Warlock Audio presents its first-ever Various Artists album, The Turning Rite, a ten-track odyssey of dark, heavy Neurofunk crafted by twenty innovative producers. Each tune is a collaboration between two artists, forging a unique creative chemistry that gives this VA its own unmistakable identity.

Built around the Winter Solstice and the shadows that surround it, The Turning Rite plunges deep into gloomy atmospheres, ritualistic energy, and weighty, unrelenting sound design. From frostbitten intros and spectral pads to bone-crushing drops and contorted basslines, every track feels like a step further into the darkest part of the year.


A celebration of collaboration and a testament to the cold-season spirit, The Turning Rite marks a powerful milestone for Warlock Audio and a harrowing descent into the depths of modern Neurofunk to embrace the darkness.

The Turning Rite

Mean Teeth and OMNEUM mark the turning of the year with Sun Goes Down, a track born at the edge of light and shadow on the Winter Solstice. It opens as the final glow fades from the sky. Fast, techy drums scatter like nervous thoughts in the cold, while broken, plucked strings splinter through the air. Above it all, hollow pads howl like wind tearing through empty streets, signaling the arrival of the longest night.

When the drop hits, darkness fully takes hold. A barrage of classic neuro basses detonates in unison with crushing drum beats, raw and relentless. Each hit lands with purpose, driving the track deeper into the night. Techstep-inspired synths surge forward, sharp and mechanical, locking into the rhythm like gears grinding under pressure.

Sun Goes Down is the sound of the solstice itself, the moment the sun finally disappears and the ritual begins. Cold, aggressive, and unstoppable, it embraces the night at its deepest point, turning darkness into momentum and shadow into power.

Sun Goes Down

Akuma and Protoss open a rift in the ritual with Catastrophic, a track that unfolds like a prophecy whispered too late. It begins in the shadows... dark basslines coil low beneath eerie, flickering synths, setting the scene of a world holding its breath. From the haze, a woman’s voice rises, distant and haunting, singing like a warning echoing through collapsing corridors of sound.

As the tension tightens, a snarling reese bass creeps forward, grinding and growing, pulling the listener closer to the edge. Then the spell breaks. The drop hits with devastating force; heavy yet melodic, drenched in classic Neurofunk spirit. Precision-cut drums strike with mechanical intent while layers of dark, rolling bass interlock beneath waves of evil, atmospheric pads.

Catastrophic is the moment everything gives way; the collapse, the release, the aftermath. A finely honed weapon of Neurofunk that balances menace and melody, dragging the listener through destruction and leaving only echoes in its wake.

Catastrophic

Subcat and Akutai unveil Mammoth, a tale carved in stone and sound, beginning not with brute force, but with elegance. Gentle strings and piano drift in like candlelight through a Victorian hall; refined, melancholic, and steeped in old-world beauty. For a moment, time stands still, as if the past itself is breathing softly before the fall.

Then the illusion shatters. The doors are torn from their hinges as Mammoth plunges into an unrelenting aural assault. Colossal bass surges forward, drums smash and fracture with primal weight, and haunting vocal chants rise like a spirit from deep beneath the earth. The refined motifs return only in fragments. Twisted, eerie strings weaving through the chaos like ghosts of that once-elegant opening.

Mammoth is the collision of eras: grace crushed beneath raw power, beauty swallowed by brute force. A towering statement of contrast and scale, it lumbers forward with unstoppable momentum, leaving ruin, resonance, and awe in its wake.

Mammoth

Typecell and A-Tech cast a cold spell with Fractured, a track that feels like the first crack of ice beneath your feet. It opens in near silence; haunting pads drift through the void while distant percussion echoes like footsteps in an abandoned ruin. The atmosphere is uneasy and intimate, steeped in a creeping sense of dread that slowly tightens its grip.

When the drop arrives, it doesn’t explode... it emerges. Minimal, dark DnB pulses forward with restrained menace, driven by sharp, ritualistic percussion that snaps and rattles in the cold. Each element feels deliberate and skeletal, leaving space for tension to breathe. From within that darkness, a ghostly synth rises, carving out a fragile melody that flickers like a dying flame.

As the track unfolds, broken strings cut through the mix, splintered and sorrowful, signaling an inevitable shift. The air grows colder, the shadows longer. Fractured is the sound of winter approaching... of light retreating and darkness settling in, slow and unavoidable.

Fractured

Dropset and Gingersnap summon the longest night with Paralysis, a track forged in the stillness of the Winter Solstice, when time feels suspended and the world holds its breath. It opens beneath a frozen sky where haunting pads drift like cold mist across the ground, while ethereal vocals hover in the air, distant and weightless. Faded drumbeats pulse faintly below, echoing like a slowed heartbeat in the dark.

