If you like your drum and bass with the lights off and something moving in the corner, The Upbeats have you covered. “Haunted” is neurofunk built like a horror-film sound designer got hold of a break: the bassline is a metallic, gnashing thing that reforms itself every eight bars so you never quite settle into it. These two have been carving this darker corner of the genre out of New Zealand for the better part of twenty years, and the precision shows, every hit machined to sit in one exact slot with zero smear. The drop uncoils slowly, a mechanical menace where a lesser producer would just reach for volume and hope. What gets me is the space in the mix; the low end has room to feel genuinely three-dimensional, like the sound is pacing around behind you. This is not party dnb and it does not want your hands in the air. It wants your full attention in a dark room, and it more than earns it. I keep the volume higher than is sensible for this one.
The Upbeats is no stranger to this blog. Last time: What So Not & The Upbeats - Wanted