Portland-based producer Alice Okada steps into the spotlight with Liquid, or Jungle?, a curious and confidently self-aware debut EP. Having only fallen down the Intelligent Drum Nโ Bass rabbit hole about a year ago, Okada already sounds like someone who understands not just the mechanics of the genre, but its mood, patience, and emotional pull. Drawing inspiration from scene-shapers like Shy FX and Congo Natty, she filters those influences through a deeply personal, bedroom-built process that turns experimentation into something unexpectedly refined.
The EP opens with โLiquid, Or Jungle?โ, a track that immediately drops you into its swirling ecosystem. Cascading, swelling atmospheres engulf you before a shaky, buzzing pulse starts to twitch underneath. That tension eventually snaps into crisp tapping beats, grounding the track just as it threatens to drift away. As it unfolds, the dense immersion slowly thins out, replaced by glimmery, light-catching pulsations that flicker alongside the rhythm. An echoey voice floats in and out of the mix like a half-remembered thought, adding to the trackโs dreamlike, almost dissociative quality. Itโs a slow reveal, but thatโs the pointโOkada knows when to hold back and when to let things bloom.
โIs DnB Really Intelligent?โ takes a more playful, questioning approach. It opens in fluid motion, with a minimal rhythm flowing calmly in sync, almost teasing restraint. Halfway through, the track pivots, swept up by an immersive gust of sound. Thick, blowing rhythms roll in, layered with mysterious textures that feel more felt than heard.
The cohesive pieces of Liquid, or Jungle? were recorded entirely in the comfort of Alice Okadaโs bedroom. No wonder the EP carries a sense of focus and vulnerability. It has a willingness to experiment, which gives the EP its quiet magic. Itโs thoughtful, immersive, and proof that curiosity can be just as powerful as experience.
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Review by: Naomi Joan