While Gancher & Ruin have made quite a few tracks throughout 2019 for other labels, it seems the last few months D&B’s favorite twins have been really working on getting their own imprint, NMA, up and running. They’ve produced six singles (two two-trackers) in rapid succession since December and although all the releases are their own work, it seems they’re trying to get momentum and start releasing other artists.
Despite working on NMA, for their new EP called No Regrets Gancher & Ruin linked up with Eatbrain once again after the success of their Reflection EP last year. It’s the first multi-track release the duo have done since Reflection and it seems No Regrets will hit just as hard. It’s only two tracks so some may call it a dual single but with steppy beats and aggressive synths, Eatbrain was right to snap this release up, no matter what format you assign to it.
The title track for the pair has beats that are sort of heavy and muddled but it’s done on purpose to get that heavy grind on in both the foreground and the background, pairing the drum timbre with the synths. The intro, outro and breaks are surprisingly ravey, melodic and cinematic before dropping into said grindy synths and beats, with a cinematic flare the likes of which haven’t been seen by Gancher & Ruin. The melodic drama makes the track sort of uplifting and pretty in addition to being a massive dancefloor stinker.
“Propaganda” is the Bassrush premiere today and it seems almost diametrically opposite to “No Regrets” in many ways. It’s unapologetically aggressive with a really clear kick beat that in the 00s would have been seen as jump up. The pointed, percussive, “Mr. Happy”-style synth also makes the track feel steppy and fun but there’s quite a bit more depth going on as well. As is so often the case with neurofunk, the sound design sets this track apart, with deeper tones in the background and lots of sound manipulation in the ambient space. While “Propaganda” has steppy and even old school jump up elements to it, it’s still very much rooted in the dark, techy neuro landscape.
Between all the releases on NMA and this hard-hitting yet brief EP, it looks like 2020 is gearing up to be a big year for Gancher & Ruin release-wise. The sound on No Regrets is focused, heavy and shows that the duo are capable of bringing the best of the history of drum & bass forward into the future.
No Regrets drops on Eatbrain this Friday, May 1 on Beatport and Spotify.