Feature

Long-Playing Autumn

It looks as if drum and bass fans will have no time at all for autumn melancholy: the new season promises plenty of interesting long-players for every shade and mood. Here is an overview of the albums coming out over…

By yegor2 Sept 20087 min read

Tony Colman, the leading figure in fast soulful drum and bass, will delight fans with a new album from his project London Elektricity, Syncopated City, made in the best traditions of the group’s sound: sampled classic soul and funk sit alongside specially recorded vocals that complement Colman’s melodies and basslines. The limited vinyl version is already on sale; the CD and a larger pressing of a shortened two-record version will follow at the end of September. Hospital Records is also preparing the third compilation in the Future Sound Of Cambridge series. On the previous two occasions the Cambridge quartet (the brothers Nu:Tone and Logistics and the duo Commix) only managed a four-track EP; this time a full-length album will come out on CD and LP.

Fans of lighter drum and bass moods should not miss the album by Redeyes, out in the next few months on Spearhead Records. The lyrical moods of Poetry In Motion fully live up to its title. The key track is undoubtedly “Luv & Haight”, with first-class vocals from the widely acclaimed MC Deeizm. The young French talent’s album is being released in a way that has become popular recently: split into two parts of two records each.

Fans of the traditional British dancefloor sound should take note of the CD Crazy World by J Majik & Wickaman, just released on Breakbeat Kaos. The vinyl and MP3 versions came out in August on dance giant Ministry Of Sound. Besides the title hit, the album includes a VIP mix of the once-popular “Capoeira”, in which the Brazilian bossa nova moods seem to have finally given way to the British simplicity of jump-up. Those in the mood for nostalgia will smile at J Majik’s remix of Hatiras’s “Spaced Invader”, the very track that drove club dancefloors crazy around the world in 2001.

In October Break plans to release an album of his signature dense, bass-heavy sound. Expect the deep, dark moods familiar from this musician, more airy pieces, and even the rhythmic experiments that have been topical lately and take the music beyond the boundaries of the drum and bass listeners know. Symmetry LP will be released on his own label of the same name on vinyl, CD and MP3.

The American label Violence Records, which made a loud debut two years ago with the album Welcome To Violence, is preparing an all-format release of another compilation, this time not limited to the work of its residents Hive, Gridlok, Keaton and Echo. Salvation brings together a whole galaxy of artists, of whom only Mista and KJ Sawka could hardly be called legends. But they too are worth watching in the coming years: the first name hides none other than the Hospital Records newcomer Mistabishi, who chose another alias for his heavier work; the second is known to junglists for spectacular videos of live performances on a drum kit. The album also features Cause 4 Concern, Technical Itch, Dom & Roland, TeeBee & Calyx, A-Sides, Digital, RymeTyme and Total Science. A line-up like this all but guarantees success. The release is scheduled for the end of September on 12-inch, CD and MP3.

Coming soon is the debut album from neurofunk master Mayhem on his label Shadow-Law. Titled Into Oblivion, it is full of the dark futuristic moods familiar from the genre. Despite their modern technicality, Mayhem’s new tracks are atmospherically reminiscent of the classic neuro sound of the early 2000s and will undoubtedly attract the genre’s devotees, all the more so because he is joined by such greats as Noisia, Phace and Psidream. The album will be released on vinyl (sampler + 3×12-inch), CD and MP3.

The uncompromising techno drum and bass label Offkey is running “lethal propaganda” for its forthcoming compilation album Firm, releasing a sampler record with tracks by Propaganda and Lethal. No surprises here, just high-quality technical monotony from the number-one label in techno drum and bass. We are waiting for news of the album’s release date.

On DSCI4, the second half of the album Spy Technologies 5: Echelon came out at the beginning of September. While the first EP presented more experienced producers (even DJ Trace was featured, though he has apparently given up writing drum and bass), this part adds tracks from the new generation: NC-17, Lost Sequence and Subtone. Only the experienced American AK1200 stands out in this group, contributing a collaboration with NC-17 and Advance. Fans of the legendary label’s sound should welcome this album warmly: even, without weak points, but also without commercially minded tracks. Towards the end of the year the DSCI4 team promises another album of new-generation artists. Its conceptual title, Battle Of The Planets, suggests that each side of the vinyl release will correspond to a planet of the Solar System, which, together with the accompanying artwork, may well arouse extra interest among collectors. Those not tempted by the vinyl version even with this approach can trade 12 inches for the 12 tracks of the CD album. A second disc, probably with a mixed version, will go on sale at the beginning of next year.

Text: r.dee