Nervous Horizon closed out 2016 with two robust, power-drum EPs from label head TSVI
and Houndstooth’s Second Storey, but have looked beyond London’s reaches for their first
outing of 2017. DJ Missdevana, a previous unknown producer and DJ from Holland, joins
the camp for her debut EP, ‘Brass’ — a three-tracker that fuses the polyrhythms of classic
UK funky and Dutch underground club strain, Bubbling.
A nod to the label’s willingness to explore new ways of pushing the boundaries of the club,
DJ Missdevana’s work on ‘Brass’ marks her out as a fascinating new producer, but also
feels fully in keeping with Nervous Horizon’s DNA. Key reference point, Bubbling — a
niche, funky-meets- house strain of club music with a heavy focus on drums — is currently
enjoying an renaissance in Holland, sharing rhythmic similarities with flourishing
underground genres like Gqom, but this is an EP built to blur the lines.
Opener ‘Brass’ comes alive with crisp Bubbling patterns and classic UK funky drum-work
and percussive samples, while second track ‘Chakra’ lands as an off-the- wall, percussive
twist on dancehall. Final track, ‘Third Eye’ sees DJ Missdevana take a harsher, de-
constructed route through her music, chopping up beats with sporadic urgency, pitched-up
vocal samples and blaring FX.
Although Missdevana represents a new face in a now burgeoning scene, ‘Brass’ is the
latest in a long line of Nervous Horizon EPs to not only challenge existing club structures,
but earmark the label as a key hub for unearthing coveted new talent.