DNO Records are back with “DNO008” and, if you’ll excuse my language: god damn it’s crushing. The Burning Paper EP is made up of four tracks featuring the Young Echo collective associated Manonmars and Bogues with production duties taken up by Ishan Sound and Neek respectively. I was already very familiar with the A2 track on this release “Nuke the Threat” by Manonmars & Ishan Sound due to it’s inclusion on Kahn & Neek’s stellar FabricLive90 mix released in 2016. When I saw this EP come up on Juno Records I knew I had to buy it based on that track alone and after listening to the rest of the EP, I decided I had to go back and buy the digital copies too.

Experimental rap is what’s on the menu with DNO008. The A1 opener is “Cool Runnings” with Ishan Sound & Neek. Easily my favorite track on the release; the beat has that unmistakably ominous ambience that I’ve come to associate with Bristol grime/dubstep. Vocals by Manonmars are crisp with some wicked double-time bars and a memorable and catchy hook that will 100% get stuck in your head. Combined with the shifting synth chords that come in at the first bass drop, this one should cause an instant screwface.

“Nuke the Threat” is one that heads ought to already be familiar with given it’s prominent place on FabricLive90. I wouldn’t be surprised if plenty of people had the lyrics to this one memorized far before it was pressed to vinyl. I’ve been listening to this track for several years since the CD was stuck in my car and it’s still a fresh tune to me. Manonmars again delivers dope vocals with unique rhymes over a lurching, minimal drill-style beat provided by Ishan Sound. Full power on all burners on the A-Side of this EP.

The B-Side of this EP features collaborations including all the named artists. “Skinhead Chick” is a crawling, creeper of a tune with heavily down-pitched vocals from Manonmars and relaxed flows from Bogues. The beat from Ishan Sound and Neek is throwing out vibes like the UK Roads got chopped-and-screwed and I love the melody that accompanies the bass hits on this one.

The title track “Burning Paper” is probably the most heady track on the EP. On this track the rhymes from Bogues and Manonmars take the center stage. The lyrics supplied flow over a whirling, dissonant and minimal beat featuring the occasional dial-up internet sample. Like the title of the track seems to imply, this tune is a meditative head-nodder, introspective and abstract lyrics playing out over the subtle clicks and sweeps of the rhythm. As the longest track on the EP it’s a fitting end to this truly interesting compilation of experimental hip hop.

I’m going to admit that I initially bought this EP solely because I wanted to get “Nuke The Threat” on vinyl. I didn’t have any idea what else was going to be on here when I got it. That said, I really like the collection of songs on this record and I enjoyed it so much that I went as far as to buy the digital copies too because I’m hoping to DJ with them. As I said earlier, “Cool Runnings” is my favorite track on the EP, but the variation among the songs on offer make this a pretty versatile release for DJs and should be more than satisfactory for people looking for some interesting bass oriented vocal tracks.

You can purchase the “Burning Paper EP” by Manonmars & Bogues x Ishan Sound & Neek on Bandcamp at the link below:

https://dnorecords.bandcamp.com/album/dno008-manonmars-bogues-x-ishan-sound-neek-burning-paper-ep