- The press release for NGTVNRG EP Stage 1 claims these are "jams inspired by intense feelings of negative energy," and so it sort of makes sense that these are all moving, positive tracks, the sort of thing you need most when you're swamped with that kind of energy. The EP bears undertones of weekday stress, but it's not an understated beatdown excursion; this is firmly weekend music, uplifting songs for getting it together. Everything here relentlessly moves, downer house sped up and turned inside out, busy with ideas.
The loose "Mirror Muse" leads off, driven by skittery hi-hats and a rich, looping bassline. Pretty soon an acid line emerges out of panning tones and stays locked for the duration, while various effects drift in the background. "Dis-Connected" is marked with a sample of an operator's "We're sorry, you have reached a number that has been disconnected..." speech. Rhythmically it's a bit tighter, though it begins to clatter as it progresses. A lush skyline synth inadvertently dips in and out, and in the final minutes the operator begins to repeat "Please try your call again later," as the track reduces and rebuilds, the disappointment of missed connections turning into "worry about it later."
The world has heard a smooth voice giving life advice over a crisp, driving beat far too many times to count, but when executed correctly the concept still works beautifully. "Self Conscience" is one for the canon of anthemic self-help house; a pitched-down monologue given by "your conscience." The particularly affecting lyric "So what if they don't like it/ Who cares / Fuck 'em" plays out on top of a cathartic progression, amid other gems of wisdom before climaxing in a harpsichord (!) melody, which is apparently from Frederic Chopin's Prelude in C Minor op 28, no 20. As with Minilogue's "Doiicie," you end up wanting to carefully clean and drunkenly bounce around your house at the same time. The EP closes with a dub version of "Self Conscience," which omits much of the monologue. Though not as epic, much of the brilliance of the original is intact. Including the harpsichord.
TracklistA1 Mirror Muse (Internal Inspiration)
A2 Dis-Connected (Dissed Connection)
B1 Self Conscience
B2 Self Conscience (Dub)