Holdin' On — the first full-length from Sydney's Arky Waters — is a sonic kick in the stomach, a potent and resonant journey through drum and bass, UK Garage and dubstep..
Released via Mammal Sounds Records, the album traces a producer in genuine transition, moving from solitary bedroom creation into the louder, more communal world of Sydney's underground club scene. That shift is felt across every track — this is music that carries the energy of rooms and bodies and late nights, rather than the careful precision of someone working alone in silence.
Bass music anchors the whole thing, and Arky is refreshingly candid about what that means to him. "Holdin' On is a reflection of my education in electronic music over the past couple of years," he says. "In a lot of ways, it feels like a journal entry, a snapshot of what was around me at the time. This is also my first real venture into bass music, which was what got me into electronic music in the first place. It completely changed the way I think about music technology. I've always approached music as something more tangible, but bass music feels different — you start shaping frequencies and soundwaves themselves."
That philosophy is audible throughout. Tracks like "Take a Trip" with LX push into genuinely experimental dancefloor territory, while "Holdin' On" featuring MAMI demonstrates a lighter, more melodic touch that keeps the album from collapsing under its own intensity.
What holds everything together is the consistency of feeling rather than sound — joy, euphoria, and a city captured at its most alive.
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