By: Anand Harsh

We've been watching the stunning ascension of PROKO in the underground bass scene with much interest. Not just because we pegged him for our festival last month, but because his sound is something special, and he's got what it takes to shift the paradigm entirely. While Bassnectar has dropped his tracks, and his sonic signature follows in a similar vein to Bleep Bloop and G Jones, Troy Prokopowich is as much a student of hip-hop, punk, and actual sound design aesthetics as he is a disciple of the current experimental bass movement.

While he's produced countless originals, collabs, and remixes, along with his stunning statement, the Alien Abduction Mixtape, First Contact really is his attempt to plant his flag on a new planet and claim it as his own. Openers “TTF” and the title track launch fans into a swirling dust storm of writhing synths and cacophonous drums. The lead single “Block Streets” pulses with gangsta rap intensity, but replace DJ Muggs high frequency theremin with low end power, and you get where PROKO is coming from. “FLIP IT” also rages with a hip-hop swagger, demonstrating just what it is he's trying to do: marry classic beats with futuristic bass.

PROKO closes out the EP with a bang. Featuring another member of The Untz Festival class of 2017, NastyNasty, the pair engage in some stilted upbeat antics leaning towards drum & bass, but shooting about 60 parsecs past any recognizable rhythmic structure, choosing instead to roll along in a lilting fashion towards total beat anarchy. These guys prove that experimenting with sound can be as fun as it can be serious. It gets “Loud,” in short.

Bottom line is, Prokopowich is positioning himself in the upper echelons of the new bass dynasty, and the amount of support from fans is equal to that of his peers, which is all the more important, because artists never pay for shows.