VVV & Holly - 78SM95 (2017)

78SM95 is the sound of two adventurous electronic producers from different parts of the world - and different ends of the club spectrum - coming together to challenge each other and explore an exciting new collaborative sound. Hailing from Austin, Texas, VVV is the alias of Iranian-born electronic producer Shawhin Izaddost. An early Hush Hush alum with additional releases on Holodeck and the short-lived Fortified Audio label, VVV's music often revolves within immersive underground styles that dip into 2-step, downtempo, ambient, and avant-garde sound design territories. Working on the other side of the globe is Holly, the alias of Miguel Oliviera, a skyrocketing trap producer from the coastal town of Caldas Da Rainha in Portugal. With monstrous releases on labels such as Dim Mak, Buygore, Trekkie Trax, Monstercat, Circus, and Main Course, amongst many others, the two artists come off as a somewhat odd match on paper. But with an open ear and an open mind, Holly reached out to VVV to join forces and create the unexpected. Their distinctive approaches, prolific behind-the-scenes natures, and shared interest in cutting-edge bass music fused together smoothly, and the collaboration quickly blossomed. Working with hundreds of clips and snippets as foundations, the pair built ideas through a steady back-and-forth online correspondence, steering clear of rigid genre confines by shaving songs down into simple motifs or working towards sonic collages that embraced the duality of each other's aesthetic in a meaningful and cohesive way. The result is the expansive and harmonious mini-album 78SM95, a bold and unabashedly open exploration through weighty nocturnal downtempo passages, deceptively complex trap beats, progressive drill'n'bass rhythms, and gorgeously textured ambient excursions, all held together by their boundary-pushing mentality and exceptional production skills. Moving swiftly through 7 songs in 21 minutes, their official collaborative debut is a celebration of disparate sonic styles and cultural experiences uniting together for a shared vision, while simultaneously offering up a thrilling showcase of each artist's accomplished amorphous styles.