Amongst the incoming generation of artists having finally found their bite, not yes exemplifies the modern paradigm of electronic production; there are no hard boundaries, no clearly defined destinations, and unbridled compositional freedom. There’s a refreshing whim to their choice of direction, seemingly letting the music take the wheel before the tracks are fully fleshed out. The result is a fast-growing, dynamic catalog that takes us through virtually every space in low-end territory.

With over 8 years of collaborative production and songwriting exploits between them, there’s a certain level of incubation to this Dutch duo. Their immersion within Amsterdam’s musical landscape adds a savory camaraderie to their determined project, solidifying their status as both a maverick offering and a team player in their immediate scene.

“Bass music specifically isn’t as big as it is in a city like Bristol or Denver for example. It however still is one of the capitals of electronic music production and you can feel that. There’s constantly stuff happening in all genres, and if you throw a mean bass party you’ll sell all your tickets easily. We do want to stir this up further, proudly wearing the Amsterdam label and seeing how much more people we can connect with in the scene here.”

Their advantage is both the marriage of their ideas and their willingness to push their own creative limits through performance programming technology. With Ableton as their central hub, they dive straight into the generative and manipulative power of midi controllers and Ableton’s famed Session View. With a surprising lack of in-depth formal musical education, the pair explore the contemporary sandbox of digital production with open minds and intuitive direction, with a clear and concise payoff ala their discography.

The Rust Music · not yes - nod heads

“We’re die hard Ableton nerds. Always on a mission to make our workflow faster. Basically every click we have to make to get our idea in the DAW is one we try to avoid. The less we’re looking at our screen, the more we can focus on the idea. We’re actually moving away from a lot of plug-ins, mostly sticking to the stock Ableton stuff. We feel this is easier to use and actually gets most of the things we want done. It also makes collaboration easier. But of course there’s some essentials like Pro Q, Pro L, and Omnisphere.”

With the unveiling of their nod heads EP buffing up their already expansive back catalog, the American public is now steadily receiving a IV drip of the not yes formula, exposing them to inarguably choice blends of breakbeat, neuro-hop, halftime, and various takes on thematic system music. It’s a rambunctious and virile journey across the many shades of bass music, and a clear-cut demonstration of the continuing global appeal of high fidelity low-end rhythms.

With a visible wind in their sails, not yes is on a mad dash through whatever fledgling genre takes their interest, paying no heed to compositional guardrails or stoic conventions. It’s already producing a demonstrable payoff, and, so long as the duo remains committed to their aversion to formality and formula, that’s likely to continue into the indefinite future.

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