Smigonaut - Timeboxed

Keeping it in house for our 90th release, The Rust is incredibly proud to host the next iteration of the Smigonaut discography. Having been a part of our roster since its nascent days, his music has taken on dueling forms; be it his pensive, instrumental works or his more aggressive productions, there’s a guaranteed seal of quality to each successive release. This time, the aggression is at a fever pitch across the totality of the Timeboxed EP.

A potent blend of half-time, drum and bass, and sizzling uptempo, Timeboxed feels square in the center of Smigonaut’s catalog. Feint melodic elements dot the background of the EP, with its low end and percussion on full display. It’s in-your-face and concise, putting the driving energy of each track’s rhythm in the pilot seat. From the sound design, to the 1-2 punch of powerful breakdowns and tech-heavy syncopation, Timeboxed gives us a full serving from the Smigonaut plate, and reaffirms the all-encompassing musical vision that the project has striven for since its inception.

Eputty - The Possession

Hailing from Perth, Australia, the stalwart songwriter and producer Eputty has made consistent strides across the last 4 years, zeroing in on a sound and style that features contemporary electronic influence and an extremely pronounced compositional gait. Mingling high-powered sound design with a nod to the dance floor, there’s no shortage of impact to his personal catalog, but his latest collection of tracks stands several heads above his established works. Containing the excitement to ourselves until now, The Rust Music is especially grateful to host the release of his debut LP, The Possession.

Drum and bass, drumstep, meandering downtempo, and club-centric rhythms all make an appearance across The Possession. Coming out of the gate with blistering percussion, the album flows with a professional grace, as each track fits adjacent to one another with the ease of an intentional and well-crafted mix. The neuro synthesis and brackish, textured tones lend themselves to the particularly dark atmospheres that underpin so much of the flavor packed into these 10 songs, giving the entire package a palpable emotional heft. Whatever styles you’re attracted to, whatever rhythms rock you, there’s more than enough in The Possession to keep you hooked, and certainly more than enough to place Eputty at the top of your listening rotation.

Eputty on the Album:

“This project represents an exploration into a more serious sonic landscape, blending everything I’ve learned in production into a cohesive body of work. My goal was to showcase versatility, navigating through varying intensities of electronic music while maintaining a consistent atmosphere throughout.

Initially, this wasn’t intended to become an album, but as the tracks evolved, they naturally expanded into something far larger than I had planned. It felt as though the project took on a life of its own, with me in the passenger seat rather than behind the wheel—hence the title The Possession.

I’m deeply grateful to the artists who contributed their talent and energy to this project, as well as to my friends and family for their unwavering support in helping me bring it to the finish line. I hope listeners find something they connect with here and perhaps discover something new about themselves along the way. Enjoy..”

About Eputty:

Ewan J Colvin, better known as Eputty, is a prominent figure in the Western Australian bass music landscape. With roots firmly planted in IDM, Eputty brings a unique take on electronic music that has earned him support from acclaimed platforms such as Theuntz.com, Rendah Mag, Inspected, K+Lab, and Pluvio. He has shared the stage with notable acts like KOAN Sound, Copycatt, and K+Lab, and has performed at major festivals including Raindance Festival, Rootbound Festival, Esoteric Festival, and Archaic Festival.

With a debut album on the horizon, Eputty consistently pushes the envelope in his productions, demonstrating his unwavering dedication to his art. In addition to creating and performing music, he dedicates his time to teaching music production and engineering for other artists. Passionate about helping others, Ewan is committed to navigating the Australian scene toward more eclectic sounds and fostering a vibrant community of dedicated artists.

AcidSepp – Depth Perception

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Listen on: Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Music

We're excited to welcome German producer Yannick Weber back to the label this week under his solo moniker AcidSepp. As one half of the Dysfunctional Family project, we're already somewhat acquainted, but we're about to get a much clearer lens through the sophomore release from his solo project, the ‘Depth Perception’ EP.

