His reckless abandon and scientific precision make him indisputably individual, with little regard for convention as he forges his own path forward. Spynal Records' unspoken mission statement is much the same, and the results are self-evident.
Produced, Arranged and Mixed by DJ Krugah
Mastered by Epicentre Audio Research
Artwork by KelleeB Design
Presser by The Valiant Writer