Decoder - Fuse/Tension (Elementz) 12"
Two fairly standard dark/techstep pieces with non-sampled breaks and
the usual selection of artificial noises. "Tension" is for me the
better piece - a slightly more high-tech feel (essential for techstep,
obviously) and a better sense of direction. Decoder have done better.
6/10
Procedure 769 EP (Reinforced) 12"
Kicking off with "Lethal Dosage", a clattering drumkit break and
massive sub-bass underly a dark and foreboding track with some wicked
wibbly buzzing noises. "Cyanide" on the flip is a restrained affair
with lots of spooky presence. The bass sounds a bit like Red Snapper's
"Snapper". Finally "The Chamber" is a downtempo affair which doesn't
really do anything of note.
7/10
D@nny Break$ - Conscience / Solar Funk (Droppin Science) 12"
Droppin' Science volume 13 features 2 contrasting tracks. A dark,
futuristic atmosphere pervades "Conscience" - like the Decoder 12"
above but with added energy and more sense of purpose. "Solar Funk" is
more experimental - elements of the jazzier side of d&b (including real
bass) are fused with heavily processed breaks and a dark feel, with
excellent results.
7/10
Cyborgz - The Block/Escape/Interface (Smooth Recordings) 12"
That rare beast (in d&b terms) the 3-tracker, featuring 3 innovative
tracks. A horror movie intro leads to a rolling metallic break and some
natty sub-bass maneouvres in "The Block", which breaks down to a
reprise of its intro about 2/3 through. "Escape" takes a darker route
still with a distorted semi-industrial break and deliciously "make you
jump" stabs punctuating its smooth-and-dark-as-bournville-chocolate
intro. The main break is a tad disappointing after this, but the track
continues to work very well with tasty sub-bass bursts and various
added percussion elements, plus the inevitable breakdown partway
through. I hate it when I start to analyse music like this, as I am
really enjoying this piece as I sit here listening to it! "Interface"
has what sounds like a heavily distorted take on an Alex Reece bongo
breakbeat, and gradually adds more percussion and various distorted
technoey sounds, like a restrained version of Panacea.
8/10
Decoder - UXB/NuGen (Tech Itch) 12"
This is a bit older than the Elementz promo above, but to these ears it
is the stronger slab. Treading in the tracks of their classic "In My
Dreams"/"Time Square" 12", "UXB" puts both the "tech" and the "step"
firmly into "techstep", while featuring the "We have explosive" robot
vocal from that well-known FSOL track. "NuGen" keeps up the pressure
with buzzing bass, sci-fi phasing and "things breaking" noises.
Powerful stuff, and among the best of its type, but already getting a
little passe.
8/10
Neotech - Valves (Moving Shadow) 12"
Produced by Ed Rush and Dom, "Valves" has an entirely new shuffling
tech-break underlying it, huge fat sub-bass and a delicious selection
of other noises all integrating beautifully. You want intelligent dance
music? You'll find it here. "Terminal" takes a more conventional
techstep route, having a distorted break a-la Panacea overlayed with
future-horror soundscapes.
9/10
Seiji - Crashing Dreams / Storm Report (Reinforced) 12"
Connected with the Procedure 769 crew, Seiji also brings us a new
variation on the break from "Lethal Dosage" in "Crashing Dreams", this
one a bit more drum-kit styled, but once the sub-bass kicks in you
won't have any doubts about the pressure on this one. Kinda jazzy but
not in an obvious way, and with a wad of dark undertow to keep the
feeling. "Storm Report" has a break which consists in the main of a
massive blurting bass drum with small rattling snares jumping around
it, and the overall feel is sparse and tight.
8/10
E-Z Rollers - Synesthesia/Fever (Moving Shadow) 12"
More innovation. With E-Z rollers one should expect quality smooth
Bukem-style d&b, right? Well not this time. Consisting almost entirely
of a weighty techstep break and a variety of atmospheric sounds,
"Synesthesia" would work well to mellow out a hardcore techstep set, or
conversely to build into one. "Fever" is more yer regular E-Z stylee,
smooth jazz chords and a nice clattering drumkit break.
8/10
Freestyles - Attack/Feel (True Playaz') 12"
Taking a slightly more jump-up slant on the darkside style ("How y'all
feel out there" and gangsta samples), "Attack" packs a mighty punch
once it gets rollin', initially in a subtle, understated way, but
eventually backed up wicked style by some mad buzzing "Deeeooowww"
sounds. "Feel" continues in a similar vein, but unfortunately features
the hackneyed "You make me feel so good" sample to accompany its
jump-tech (??) battering. Not so clever as some of the preceding 12"s
but dancefloor dynamite for sure.
8/10
Ed Rush/Nico - Technology - Boymerang Remix (No U Turn) 12"
Single sided with etched No U Turn logo etc on the back, this is one
hell of a tasty track. Boymerang beefs up the good, but routine,
original into something really special - atmospheric sounds, buzzy
bass, rollin' snares, and gated stabs add up to a monster.
9/10
Dylan - Witchcraft/Virus (Droppin' Science) 12"
Volume 12 this one, featuring two big dark tracks from mainstay Dylan.
