Available on: Black Acre LP

All things considered, the trajectory of London production trio Dark Sky is a little extraordinary. While most producers exercising within the soupy realm of dubstep, garage, funky and grime have fell victim to swells of hype and criticism as various buzz words and sonic trends zoom in and out of bass music fashion, these guys have stuck to a formula that benefits each song as a whole piece of music, as opposed to just focusing on staple elements reflective of the zeitgeist. Combined with subtle experimentation the end result of this formula – with which most commentators, casual or otherwise, seem to agree – has been that Dark Sky have bettered themselves with every release. That’s no mean feat for a group that set a high bar immediately with quality releases on notable imprints like Black Acre, Pictures and 50Weapons. Their latest offering, another four-track EP, sees them return to Black Acre with, unsurprisingly, some of their most fully realised work to date.

Opening track ‘F Technology’ starts in a fairly ominous fashion, drawing from similar pitched percussion influences as pre-techno Blawan did on his R&S material, only substituting the accompanying acid lines for space, scratchy samples and menacing bass. It’s not long before the swelling not-too-epic synths take over the soundscape, mirroring that unassuming but constant rise of the trio themselves. ‘Tremor’ follows the percussive hype with classic experimental Dark Sky quirkiness up there with some of Hessle’s wonkiest rhythm section workouts.

Then we reach ‘Zoom’. Oh gosh, ‘Zoom’. ‘Zoom’ is a very tightly produced piece of dystopian cyberpunk 2-step that’s probably been responsible for a healthy chunk of impromptu internet hyperbole in recent weeks. It’s hard not to fall in love with this tune on the first listen, but despite its unashamedly cinematic nature it has a lot of lasting power. By splicing visual and OST-worthy melodies with that rolling, London-centric night-time garage previously explored on their xx remix, the trio has crafted a very powerful tune that manages to not lose its initial impact after repeated listening. Much like Sentinels did with the excellent and rather under-appreciated ‘Shimmer’ this time last year, it’s a tune that demonstrates their able songwriting capability as well as their adroitness for sending club roofs beyond the stratosphere.

Black Rainbows concludes with a prime example of Dark Sky having as much fun as possible within their comfort zone. ‘Totem’ is a funky, grimey, 140bpm wonk-fest boosted by uplifting synths and pads that build and progress in just the right places. Like the London threesome themselves, it points confidently and optimistically forward and refuses to look back.

Joe Moynihan