The release takes on a distinctly experimental identity, laced with elements of trip hop, glitchy IDM, and psychedelic downtempo, quickly weaving itself into an intricate and matured soundscape. Reminiscent of his work with Dysfunctional Family, AcidSepp’s ‘Depth Perception’ EP puts musical chops on the same pedestal as dialed-in sound design, giving the record a lushness usually reserved for strictly pensive music. For fans and appreciators of contemporary production and strong compositional focus, this EP is guaranteed to stay in your rotation.

iima - iima

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From the inception of The Rust Music as an official operation through to now, we’re fortunate to have fostered friendships with a cast of adjacent and connected creatives in our hometown of New York, New York. Amongst that extended crew, AMAWALK has been a frequent flier both on the stage and throughout our release roster. After several quiet years, he’s taking a step back out of the lab into the light with a new project and eponymous release; iima. 

The two-track EP feels at home within this producer’s traditional wheelhouse of sound, having been matured and sharpened at the edges. It’s distinctly melodious and in line with pocketed IDM influences and arrangement, bringing synthesis to the forefront for a succinct dance between harmony and rhythm. For fans from any end of The Rust Music spectrum, be sure to check out both iima and the legacy AMAWALK project to round out your listening plate for the day.

relativity lounge - caustic

The Chicago-native Relativity Lounge has long been an underground favorite across the US bass music circuit, especially considering his relatively humble profile as a producer and songwriter. With a clear balance between novel and tasteful, his productions have always maintained a steady vein of pleasant unpredictability in their various forms. For our 86th release, The Rust is especially grateful to platform the Caustic EP, the latest collection of tracks from a well overdue partner-in-crime.

The record is, above all else, particularly industrial; channeling clear influence from a dance-floor driven palate, the opening tracks introduce a minimalist sandbox of synthesis and sound design married to low-slung rhythms. Sparse melodic elements come up for air at key moments across most of the compositions, but otherwise take a backseat to the very physical bent present across every track. Ramping up the tempo for the EP’s farewell, the journey from open to close feels especially primed for the height of any night's function.

Johnny Mahon - Can't Get Enough // Rain Check

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Coming back the Big Apple to source our 85th release, we're fortunate to have crossed paths with a fast-growing hometown staple who's been blazing a trail straight to the decks; Johnny Mahon has earned himself a well-rounded reputation as a versatile producer and DJ, showing off chops within a wide range of flavors particularly suited for the height of nightlife. As such, we're extremely pleased to host his latest minted work, a 2-track EP called ‘Can't Get Enough’ / ‘Rain Check (ft. Aazure)'.

Channeling contemporary liquid compositions, it's clear that Mahon knows how to deliver dance-floor grooves with finesse. Funk-laden and soul-driven, both tunes hit the Newtonian pocket of rhythmic dynamics, keeping the pace and vibe in steady synchronicity. Amidst the ongoing resurgence of drum and bass across the US palate, Johnny Mahon is especially suited to provide Grade A tunes and stellar mixes to an audience with a clear appetite, and this double-sided serving is sure to satisfy your next system music craving.

About Johnny Mahon:

Johnny Mahon was born and raised in New York, although you wouldn’t know it just from hearing his music. His refreshing blend between his NYC roots and his affinity for UK dance music has fans hooked, as he continues to further his mission to be a musical bridge across the Atlantic and fertilize the spread of UK Garage and Drum & Bass in the US.

After emerging in 2022, he now has an admirable collection of releases under his belt, with the likes of Deep Root Records, Southpoint Records, Tuned Out Records and more. The versatility in his productions are part of what keeps bringing people back - shuffling his discography could land you any range of emotions from lighthearted excitement to discourteous rebellion.

His rising stature within the industry has been bolstered by securing some rather reputable bookings, such as the main stage of Elements Festival, beside industry giants such as Skrillex, Tchami and John Summit, as well as tour support for Camo & Krooked and Wilkinson. His sets are always an audial marvel, with it forever a mystery if the next tune’s BPM is going to be 174 or 140.

