Nuan Sonar and Thysbe make up the Chicago based duo, @mentrek_studio. The project came into focus in 2023 following a string of studio sessions where the two started linking up for hardware jams and technique sharing sessions. Throughout the next few years, the project took shape with a series of collaborative efforts with producer friends.

INIT is the culmination of these collaborative moments, exhibiting some of their best works. Each track was written in a single session with the core ideas and samples getting jammed out on a plethora of hardware gear before being meticulously manipulated and arranged in a DAW.

The EP isn’t quite ‘club music’ - it isn’t exactly dubstep - and while it certainly has elements of IDM, it’s not really that either.. For Mentrek, it’s just the natural collection of ideas and inspirations that has brought them together in the first place. Their friendship formed around the glitch.cool online community and surged as the two found themselves living in Chicago, a hotspot for all things electronic music. The various world-class clubs, crews, people, and landscapes that the city brings have played a role in shaping these works.

The tape opens up with ‘Thrown and Fallen’ where Metaprose brings along his signature droning textures before things morph into broken electro territories. Frequent partners Chicon and Darkhurst feature on ‘You Should Be Here’ where glitchy patterns and melodic motifs are at the forefront. Mentrek takes solo duties on ‘Total Recall’ - a sinister, blown-out, trap influenced weapon. The energy progresses with ‘Destrukta’ a deconstructed, raw exploration of bass music with fellow glitch.cool counterpart, oddlogic. Next comes ‘LanLan’ with Dendroid, where brooding atmospheres and head-nod worthy drum programming are on full display. Finally, the project lands on ‘Game 6’ with Wolf’d where the Chicago-based producer brings along his low, swung, dubstep offerings that are complimented by the dark and striking sounds of Mentrek.

This EP is available via a limited edition USB drive that is laced with stems for each track and a special sample pack derived from hardware sessions from the duo. 

Track 1 w/ Metaprose (soundcloud.com/metaprose)
Track 2 w/ Chicon and Darkhurst (soundcloud.com/austinchicon x soundcloud.com/darkhurst)
Track 4 w/ oddlogic (soundcloud.com/oddlogic)
Track 5 w/ Dendroid (soundcloud.com/dendroid_music)
Track 6 w// Wolf'd (soundcloud.com/wolfdmusic)
Cover art by holothug (instagram.com/holothug)

bandcamp

Mentrek - INIT

Austrian duo @alllone brings us a colorful mixture of different speeds and vibes, which are mindfully brought together while genres collide.

Artwork by Fractalfucker
"alllone" typeface by The Mocker
Design by dystopia kid
Mastered by Relativity Lounge

alllone - Innit Fam

alllone - Vibin

We welcome Epoc to Defkon1 with the release of his latest single ‘Nine.’ As a part of our free singles series, Epoc dives deep into murky 140 waters. Keep on eye on this man cause he shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.

@epocofficial

Epoc - Nine

The second release within our EXP catalog welcomes yet another producer from the Austrian city of Graz. d:enigma brings us 'El Viaje,' a journey through two emotive tracks originally written for a short film.

The A Side 'enova' introduces a distressing mood. Warped vocals turn into brooding chants driven by a heavily swung and hypnotic drum groove. While 'cura' takes a turn, providing a release from the gloomy first half of the project. The B Side brings a stimulating palette of synth layers and chopped tonal bits, and still possesses the head-nod flavor that's prevalent in d:enigma's sound.

short film by ARCANE
vimeo.com/449901287/d9a769d71d

music written & mastered by d:enigma
soundcloud.com/denigmayo
facebook.com/amgineddivad/
instagram.com/daviddenigma/

cover art by aletiune
twitter.com/aletiune
relivesight.com/cherry/

d:enigma - enova

DEFKON1 is proud to welcome back L0G1N for his second release on the imprint. This time the French producer brings us the third edition of our EXP catalog, 'Sleepwalking'. The weighty 3-tracker is tinged in IDM rhythms and glitched sound design, featuring a remix from Chicon & Darkhurst.

The EP kicks off with 'Parasomnia,' a frantic quarter-time number, driven by a massive pulsating bass line. The track builds slowly, getting more intense and panic inducing as time goes on.

