After a string of immersive AV shows and an appearance at ADE, Ring Noord, the duo of Nik Roos (who you may know as Sleepnet and a former member of Noisia) and Jasper Scholma (better known as Former), are back “with “Kontusion + Aerial“, a two-track study in rhythm and restraint. It’s the latest chapter in their ongoing dialogue between drum & bass and techno, where each production feels more like engineered motion than conventional writing.
Ring Noord’s music is a study in audible momentum, focusing on the long curve between tension and release rather than the climax. When it comes to release, they say that there is “No lead track — just two versions of the same idea. Both are about getting lost rather than chasing a peak.”
On “Kontusion”, that philosophy takes the form of a tense, driving loop, featuring distorted rides, a 303 line mutating in the shadows, and a structure that refuses easy gratification. It nods quietly to late-’90s technoid and techstep hybrids and early 00s minimal techno, while remaining modern in its precision. The result is physical and hypnotic, the ideal soundtrack for walking through city streets where rhythm becomes environment. In fact, that’s how the artists enjoy listening to this track: “We like walking through the city with this in our headphones,” they say.
“Aerial”, meanwhile, opens things up a little bit. Lighter in tone but no less exacting, it blends IDM clarity with the framework of D&B. Vocal fragments and crystalline percussion lend it a sense of delicate memory, giving it the impression of something half-recalled, half-imagined. “It reminds us of fake memories,” the duo explain. “Like asking an antenna to remember your childhood.”
Together, “Kontusion + Aerial” map out the two sides of Ring Noord’s sound. It’s music designed with purpose, stripped of excess, and alive with the kind of subtle motion that rewards deep attention. It’s proof that even within the mechanics of rhythm, emotion still finds its pulse. Definitely check this two-tracker out.
Stream “Kontusion + Aerial” here.
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