NICKYNUTZ 🇧🇪 BELGIUM — BRAND NEW WORLD EP EP Review and Radio Feature Review by Gordon Lawrence Taylor Voice in the Void Infectious Unease Radio / Subterranean Zone Radio

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NICKYNUTZ 🇧🇪 BELGIUM — BRAND NEW WORLD EP

EP Review and Radio Feature

Review by Gordon Lawrence Taylor

Voice in the Void
Infectious Unease Radio / Subterranean Zone Radio

Supporting independent and alternative music across the international underground.

Website:
https://infectiousuneaseradio.com

RELEASE INFORMATION

Artist: Nickynutz
Country: 🇧🇪 Belgium
Title: Brand New World EP
Format: Digital EP
Release date: 31 July 2026
Genre: Jungle / Drum & Bass / Jazzy Jungle / Funk / Electronic
BPM range: 163–167 BPM
Total running time: Approximately 17 minutes and 50 seconds
Production: All tracks produced by Nickynutz
Digital quality: Available in 24-bit/44.1kHz, MP3, FLAC and additional digital formats
Price: €5 EUR or more through Bandcamp

Tracklisting

  1. Bittersweet Jazz — 6:20 — 167 BPM

  2. Brand New World — 5:49 — 165 BPM

  3. Genova Chase — 5:41 — 163 BPM

The EP is presented by Nickynutz as a celebration of summer through “funky jazzy trippy jungle vibes,” but the three tracks reveal considerably more depth than that description alone might suggest.

FULL EP REVIEW

With Brand New World EP, Belgian jungle producer Nickynutz constructs a compact but richly detailed three-track journey through fractured rhythm, jazz-inflected atmosphere, psychedelic colour and deep subterranean bass.

The release operates within a rapid 163–167 BPM range, yet speed is never allowed to overwhelm musical character. Each composition is given sufficient space to introduce its environment, establish its rhythmic architecture and gradually reveal the relationship between percussion, bass pressure and melodic detail.

This is jungle music built not only for physical movement, but also for close listening.

Across the EP, Nickynutz demonstrates an understanding of contrast. Hard-edged break manipulation sits beside warmer harmonic elements. Dense rhythmic passages are separated by more spacious, suspended sections. Moments of summer brightness repeatedly encounter darker shadows beneath the surface.

The result feels celebratory without becoming superficial, nostalgic without becoming trapped in the past, and technically precise without sacrificing personality.

1. BITTERSWEET JAZZ

Opening at 167 BPM, “Bittersweet Jazz” immediately establishes the emotional contradiction suggested by its title.

The track begins patiently, allowing its atmosphere to gather before the full rhythmic pressure is released. Rather than introducing every element simultaneously, Nickynutz constructs the opening through gradual accumulation. Textures emerge, recede and return while the composition quietly prepares the listener for the movement ahead.

When the breaks arrive with greater force, the transition feels earned.

The percussion carries the recognisable nervous energy of jungle, but it is not reduced to continuous aggression. The rhythmic structure remains flexible, with individual hits, rolls and edits given enough space to register clearly. This creates the impression of drums moving around the listener rather than simply striking from a fixed position.

Beneath them sits a substantial low-frequency foundation. The bass does not merely support the track; it becomes part of its emotional language. Its weight introduces darkness beneath the warmer jazz-associated material, producing the bittersweet tension at the centre of the composition.

The harmonic fragments bring warmth, memory and a slightly nocturnal elegance. They suggest the intimacy of an underground room after midnight: dim lights, lingering smoke, conversations dissolving into rhythm and the strange emotional distance that can exist even within a crowded space.

There is funk within the track, but it is an unsettled funk. It shifts between pleasure and introspection. The music moves forward physically while appearing to glance backwards emotionally.

Throughout its six-minute duration, “Bittersweet Jazz” continues to develop rather than settling permanently into one loop. Percussive activity intensifies, rhythmic emphasis changes and the arrangement periodically opens enough space for the melodic elements to reappear.

The final passages contain some of the track’s most animated drum movement, bringing the composition to a conclusion that feels energetic while preserving its underlying melancholy.