"Witchcraft" has the customary alternating breaks of techstep which are
of course already getting out of style (I have had this record for less
than 2 months!) combined with distorted vocal samples and horror
strings etc. Powerful stuff. But no compared to "Virus" which has
Panacea-like levels of energy. A long intro section with a "thin" break
precedes several minutes of full-on madness. Solid, and then some.
8/10
Problem Child - Loop IV/Agressive (Chrome) 12"
Labelmates to Panacea, and for all the world sounding like them (I
believe this is a co-production), "Loop IV" features all the usual
industrial breaks, tech-noises and darker-than-darkness that you would
expect. "Agressive" (sic) meanwhile is sparser yet more atmosperic.
"The power of pure technology" indeed.
7/10
Dom & Roland - Resistance/Hydrolicks (Moving Shadow) 12"
"Resistance" starts off in fairly standard darside style with plenty of
atmosphere and a digeridoo-like backing noise, but when the break comes
in you go "what the.." as this bizarre spaced out break twists itself
and you completely lose the beat before catching it again. It sound a
lot slower than it's 165ish bpm due to the fact it doesn't use the
traditional bass/snare patterns, and it took me a lot of concentration
to identify that the bar structure is actually 16 beat long, because
the beats are "backwards" for part of that. Partway through it reverts
to a more conventional break before continuing as before. Difficult and
clever. "Hydrolicks" on the flip is a much more conventional piece of
dark/techstep.
8/10
Dom.Rob.Goldie - Shadow 100 (Moving Shadow) 12"
Released over three 12"s but that was something of an expensive
proposition so I picked the most consistent, that being the first of
the set with the white sleeve. Dom & Rob (Playford)'s "Distorted
Dreams" is an enormous dark track with dense effects and an overall
feel slightly different from the mass of darkside out there. Rob &
Goldie's "The Shadow" is the anthem for the 100th release on the label,
and a fitting track it is indeed. Ignoring most conventions, yet
referring to many (you can hear a hint of "A London Sum'ting" in here,
along with the No U Turn sound and more)
8/10
Undercover Agent - Hypnosis/Warriors (Juice) 12"
This has been one of "those" tunes for me over the last few weeks. It's
a roller in style, with some meaty sub-bass, lush string-synths,
snatches of a hypnotist saying "listen to my voice and relax", all
blended to perfection. Not dramatically innovative but very effective.
"Warriors" however is a bit of a disappointment - a rather average
roller with jazzy overtones and the old "Can U dig it" sample.
7/10
Boymerang - Balance of the Force (Regal) 2x12"
Graham Sutton has caused quite a stir, the former idm/leftfield upstart
who has effortlessly joined the progressive edge of the mainstream dnb
scene, having (it is rumoured) been wooed by WARP among others in the
process. His "Urban Space/Still" 12" remains something of a classic,
and this album explores his patch of d&b territory, erring on the
lighter side of things, already producing widely differing reactions on
this list. My double LP copy is a promo with no tracklisting. I've
cribbed the list off a commercial issue CD so I hope the order is
right. Breaking off with "Soul Beat Runna", which has also been issued
as a single, a generally fairly dreamy track which features a fat
buzzing b-line, and narrowly avoids the soupiness of much of this
supposedly arty drum-n-bass. "Mind Control" follows, with a kind of
techstep-lite feel - the atmosphere is dark but not evil and the breaks
are powerful but not enormous. There are also some wicked blippy techno
noises in this, and an interesting breakdown with a nifty little guitar
riff and lots of reverb. "The River (VIP)" features a female vocal
snippet, and pretty much amounts to a reprise of the sounds of Goldie's
"Timeless" album. Washes past pleasantly but doesn't really go
anywhere. "You Like it Like that" which follows, is, by contrast, a
hard dark stormer of a track, a switchback ride of alternating breaks,
massive basslines and the usual bag of dark sound effects. "A.C.I.D."
seems like another Bukem/Goldie soundalike track until the bendy buzzy
synths and occasional shock breaks start. Finally a wicked swopping and
wiping acid synth line dances along with the track, providing an
excellent counterpoint to the lush instrumentation and occasional
female vocal samples. "Where it's at" features some Martin Luther King
snippets over its jazz/techstep hybrid track, and "Secret Life" is a
lush downtempo smoocher. With its 80bpm tempo it could be a really
useful mellow interlude in a smooth jazzy d&b set. On the last side,
"Still" remains a stormer despite familiarity, and "Lazarus" is a
nother lush piece, though lacking some of the twists of earlier tracks
on the LP. Overall, then a beautifully produced, cleverly positioned
(between dark and light) album, but one which lacks startling
innovation, though it is at least creative. Feels a lot like an update
on Goldie's "Timeless" to me.
7/10
n-joi
J
^
__________
________.__/_____ _||_/ James Skilton aka Steady J
_[]/_____________[.__\____-_ DJ and Party Animal
| | Part Time Hedonist
|____________________________| Full Time Technohead
|__|-' '-|__| jamess@ftp.com
Autechre and SKAM discogs:
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