It's Tuesday, and so time for a slightly belated, post-illness BBB!
ENJOY 💙💙
—
NEWS
Virtual Riot's 3rd album to drop in April
Well, it seems we were right. Following a slew of scorching single releases from Virtual Riot at the start of this year, the final project incorporating these tunes will, as expected, be another fire-related album - Burning Out, his third LP, to drop on April 9th. 2026's releases 'Shit's On Fire', 'Best of Me' and 'Paralyzed' will accompany 'Aura Farming' and 'What U Got' alongside 7 other yet-to-be-released cuts to make up a 12-track collection, which like his last album Stealing Fire will also release on Monstercat. So far, Burning Out features collaborations with Eliminate, Viperactive, Blanke and YDG, so it's very possible we'll be seeing more team-ups on the full LP once it drops in a few weeks time.
Initially, when this was announced, people rumoured as to whether it was an album Virtual Riot was talking about, as that word wasn't mentioned in the post caption. It felt like he'd left it out purposefully, to keep people guessing as to what it could be. On other Virtual Riot-related posts across Instagram, the Monstercat label as well as @vjneurite - his visuals co-performer - were keeping similarly vague with various comments. However, the fact that the project is up on streaming services and available to pre-save means an album should be exactly what Burning Out is - unless there's a twist in the tale yet to come.
Are you excited for the release of Virtual Riot's 3rd, official, full-length LP?
GorillaT issues another public apology
Following his 2025 apology for ripping an unreleased Xaebor tune to put in his own mix, GorillaT has had to say sorry once more due to a private message sent to a fan earlier this year. In GorillaT's - real name Tate Warner - words, after said criticism he 'reacted by telling them to harm themself'. Warner went on to explain that there's no excuse for those actions, that he apologised to the fan at the time, and perhaps most importantly, that he's been in therapy 'to make sure I don't repeated that kind of behaviour ever again'. He also mentioned that he's gotten sober through an alcohol recovery programme, before announcing that he'd removed himself from GRiZ's Seven Stars festival lineup 'out of respect for everyone involved'.
Social media was awash with GorillaT coverage after his post dropped, especially Facebook where most people came to his defence, saying things like 'Accountability and responsibility are big foundations of this community. People will complain about anything change or not' and 'The second time he's apologized for this btw. Some people just gotta have a villain'. The response was similar on X where, apart from some users bringing up other past grievances alongside this latest one, many sought to contextualise everything he's said in both apologies, with one asking, 'at what point would gorillat be considered reformed and okay to most people again?'
What do you think - was GorillaT right to remove himself from the Seven Stars lineup? Is there more he can do to help save his name and overall project? Do drop your thoughts below.
MUSIC
New beastboi. project drops
The latest extensive beastboi. project, titled LOUD AND FEAR, dropped last Friday as a self-release. The 8-track, 27-min collection follows directly after 2025's THE BLOOD OF THE STARS album, and constitutes as the 4th official beastboi. drop coming in at 7+ tracks. Even though this new project and 2021's VISIONS & VOICES are marketed as albums on streaming services, there's a part of me that hesitates to call them that seeing as they consist of just 7/8 cuts and last about 20mins. Can we really call that album fodder?
Following the collection's release, beastboi. took to X to say it's only 8 tracks long 'because genuinely no one is gonna listen to 20 tracks in one sitting especially with the general attention span being as short as it is'. That's quite sad, right? There's a big middle ground between 8 and 20, so the fact that he went right to the lesser end of the extensive project spectrum for L&F suggests he doesn't have much faith people can get beyond 9/10 tracks, let alone 12-15, which is what an album typically consists of. WINGZ & FANGZ (15 tunes) and THE BLOOD OF THE STARS (12) were received very well, so this sentiment was a surprising one from him. But it's possible the general streaming numbers for those albums weren't actually that good, and that has to be factored in by any artist operating in today's musical climate. My flat is having work done on it at the moment, but once it's available to live in again - likely early next week - I'll be streaming my reaction to the project on Twitch.
Have you heard LOUD AND FEAR yet? If so, what are you making of it?
New Dylan Brady EP
We've all heard 'Needle Guy', but now we have a NEEDLE GUY EP. Dylan Brady has found a cosy home for his blockbuster February single alongside 3 other tracks - including a collaboration with EDM legend Afrojack - in the shape of a 4-track project released on his own Dog Show Records. It's his first solo project since 2018, and first multi-track drop since September 2021's MELHOR CACHORRO alongside Cali Cartier and Baby Izo. He also announced an upcoming LA show with Skrillex taking place on Thursday, so if you're in the area then you should definitely roll through!
Show link for LA folk: https://drop.cobrand.com/d/DylanBrady/dylanbradyandfriend
Just like the new beastboi. project, I will be streaming my reaction to this EP on Twitch early next week. I look forward to hearing it in full!
New Moody Good single
The Moody Good rollout is in full swing. Last Wednesday, the English producer followed-up February's 'Grinding' with another single from his new SPEEDBUMP label, 'Humid'. It's another 4-min cut, and another I've yet to hear. I wanna wait a bit to see where he goes with his release planning, but little doubt I'll cave in at some point soon and hear what we've got from him so far - maybe on next week's stream?
