Bleep

Once part of the celebrated duo Pitch & Hold, Simon Hold teams up with Belgium’s Vlek (Baleine 3000, Lawrence Le Doux) for two tracks that map the highs and lows of life in Brussels. ‘Maqam Bruxellnoise’, a release that has been clamoured for ever since Vlek’s 2016 mix for Resident Advisor, is an arresting cut that seeks to wed the Maqam mode of traditional Arabic music to the cosmopolitanism of the Belgian capital. As such, the track draws widely for its influences, with a synth rumba underpinning the effervescent melodic play. Hold goes darker on the flip ‘Dhajij Doux’ (‘soft drone’ in English), an unsettling piece of almost-techno that sounds like something from the original Blade Runner soundtrack left to ferment and turn sour.