If you’re a fan of UKG & DNB and want to see their popularity expand in North America, then stay locked in to Johnny’s ascent, as he’s already well on his way to becoming a major player in the scene.

Tygris - Shadow Box

With a healthy catalog of dynamic tracks across the tempo spectrum, Tygris has delivered precision, fidelity, and musical clarity year after year alongside our internal cast of talented creatives. For The Rust Music’s 83rd release, we were given the opportunity to debut the next iteration of Tygris compositions, this time reaching towards a new bounty of songwriting fundamentals and engineering choices for fresh inspiration. For his first full release of 2024, he’s coming out of the gate at full speed with his newly minted Shadow Box drum and bass EP.

Fusing his in-house blend of pulsing side-chains and throaty synthesis with the trappings of drum and bass productions feels, in a word, natural. Each track is an entire narrative of its own, taking listeners on multi-tiered instrumental journeys through the Tygris palate. Honing in on percussive runs and rock-solid bass lines, the EP pays its respects to the influences that shaped it while pushing Tygris’ arrangement and production skills to their next fulcrum. For fans, collectors, and selectors of contemporary drum and bass music, Shadow Box is sure to be an instant grab and a stalwart favorite for 2024.

Artwork by Pete Cote.

Zonra - The Folded Road

Zonra – The Folded Road [RUST081]
Zonra – The Folded Road [RUST081]
$7.00

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Listen on: Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Music

Across our list of affiliate producers and friendly creatives, Jackson Hale continues to deliver pristine polish and professionalism through his Zonra project. Across the arc of his aural evolution, the staples of the Zonra palette have gradually taken on clearer compositional heights, with yearly successive releases driving home the developing narrative within Hale’s musical vision. Once again, we find ourselves excited and honored to platform the latest collection of minted Zonra works and his 5th release with The Rust; The Folded Road.

Consisting of 7 tracks written and produced across a  6 year span on the road, The Folded Road offers a variety of snapshots into the effusive stages of the Zonra sound. Resting primarily in the down tempo wheelhouse, every song features the techy ambience at the core of Hale’s signature style, while perusing both gentle and hard-hitting percussive backdrops across the record. Throaty synthesis and distorted, reverberant pads mingle with delicate pops and transient downbeats in the same simmering dish, dovetailing the early in-roads of Hale’s discography with the contemporary shape of the Zonra catalog. For fans and appreciators of compositionally-driven, emotive electronic music, your next pocket of sound can found within the folds of our 81st release, The Folded Road.

Zonra - Conviction

Zonra – Conviction [RUST075]
Zonra – Conviction [RUST075]
$4.00

Jackson Hale’s Zonra project has earned a well-rounded reputation for the depth, detail, and overall presentation of his minted works. Each release has explored numerous themes in the space of contemporary sound design, broken-beat bass music, and scintillating downtempo collections, giving him an already extremely wide, well-balanced berth of music under his belt. Never content to miss the opportunity for compositional gold, the most recent collection of Zonra works are a significant step away from his more dance floor-friendly interpretations: Conviction is an ambient exploration of generative synthesis, modular hardware, and emotive overtures, and The Rust Music is extraordinarily excited to give yet another Zonra release a proper introduction.

Conviction comprises three syncretic tracks, each a separate movement in an elongated presentation of the central piano theme. Across a run-time of 20 minutes, the dominant phrase evolves and morphs in accordance with envelopes triggered by Zonra’s physical modular systems, creating a tapestry of rich, interwoven textures and tension. Leaving behind the toil of tempo and quantization, Zonra once again redefines the upper limit of his skills and catalog, producing a stunning piece of contemporary music that sets him a step ahead of the pack. Whether you’ve been following along with the steady stream of Zonra releases over the years, or you’re just tuning in for the first time, the Conviction EP is one record that’ll you have you tuning in over and over again.

Written and Produced by Jackson Hale 
Mastering by Mindex 
Artwork by Pete Cote