Subfunk Hill Zone / The Upside Down

The keys hit on 'Subfunk Hill Zone' and something clicks immediately. There is a Sega Mega Drive cartridge being slotted in somewhere deep in the muscle memory, and PERSONAS knows exactly what he is doing with that feeling. The Bristol producer opens this two-tracker with funk-laced, 16-bit architecture that channels the sonic dna of the early Sonic the Hedgehog era: bright, melodic, propulsive, and fizzing with the kind of energy that made that era of console sound design genuinely unforgettable. Think Swindle-esque keys meeting a childhood afternoon on the sofa. The track moves like a boss-fight run, all momentum and intent.

What separates his work from simple nostalgia exercise is those orchestral pockets. Small, precise, deliberate. They sit inside the funk like pressure valves, and they are the detail listeners keep coming back to. It is his signature, and it earns its place here without announcing itself.

The second track flips the mood entirely. 'The Upside Down' pulls into a darker, more distorted register; the keys carry emotional weight now rather than joyful sprint energy. Where 'Subfunk Hill Zone' puts you on the offensive, this one disorients. The world is still recognisable, just inverted. Together, Subfunk Hill Zone / The Upside Down works as a genuine two-act release, not two tracks bolted together.

This release lands as a bold statement from a Bristol producer with a clear point of view. The nostalgia is real, but the execution is sharp and present-tense. Heads are going to bop. They will not be able to help it.