CLEARLIGHT, SENTIENT — Mandibles EP

Opening DNO Records’ 2025, Clearlight returns to the label alongside new signee Sentient, bringing four creepy cuts of insectoid minimalism that reanimate the drum & bass exoskeleton.On the A-side, ‘Mandibles’ aims to stun. Hurtling forth with hulking drums, this tunnelling rhythm is beset by swarms of glitchy percussion and synth zaps that’ll frazzle minds with their sheer chaotic energy.‘Suboptimal’ reveals what’s lurking in the deep, as heavyweight bass and incessant kicks burrow through a murky soundscape of croaks and rattles, only to be sprayed by a chirping acid line that cuts through the mix with deadly precision.Flip over and the Belgian-British pairing delivers two extended jams. The seven-minute ‘Psychodrifter’ is packed with an overdriven low-end that crackles and heaves like it's trying to talk with a mouthful of bees, while globular whoops and twinkling pads squirm and beckon like bioluminescent lures.‘Kukulu’ is longer still, building and building and building in intensity. Waves of warning bells and skittering background noise, bongo flourishes and spurts of grinding bass come together with hive-mind-like cooperation to form an enrapturing epic.Another example of visionary world-building from the DNO camp, the ‘Mandibles’ EP will wriggle down your earhole and have you itching for a dark basement full of bass bins.Rhythms of postmodern realism at the very bottom of the DNO.