Cali-raised Christian Bauhofer, best known to the world as Minnesota, brings forth a massive EP – his first in almost 4 years! Released on Liquid Stranger‘s label Wakaan, Curio has an ‘old-school Minnesota’ vibe to it, to intrigue and appease to longtime fans and new listeners alike – for an out-of-this-world, West Coast Space Bass trip through the cosmos, and towards new terrain.
Curio is the beginning of a story. The discovery of an ancient artifact that begins a new journey…
-Minnesota
The EP/first track, ‘Edge’, starts off with an explosive yet soft burst that immediately catches your attention. And appropriately so, since we’re introduced to a speech on the death of our sun and other stars, billions of years from now. As one is taking in the semi-chilling tale, the voice starts to become distorted, to the point that you can hardly make out what’s being said. Just as it becomes clear again, the tune’s already building up towards an interstellar drop, speeding past the atmosphere and into the vast unknown.
The entire song is laced with arpeggiating synths throughout – they start off as twinkles in the background, resembling a starry sky hovering over the renowned gentleman’s speech; at the drop, they become a daring escapade, blasting past countless celestial objects.
His second track in, ‘Technique’, is where the intensity gets ramped up – if the guitar riffs in-between don’t give enough of a sense of that, then let the hefty, surrounding bass speak for itself. The drops use the same bassline melody throughout, but vary in effect, each with its own take on such relentless wubbage.
Following the second drop, as it fades out and you think it’s coming to an end, it whips right back up with the familiar sample from Eric B. and Rakim’s ‘Don’t Sweat the Technique‘ – and preps you for yet one more drop, this time with the distortion turned up, making it feel hollowed out.
The already-released ‘Dark Crystal’ comes in afterwards, as a bit of a brief calm-down after what just occurred – yet not without its own blast of some worldly bass vibes, before switching up into a drum ‘n’ bass rinse-out session at the end. ‘Desert Diamond’ seems to stand out a bit on its own; whereas its EP counterparts bring up the bass-fueled hype, this tune broods in the background, for more of a low-key, wonky cruise.
The closing track is a VIP re-work of his smash tune, ‘HiLow‘. It starts off with the same emergency broadcast as the orginial, but then ramps up the intensity by delivering a rippin’ dnb makeover. It’s near the end that things become much more atmospheric, and the dnb takes on a much more liquid approach – accompanied by serene piano keys for a soft and successful landing, to close out the adventure.
The entire EP is available as a download – get your copy of Curio, and keep your ears peeled for whatever else Minnesota has in his arsenal!