As the EP’s opening statement, it is both inviting and sophisticated. It establishes that Brand New World EP will not be defined by speed alone. Instead, it will explore the emotional possibilities hidden inside that speed.

Track link:
https://nickynutz.bandcamp.com/track/bittersweet-jazz

2. BRAND NEW WORLD

The title track, “Brand New World,” occupies the centre of the EP and provides its most spacious and psychedelic experience.

At 165 BPM, it begins with an extended introduction that feels less like a conventional opening and more like the gradual appearance of an unfamiliar landscape. The track takes its time establishing scale and distance. Elements appear from the edges of the stereo field, while the restrained early dynamics create anticipation without immediately revealing the destination.

There is something cinematic within this entrance.

The atmosphere suggests movement through a threshold: leaving a recognisable environment and entering one governed by different physical and emotional rules. This sensation is reinforced by the artwork, whose symmetrical, mechanical and almost biological forms resemble an entrance into a complicated interior universe.

When the rhythmic structure becomes fully established, the track does not simply abandon its atmospheric beginning. Instead, the earlier textures remain embedded within the arrangement, continuing to colour the breakbeats and bass movement.

The drums possess speed and complexity, but they are arranged with clarity. Individual rhythmic details remain audible even during denser sections, preventing the track from collapsing into undifferentiated noise.

The bass carries considerable weight while leaving room for movement through the middle frequencies. This gives “Brand New World” a broader internal space than the opening track. Its different layers appear to communicate with one another: drums provide momentum, bass establishes gravity, and the atmospheric material creates a sense of altered perception.

The title can be interpreted in several ways. It may describe the discovery of a new physical environment, a psychological transformation or the temporary world created when rhythm becomes powerful enough to interrupt ordinary awareness.

Nickynutz does not force one interpretation upon the listener.

Instead, the track creates an environment in which transformation becomes possible. Its long developmental structure encourages immersion, gradually shifting from anticipation into propulsion before entering a sustained central passage of rhythmic movement.

There are moments when the composition appears to hover between brightness and unease. The melodic atmosphere contains possibility, but the bass reminds us that every new world contains unknown depths.

As the track approaches its conclusion, the energy begins to withdraw rather than ending abruptly. The environment slowly recedes, leaving the impression that the listener has not escaped the world completely, but has simply moved beyond the range of its signal.

“Brand New World” is the conceptual heart of the EP: expansive, immersive and quietly cinematic.

Track link:
https://nickynutz.bandcamp.com/track/brand-new-world

3. GENOVA CHASE

Closing the release at 163 BPM, “Genova Chase” is technically the slowest track on the EP, although it may be the most narrative in construction.

Its opening develops through suspense. Rather than immediately presenting the full rhythmic framework, Nickynutz creates a lengthy approach in which tension gradually accumulates. The effect resembles the opening sequence of a pursuit: distant movement, incomplete information and the growing awareness that something is drawing closer.

When the central rhythm finally takes control, the track enters a sustained period of powerful momentum.

The bass becomes especially important here. It creates a continuous gravitational pull beneath the chopped percussion, giving the composition a feeling of forward movement even when the drums briefly change direction.

The break programming carries urgency without becoming chaotic. Rhythmic details flash past like fragments of scenery observed at speed. Small changes in emphasis create corners, sudden openings and unexpected shifts in direction.

Where “Bittersweet Jazz” explores emotional duality and “Brand New World” creates an altered environment, “Genova Chase” is constructed around movement.

Its energy suggests streets, tunnels, railway lines, unfamiliar intersections and the sensation of travelling through a city whose internal map remains unknown. The music does not describe a specific storyline, but its structure naturally encourages visual interpretation.

A pronounced reduction in density later in the track functions like a temporary clearing. The pressure does not disappear completely; it waits beneath the surface. This momentary suspension makes the subsequent return of the rhythm more effective.

When the drums and bass regain their full presence, the track feels as though it has entered the final stage of its pursuit.

