NoBeats

Phungus + NoBeats
‘Frick & A Half’

Creative Writer, AJ wrote:

Immediately my senses are overtaken with that saturated old school bass that’s rude and nasty. With audiorotial spin-backs and overbearing weight this track is heavy. While he gives us a rest with a smooth downshift into some alien- feeling broken beats that really get my head moving. I feel like, if Infected Mushroom and Cypress Hill (figuratively) had a bass-baby. Just when you thought it was over he assaults us with a grimestep bass that I don’t even know how to describe besides gigantic and enormous in sound. The piano at the end gives us this eerie feeling that it’s just getting started and the serial and ominous alien-abduction type soundscape.

Creative Writer, Tate wrote:

Monsoon Season just does not stop with the heat, and that continues with the track by Phungus +
NoBeats recently released called “Frick & A Half”. This song breaks the norms with sound design and styling.It starts with a funky beat and a flow that is bound to keep you head bobbing, this song fills the atmosphere nicely as well as keep you on track for the change up that follows the first drop. Drum & Bass music has been making a STRONG comeback in 2020 and this song fits that script very well with the fast paced, jumpy beat that speeds things up just a bit to keep the party going. The rest of the song hops back to the vibes as you slip back into the wobble and funk. Big shout out to the talented folks behind this release and best of luck to their future, keep your eyes out for these artists in the future!

Creative Writer, Travis wrote:

Phungus and NoBeats present the world with something truly unique and new with the release of “Frick & A Half” on Monsoon Season. A calculated and ever shifting journey of countless mind opening and perception shifting sounds that must be experienced to understand greet the listener around every twisted psychedelic turn.

An extremely fresh variety of foley sound usage and sound effect work create a very atmosphere based experience that urges the listener to break their expectations out of captivity to run free outside of the box.

The presence given to each region of the frequency spectrum is really clever and worthy of noting. A delicate yet ferocious dance of focus ensues and the result is one of a kind. Paradoxically even though there are seemingly countless elements occurring simultaneously during the song, everything manages to maintain enough room within the available spectral range to be easily located by the ear in its own space.

There are many different forms that the track takes during the 4 minutes and 16 seconds that make up Frick & A Half.
Beginning with a spacious and psychedelic experimental halftime drop we find the energy slowly building tension until a full blown drum and bass drop blooms and drives the energy of the track forward with purpose. The tracks mystery only continues to develop further and a haunting piano becomes the focal point of a magnificently timed bridge section.

The last third of the track takes on an almost manic vibe that reaches crescendo perfectly with an excellent display of real turntable skills. This homage to the old school in the form of a DJ scratch routine using one of the main samples from the song is truly worthy of multiple listens and is an excellent way to keep the listener captive until the last sound . The more I listened to the song the more I discovered hidden within this piece of art. Subsequent repeat listens yielded a new experience every single time with no shortage of elements to focus on. Depending on where I focused my attention within the song my overall experience as a listener would shift subjectively. I personally am enthralled with this release from Phungus + NoBeats. - Monsoon Season