For the second half of the project, L0G1N teams up with Prox on the aptly titled 'Hypnagogia'. The duo flex their sound designs muscles on this deranged journey.

Chicon & Darkhurst took on the remix for 'Hypnagogia,' giving the original a more dancefloor-friendly twist to cap off the project.

L0G1N:
@log1n
facebook.com/L0G1NDnB

Prox:
@proxdotbleep
proxsound.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/prox.bleep
twitter.com/proxglitch

Chicon:
@austinchicon

Darkhurst:
@darkhurst

mastered by L0G1N
cover art by aletiune
twitter.com/aletiune
relivesight.com/cherry/

L0G1N & prox.bleep - Hypnagogia (Chicon & Darkhurst Remix)

DEFKON1 is proud to welcome back L0G1N for his second release on the imprint. This time the French producer brings us the third edition of our EXP catalog, 'Sleepwalking'. The weighty 3-tracker is tinged in IDM rhythms and glitched sound design, featuring a remix from Chicon & Darkhurst.

The EP kicks off with 'Parasomnia,' a frantic quarter-time number, driven by a massive pulsating bass line. The track builds slowly, getting more intense and panic inducing as time goes on.

For the second half of the project, L0G1N teams up with pro.bleep on the aptly titled 'Hypnagogia'. The duo flex their sound designs muscles on this deranged journey.

Chicon & Darkhurst took on the remix for 'Hypnagogia,' giving the original a more dancefloor-friendly twist to cap off the project.

L0G1N:
@log1n
facebook.com/L0G1NDnB

prox.bleep:
@proxdotbleep
proxsound.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/prox.bleep
twitter.com/proxglitch

Chicon:
@austinchicon

Darkhurst:
@darkhurst

mastered by L0G1N
cover art by aletiune
twitter.com/aletiune
relivesight.com/cherry/

L0G1N & prox.bleep - Hypnagogia

L0G1N - Parasomnia

After taking a year hiatus from our single series, we are coming back strong with a new one from label member @OperaTR.

‘Unrest’ is a sludgy journey through swung grooves and harrowing sound design. Available for free DL. 🌐

artwork by dystop1k

OperaTR - Unrest

Back with another free single this week. This time we bring you a menacing halftime belter from label member CHICON. 'SNAFU' is available for free DL!

https://soundcloud.com/austinchicon

CHICON - SNAFU

Madison, WI-based Thysbe leaves his stamp on the WPN catalogue with his Animah EP, an intergalactic voyage through glitched-out, head-nod-inducing bass music.

The Door of the Interior Sun opens things up, striking a careful balance between alluring melodies, stuttering ear candy, and driving low-end. An honorable launch into the auditory universe of 'Animah'.

Hyperglitch artist and Midwest-based Nuan Sonar joins Thysbe on Light From The Hidden World. The pair bring the listener deeper into space with some mystical intro work before going full pedal-to-the-metal with a deep halftime groove complimented by IDM-tinged sound design.

Thysbe flexes his harmonic knack with the closer, Animah the Rat Queen. He paints a beautifully balanced picture between dark and light, while not holding back from the weighty presence that the previous pieces bring to the table.

@thysbe-official

ARTWORK BY: Shubham Dhage + Dystopik
DESIGN BY: Holothug
MASTERED BY: NUAN SONAR

Thysbe - Animah The Rat Queen

Remember delivers five brand new tracks on DEFKON1 by the way of London, UK. Imbued in the dark sonics that London is known for, Digital Dharma and Sacred Sights is a vigorous voyage in bass music. 

WPN006 marks our first foray into the CD world. The LE25 physicals are now available for preorder.

Follow Remember: https://twitter.com/remember4802

Remember - The Second Realisation

Fresh off the heels of his 'are we dreaming?' EP, Chicagoan villa the ram takes us into jungle territory for our free single series. The track kicks off with lush pads and a dreamy vocal before catapulting the listener into an intense drum workout. Fuzzy reese basses and screechy effects add the perfect contrast to the rather divine melodic elements, making for an instant future jungle classic. 

