Issue #3: Buzzin' Beats
Free download of bootleg edits + some recommendations
Out now from Hel: A collection of raw bootleg DJ edits from Bobo, Mooninite, and UTA Trax featuring club tested tracks from their bimonthly “Buzzin’ Beats” night at The International (SLC).
“Buzzin’ Beats DJ Edits” is available as a free download via Bandcamp. Stay tuned @ buzzinbeats.helaudio.org
Release Recommendation from SIAK
Alonzo “I’m A…” (2017, W.T. Records)
Fun, upbeat, raw and driving electro including vocal weirdness from Alonzo. Miami to New York he continues to hold down that sound that I love. Great all the way through but Uni-verse gets me the most hyped for it’s strange funkiness.
— SIAK (bandcamp)
New Video From Mooninite
Inspired by Park Hye Jin’s video for “Like This” I wanted to make a video in the form of how we usually see ourselves and each other day to day. This is a collection of videos sent to me from my friend Kellen sharing their daily outfits from the year 2023. I believe we make choices everyday of how we want to present ourselves to the world and I’ve always admired people that can make an art out of it.
— Andrew Aguilera (mooninite.biz)
ASHES Game Review
As described from the devs: "Ashes is a Post-apocalypse themed total conversion for the GZDoom engine. It combines old school build style level design and Doom style action with a twist of Stalker and Fallout." To add a bit of context here, GZDoom is a modern port of the original Doom engine, and "build style" refers to another 90s game engine known for its highly interactive approximations of IRL spaces.
Ashes was made by a very small team that have individually contributed to Selaco, Dread Templar, and Hedon (three modern throwback FPS games of note). The game is broken up into two standalone episodes (2063 & Afterglow) with a third on the way soon, and is entirely free.
On the surface it looks and plays like an old school shooter, but there’s more going on here. The gameplay mainly involves exploring and scavenging a post-apocalyptic Atlanta and the surrounding wasteland. This is very much not a new idea when it comes to games (and the devs even name drop two famous examples of this in their description), but despite this Ashes really feels like a unique experience.
The Doom engine and the "2.5D" nature of the game does do some of the lifting here, as it’s pretty charming seeing these environments, weapons, and enemies rendered in this simplified way. Ashes still manages to be surprisingly immersive despite these visual limitations, though. It’s a pretty tense experience scavenging for scarce supplies in dark tunnels or abandoned buildings, encountering unknown enemies and hazards.
When the periods of action hit, it’s satisfying in a way that will be familiar to OG Doom heads, but there are many notable expansions from the Doom formula here, and calling it a "total conversion" is underselling the game quite a bit. Each episode is presented as a singular world where each "level" connects to the last, and there's also some very light RPG, economy, and weapon upgrade systems.
Every environment is surprisingly detailed (in a lofi way). You'll move through restaurants, apartments, a very cool flooded shopping mall, urban outskirts, a sports arena, junkyards, and even dense natural areas, and it all feels believable and looks great. Sound design is also mostly fantastic, and the use of realistic environmental soundscapes really adds to the immersion. John S Weekley's excellent soundtrack of moody synth music also really enhances the vibe.
Due to the ambitious scope of the game and the limited nature of the engine the devs are working with, Ashes does have rough spots here and there. Trying to pin down the negatives, some enemy sounds trigger a bit too often and definitely wear out their welcome. The motorcycle riding parts are a bit strange, but mostly optional aside from a couple sections.
Overall this game is a great experience, and it's free! So if any of this looks interesting definitely check it out. A standalone version for PC can be downloaded via moddb here (just unzip the file and launch the .bat file of the episode you want to play).
— KJ
DJ Selections From Bobo
Tony Price “Alive”
Tony Price of Maximum Exposure Inc. released this track in 2023. He's put out a number of great records in the last couple of years and if you follow him online (i.e. on Perfectly Imperfect) you'll know he's always recommending good music to the masses, like this one which I think I've used in every DJ set so far (4 times).
Agua Re “Holy Dance (Large Sound Mix)”
I don't know much about this song. I know it was released in 1992, I know it was made by Italians, and I know it is both unique and versatile.
Surface “Falling In Love”
You know how some people look ordinary in real life but in photos are somehow extremely beautiful and compelling? This song is like that: totally solid in regular life, but for some reason hits on a different level in da club.
KW Griff “Be Ya Girl”
Tough sounds mixed with catchy vocal hooks: this is the stuff I live for.
UTA Trax “O.T.S.”
There are like three different ways in which music can have a transcendent effect on a person, maybe more. One of those effects is when you listen to something and it makes you feel like you could win a foot race or slam dunk a basketball. That's how I feel when I listen to this.
— Bobo (bandcamp)
Starter Track: 💤Hyper
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--------------- KICK |X| |X| | |X| |X| |X| | | | | |X| ---------------
--------------- SNARE | | | | |X| | | | | | | |X| |X|X| ---------------
--------------- CHH |X|X| | |X|X|X|X|X|X| | | | | |X| ---------------
--------------- OHH | | |X| | | | | | | | | | | |X| | ---------------
--------------- CLAP | |X| | |X|X| | | | | | |X| |X| | ---------------
--------------- PERC |X| | |X| | | | | | | | | | |X| | --------------- ___ ___ ___ ___
:SEQ: |B |G |E |C |B |G |E |C |B |G |E |C |B |G |E |C |
:OCT: | | | | | | | | | |dn | | | | | | |Name & sequences generated by the Hel Master Terminal (non-mobile browser recommended).
Thanks for reading!
Compiled by KJ
Reach out at hello@helaudio.org
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