The closing section maintains intensity while gradually preparing the listener for departure. Rather than offering complete resolution, “Genova Chase” leaves behind a trace of unresolved movement—as though the chase continues beyond the visible edge of the composition.

It is an intelligent closing choice because it does not simply repeat the emotional atmosphere of the previous tracks. It introduces a stronger narrative quality while preserving the EP’s central relationship between funk, jazz, jungle rhythm and psychedelic space.

Track link:
https://nickynutz.bandcamp.com/track/genova-chase

PRODUCTION AND SOUND DESIGN

Across the three supplied masters, the production remains clear, controlled and appropriately physical.

The low end carries considerable force, yet the breakbeats retain definition. The percussion is not buried beneath excessive bass pressure, and the melodic details are not allowed to dominate the rhythmic foundation.

This balance is particularly important in jungle, where multiple layers of rapid percussion can easily lose definition. Nickynutz allows the breaks to sound forceful while preserving their internal movement.

The arrangements also reveal a strong understanding of dynamic development. Each track begins below its eventual peak intensity, allowing the listener to experience genuine progression. Introductions, central passages, temporary reductions and final returns are treated as parts of a larger journey rather than as interchangeable DJ sections.

Although the tracks remain suitable for mixing and sound-system play, they also possess enough structural detail to function outside the dancefloor.

That distinction gives the EP durability.

ARTWORK

The artwork provides an effective visual counterpart to the music.

A symmetrical explosion of circular forms, spirals, mechanical details and organic patterns fills the central image. The design resembles a psychedelic machine, a ceremonial mask and an unknown biological system operating simultaneously.

Its visual density reflects the complexity of the break programming, while its symmetry mirrors the careful organisation beneath the apparent chaos.

The blue pixel-style lettering used for the Nickynutz name contrasts with the warmer orange title at the bottom of the image. This combination of digital typography and elaborate psychedelic detail captures the EP’s central balance: technological construction meeting organic movement.

The image does not merely decorate the release. It prepares the listener for the strange, colourful and rhythmically intricate environment contained within it.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

Brand New World EP is a focused and rewarding release from Nickynutz.

Its three tracks share a recognisable musical language, but each develops a separate identity:

“Bittersweet Jazz” explores warmth, melancholy and rhythmic elegance.

“Brand New World” opens the widest psychological and cinematic space.

“Genova Chase” closes the EP through suspense, momentum and unresolved movement.

Nickynutz draws upon the vocabulary of old-school jungle without treating it as a museum object. The breaks, basslines, jazz colours and psychedelic atmospheres are used as living materials—capable of being reshaped, rearranged and carried into new territory.

The EP celebrates summer, but it does not present summer as uncomplicated happiness. There are shadows beneath its brightness, memories inside its grooves and darker currents moving below the surface.

That emotional complexity is what gives the release its strength.

Brand New World EP is fast without becoming impatient, nostalgic without becoming derivative and playful without losing depth. It is a compact transmission from the Belgian underground: funky, strange, cinematic, bass-heavy and unmistakably junglist.

OFFICIAL RELEASE AND ARTIST LINKS

Brand New World EP — Bandcamp:
https://nickynutz.bandcamp.com/album/brand-new-world-ep

Bittersweet Jazz:
https://nickynutz.bandcamp.com/track/bittersweet-jazz

Brand New World:
https://nickynutz.bandcamp.com/track/brand-new-world

Genova Chase:
https://nickynutz.bandcamp.com/track/genova-chase

Complete Nickynutz Bandcamp discography:
https://nickynutz.bandcamp.com/music

SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/nickynutz

Nickynutz second SoundCloud page:
https://soundcloud.com/nickynutz-in-the-mix

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Nickynutz-120645677995065/

Discogs:
https://www.discogs.com/artist/335198-Nickynutz

Beatport:
https://www.beatport.com/artist/nickynutz/245767

Audiomack:
https://audiomack.com/nickynutz

Bandcamp identifies Nickynutz as a Belgian artist and links directly to his SoundCloud and Discogs profiles; his wider catalogue includes a substantial body of jungle, drum-and-bass and dub-oriented releases.