• Eerie minimalism, somehow it’s enough to make your skin crawl
• Experimental textures with a stripped-down vibe
• It just tightens the screws, minute by minute
Okay, this one caught me off guard. “Little Finger”, the new single from Ring Noord (aka Nik Roos from Noisia/Sleepnet and Former), is so stripped back it almost feels unfinished… Until you realize that’s exactly the point. A single looping vocal, bass that sounds like it’s melting the floor, and a few, carefully placed vocal samples and percussions. It’s bare bones, but somehow way more intense because of it.
That vocal loop? There is something in it that gives me the chill. The bass doesn’t drop, it just oozes in, slow and sticky.
And when the whispery textures show up? It’s like someone just walked into the room behind you. A bit creepy, but never overdone.
You can hear Nik’s surgical precision from his Noisia days, but this isn’t big, clean, neuro stuff. It’s way more restrained, closer to slow-motion techno or dubstep in a bad mood. While their debut “Wild Flowers” hinted at rave nostalgia, “Little Finger” goes fully experimental, clinical, and kind of brilliant.
Honestly, it takes guts to release something this subtle. No FX overload, no dramatic payoff, just a rising sense of “something’s wrong”. And somehow that hits harder than any drop could. It’s not trying to scare you: “Little Finger” it’s uncomfortable, and that’s way more interesting. To the point of becoming hypnotising.
Fans of Sleepnet’s darker corners or those early Burial tracks will find a lot to love here. “Little Finger” sits in the dark and lets the unease build and then drops that bass. Put it on late at night and see how quickly your room starts to feel different.