Then the countdown begins. 4… 3… 2… 1…
The moment arrives, and the spell is sealed.

The track snaps into motion as a rolling wave of neurofunk surges forward. Deep reese bass drives relentlessly, heavy and hypnotic, pulling the listener deeper into the night. Eerie, glacial synths stalk alongside the bassline, their cold tones weaving tension through every bar. Beneath it all, razor-sharp, technical drumwork fractures and reforms with precision, keeping the ground unstable and the mind alert.

Paralysis captures the solstice threshold, where darkness reaches its peak and motion returns. Frozen, relentless, and alive with pressure, it is a soundtrack for the longest night, when everything stops… and then moves all at once.

Would you rather be paralyzed or dead?

Paralysis

Anizo & Verture unveil Reverie, a track that unfolds at the threshold of winter, where the world slips into stillness and the mind drifts between waking and dream. It opens with a bold, cinematic scale. Vast bass swells beneath towering pads, rising like dark clouds over a frozen horizon. Each note feels deliberate and monumental, as if the night itself is gathering strength.

As the tension reaches its peak, the vision fractures. The drop cuts in with ruthless precision: chopped basslines snap and twist in perfect sync with sharp, off-beat drums, while tightly engineered synths slice through the cold air. The chaos is controlled and calculated while dark energy shapes into motion.

Reverie is a masterclass in modern Neurofunk, capturing that solstice moment where time bends and consciousness drifts. Heavy yet refined, cinematic yet surgical, it pulls the listener into a waking dream where darkness reigns, focus sharpens, and the longest night becomes a place of power.

Reverie

As the Winter Solstice locks the world in its deepest shadow, Jocasta & Joppa unleash RudeBoi, a force born from the collision of cold ritual and raw power. This is the moment when the night rules completely, when restraint dissolves and instinct takes over.

From the first strike, earth-shaking bass surges upward like molten stone breaking through frozen ground. The drums land with devastating weight, cracking the silence of the longest night and sending shockwaves through the dark. Distorted basslines flow relentlessly, thick and dangerous, moving like lava beneath a crust of ice.

Against that heat, razor-cold synths cut through the mix, sharp and unforgiving, creating a stark contrast that mirrors the solstice itself with fire and frost locked in balance. When the sun slips away and the world holds its breath, RudeBoi answers with weight and fire, shaking the night awake.

RudeBoi

ZedBerg & Zionov ND unveil This Was Given, a track that feels like an offering laid at the heart of the Winter Solstice. It opens in ceremony with plucked strings that ring out like frostbitten echoes across a frozen landscape, while thunderous percussion rolls in the distance, slow and deliberate, as if awakening something ancient beneath the earth. Each strike carries weight, marking time on the longest night of the year.

As the ritual reaches its turning point, the drop descends with unstoppable force. Thundering drums crash forward in relentless waves, distorted bass surges with raw, elemental power, and ancient synths rise like voices from a forgotten age. The sound is vast and imposing, equal parts reverence and reckoning, as darkness settles fully before the inevitable shift.

This Was Given captures the essence of the solstice exchange. The surrender to shadow, the acceptance of power passed down through time. A moment of stillness and impact, where what is offered in darkness shapes what will return with the light.

This Was Given

Contam and The In Kill close the circle with Let It Go, the final invocation of The Turning Rite, arriving at the exact moment the Winter Solstice completes its arc. It opens not in darkness, but in reflection. Pop-infused pads and luminous synths shimmer like distant stars, offering a fleeting sense of warmth before the night fully settles in. It’s the calm breath taken before release.

But the stillness doesn’t last. Bass begins to rise beneath the surface, pressure building as chopped drums fracture the glow, signaling the inevitable shift. When the drop lands, restraint is abandoned entirely. A torrent of heavily modulated bass tears through the silence, massive and unrelenting, locked tightly with crushing, modern neurofunk drums that hit with absolute authority. Every element surges forward, raw and refined at once.

Let It Go is the sound of surrender at the solstice; the shedding of what no longer serves as darkness reaches its peak. It’s an ending that feels like transformation rather than closure, a final release before the cycle turns and the light begins its slow return. A brutal, definitive finale to The Turning Rite.

Let It Go

J  O  I  N     T  H  E     C  O  V  E  N

Warlock Audio is an American-founded record label with a mission to amplify the darker side of Drum and Bass across North America. Bringing together a diverse roster of artists from around the world, we specialize in the raw, edgy depths of Neurofunk, Techstep, and dark Rollers. Our sound isn’t just distinct; it’s a modern evolution that infuses classic styles with fresh, innovative twists. At Warlock Audio, we’re dedicated to reshaping the DnB landscape in the U.S. and Canada, delivering tracks that push boundaries and defy expectations. For fans seeking an unforgettable, intense DnB experience—look no further.

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