@villatheram

artwork by: dystopik

villa the ram - my mind

@agentoofficial makes a splash on DEFKON1 with 'FLEX', an A/B release featuring a massive dubstep track, complemented by a UKG version on the B-side.

Twisted bass movement, cheeky vocal chops, and skippy drum grooves make 'FLEX' a fitting addition to our WPN catalog. 

Artwork by: www.instagram.com/reixxe

Download

AGENT O - FLEX

Scarien - My Half

Scarien - Your Half

Halftime up-and-comers BackLeft and Phunk Bias team up on the latest installment of the WPN catalog with Amateur Hour.

The duo brings a funky, yet hard hitting sonic palette to the table with their own unique styles coming together seamlessly. Summertime festival vibes in full effect.

@backleftmusic
@phunkbias

BackLeft x Phunk Bias - Soul Purpose

BackLeft x Phunk Bias - Finna Rumble

BackLeft x Phunk Bias - The 90bpm One

BackLeft x Phunk Bias - Keep It

Our FREE SINGLE series returns with a rough and tough dubstep number from Ki.

@itsdjki

Ki. - EASE UP

This EP is available via a limited edition USB drive that is laced with stems for each track and a special sample pack derived from hardware sessions from the duo. 

Track 2 w/ Chicon and Darkhurst (soundcloud.com/austinchicon x soundcloud.com/darkhurst)
Cover art by holothug (instagram.com/holothug)

You Should Be Here w/ Chicon x Darkhurst

This EP is available via a limited edition USB drive that is laced with stems for each track and a special sample pack derived from hardware sessions from the duo. 

Track 1 w/ Metaprose (soundcloud.com/metaprose)

Thrown and Fallen w/ Metaprose

This EP is available via a limited edition USB drive that is laced with stems for each track and a special sample pack derived from hardware sessions from the duo. 

Cover art by holothug (instagram.com/holothug)

Total Recall

This EP is available via a limited edition USB drive that is laced with stems for each track and a special sample pack derived from hardware sessions from the duo. 

Track 5 w/ Dendroid (soundcloud.com/dendroid_music)
Cover art by holothug (instagram.com/holothug)

LanLan w/ Dendroid

This EP is available via a limited edition USB drive that is laced with stems for each track and a special sample pack derived from hardware sessions from the duo. 

Track 4 w/ oddlogic (soundcloud.com/oddlogic)
Cover art by holothug (instagram.com/holothug)

Destrukta w/ oddlogic

This EP is available via a limited edition USB drive that is laced with stems for each track and a special sample pack derived from hardware sessions from the duo. 

Track 6 w/ Wolf'd (soundcloud.com/wolfdmusic)
Cover art by holothug (instagram.com/holothug)

Game 6 w/ Wolf'd

@venustheory

DFKN001 is the first installment in our compilation catalogue. The release features the unique styles of eight different Central Illinois producers. 

All proceeds from this project go directly to the Peoria Mutual Aid Network. Find out more info at peoriamutualaid.com.

100% ORGANIZED DESTRUCTION. EST. 2020.

Mastered by Venus Theory
Artwork by Hayden Carr

Venus Theory - No Longer Was I Dreaming

@unfamiliartunes

The young Floridian brings us a pair of halftime slammers, saturated with metallic sound design and head turning rhythms.

(un)familiar is sure to make a name for himself amongst bass music enthusiasts, and we could not be more stoked to present his first release as a part of our WPN series.

Artwork by @fractalfuckeradio & @keller-anderson
Mastered by @relativitylounge

(un)familiar - Watch Out

(un)familiar - Pass Over

Introducing @OperaTR - The longtime friend, newest member of the Defkon team and up and coming producer is welcomed with a laid back bass heavy tribute to hip hops ultimate supervillain. The first of our free singles series.

DOOMED VISUAL by Dystopia Kid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56Effv17xnA&feature=youtu.be

Artwork: @darkhurst
Mastered by: @Mickman

OperaTR - DOOMED

Đ₣₭₦ // ₩₱₦ // ɆӾ₱ // ØĐɆ

Midwest, USA

DEFKON1

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