Hyroglifics Melts Synapses With Rig-Rattling “Phone Drone”

Released as part of the aptly named South London’s Finest EP on Critical Music, the ever-impressive Hyroglifics brings on the synapse shivers, once again, as only he can do. With Signal and Arkaik dropping in to collab on the boundary-pushing five-tracker, the EP has us hungry for the full-length album project rumored to be in the works.

“The title South London’s Finest was basically just a sly tongue-in-cheek dig at myself,” Hyroglifics tells Insomniac. “The bulk of this project was made over a couple of months whilst I was working out of a studio in Croydon. It’s pretty historic and has housed a lot of talented artists at the early stages of their careers, so it was cool to be part of that for a while.”

Spanning the breadth and depth of drum & bass as a genre, Hyroglifics flexes with a refined palette that works equally well on the dancefloor as it does for the heads-down set. Take the rig-rattling “Phone Drone,” which we’ve selected as our Track of the Day.

“Pete (Arkaik) came back to the UK from China last summer to spend a couple weeks here, DJing and meeting up with friends,” Hyroglifics explains. “Obviously, I had to pin him down for a session. We’ve written a few tunes together over the years but never had the time to properly finish off any music. ‘Phone Drone’ was pretty much done in one session and then tweaked over a month or so.”

Easing into things with a cinematic sweep before the hypnotic percussion comes slowly strutting in, it’s when the high-pitched whine—from which the tune no doubt gets its name—begins to sound the alarm that you know you’re in for a heavy ride. As always, the percussion holds center stage as Hyroglifics sets the pace with a slow-churning groove that slowly unfolds into a sci-fi-tinged swerve. With a belly-churning bottom-end anchoring the beast at the core, “Phone Drone” is one of those tunes that slowly winds its way around the synapses before putting on the squeeze for those eager to elevate themselves beyond the dancefloor. Don’t just take our word for it—check the heat above, and prepare for liftoff.

Available March 9 via Critical Music.

Buy Hyroglifics’ South London’s Finest EP here.