GRY & Nevve – Now Or Never (ft. Thomas Gold)

78%%Overall Score

• Exotic flute bringing a breath of fresh air
• Big Room-ish, clashing low-end
• A real experiment with Future House, interesting!

Can I take a moment and be brutally honest? Oh yes, it’s my article after all.

Lately I have considered Thomas Gold as one of those many top honchos who are just here to collect their paychecks, navigating in their safe zones that contain anything from bland Progressive House, re-hashed pop tracks or occasional “experiments” with, surprise surprise, the current trending genre.

Am I right, Nicky?

Surely Thomas Gold has a veritable reputation, yet artistically I have not been impressed thoroughly since “On Fire” (2016); his signature, soon after, stopped standing out in the plethora of releases every Friday. That was until today.

Dharma Recordings has been known to leave a hefty space to welcome new, more talented names and GRY seems as one of them, debuting with an important collaboration “Now Or Never” along with the mentioned veteran and the reputed vocalist NEVVE. Two big candidates for début (it could be an alias though). The result has a refreshing take that often come from budding creators, something I am in search for constantly.

Alright, let’s start by saying that NEVVE’s vocal delectably frolics over the base situated in the breakdown. Sudden pausing emphasizes her amazing voice, and the result has a fragile yet elegant tone that struck me in my heart. Orchestral percussion accompanies this, until an exotic flute introduces to the drop. The instrument is affable and alluring, probably a Greek-influenced idea, delicately colliding with the energetic bassline than ensues, almost Big Room like (even if following a slower cadence). The outcome is a segment that doesn’t find itself a particular place, and flickers in between Future House, Slap House and especially a laid-back palette brought upon by the flute. As you can perhaps predict already, when I find myself in middle of this sort of a surprising situation, I am having a lot of fun listening through.

After a long drought of five years, it is the first time that a Thomas Gold production has left me satisfied. This in turn makes me extremely curious about GRY, a new name that has popped out with such an intriguing synergy! “Now Or Never” is that kind of neutral “experimental” work with the quality level that only an experienced act can achieve, much needed in other labels.