In the caption for his Instagram post announcing 'Humid''s release, Moody Good said the 'SPEEDBUMP world is getting unhinged'. Will it culminate in an album, or far more beyond that? We'll have to wait and see.
Barely Alive release WATTSTEP VOL. 1
Barely Alive's Brostep resurrection continued last week with the release of their new EP of remixes / bootlegs / edits titled WATTSTEP Vol. 1. The collection consists of 5 tracks, including takes on Skrillex's 'Cinema' remix, Flux Pavilion's legendary 'I Can't Stop' and Zedd's iconic 2012 hit 'Clarity'. Barely Alive have released other remix EPs in the past, though I can't remember when the last time they did that was - you guys can help me with that one in the comments!
It's nice to see Barely Alive fully embracing the Brostep resurgence with everything they're releasing, and we can't forget about their new Killed It! record label too, and what that might offer this year. There'll be much more to come from them in the next few months, I'm sure.
Hamdi & Simula collab drops
One of the most sought-after Bass collaborations of recent times is finally with us. Hamdi took to social media last week to announce that his collaboration with predominantly-DnB musician Simula, titled 'Echo Chamber', would be dropping, saying 'Had a lotttt of messages about this one'. It's another track I've yet to hear, but I'm very excited to and will, again, likely be covering it on next week's stream. Whilst their individual, respective styles are mostly quite different, I can still see how a crossover would work, so it should make for a good on-stream reaction.
Have you heard 'Echo Chamber' yet? If so, what are you making of it?
The big Bass releases of the week
The other big releases from the Bass music world last week were mostly singles, in the shape of REZZ, Joker, Vorso, Automhate, Ray Volpe, PhaseOne & Manly, Bossfight, Control Freak and COPYCATT. That's a lot of flamey single releasing right there! 🔥
In terms of projects, it's probably worth mentioning the new Neoluminum, SILKENWOOD, Novatone et al crossover compilation UNITY PREVAILS. There wasn't much of note beyond that, but with the singles - and what's mentioned above this segment - I think that's a decent amount to dive into and explore. Happy listening! 💙
DISCUSSION
Is social media making artists end their projects?
This post from underground producer Deucez is a bleak reality that I do think deserves more discussion. Indeed, 'it should be studied'. There may not be a clear way of measuring the extent to which 'dubstep twitter' leads to artists' bad mental health and leaving the scene, but it can definitely be examined more.
Every week, artists are faced with new things to worry about, from widespread problems in the scene itself (AI-generated music apps, for example), to friends of theirs being lobbed into debacles, constantly comparing oneself to others in your field and more. Everything is overwhelming - especially with content being relentlessly shoved in your face too - and I often think about my own potential part in this as well, as someone being honest with their thoughts about Bass music goings-on. I'm always coming from an honest place and simply relaying what I'm hearing, but that can result in another person feeling bad about something they've created, or are a part of.
Though this isn't about me, or reviewing generally for that matter. For many, platforms like X can feel completely real when enough time is spent on them, and you start to convince yourself everything you read and see has a truth to it. Comparison to others is something that's thrown at you online, and if that seeps in enough through excessive social media usage, you'll wanna banish everything you've associated with those apps - which could mean your own musical alias. There are artists that manage their time on and away from social media well, but for others, having any kind of connection to it - personally, or through your art - is very detrimental. And that can, unfortunately, end entire projects, as Deucez says.
Maybe a support network of some sort is needed for this, not just for Bass producers but artists at large? I don't think that'd be a bad idea at all, and it feels like something achievable we can collectively work towards into the future.
What are we doing?
How far can we stray from the music itself when it comes to the live Bass experience? Is mainstream Bass music even about the actual music anymore? More than most other DISCUSSION points, I'm not gonna say too much, and instead just leave this screenshot and clip link combo to look at and ponder over.
Clip: https://x.com/djcockandballs/status/2034770616893722800?s=46&t=TEbbHyZ3OlICtgts4_3J0g
So yes, I ask again - in this scene, how far can we truly stray from the music itself?
FUNNIES // COOL STUFF
The most wholesome Skrillex video
Is there a more Skrillex-y video than this one right here? I wonder how many times he has this kind of fan engagement a week, whether he ever feels he can't do it, or if he actually thinks it'll be beautiful every time - something he might need to keep him going. Regardless, it's a brilliant watch, and the video of the week from the Bass music scene.
Video clip: https://x.com/shitpostingMP4/status/2034347644839944461?s=46&t=TEbbHyZ3OlICtgts4_3J0g
Don't call it Brostep
Had me laughing, then had me thinking.
Legend in the making
What a little legend this lad is. 13-years-old and making Melodic Dubstep like this? Had the likes of Leotrix, Moore Kismet, TYNAN, Dyatic and more commenting on it too. He's got a future ahead of him, that's for sure!
Reel link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DV6MuVnjWyu/?igsh=eTU4MWVicTh6OTE3
Ninajirachi x Pixar's Wall-E
Put simply, another one of the lol moments of the week.
What timeline are we in when we get a Ninajirachi x Wall-E crossover?
—
Did I miss anything from the last week in Bass music? Let me know below! 😌