Available on: Exit Records 2xCD
Let’s face it, in the last ten or so years drum’n’bass has hardly reached the levels of interest and excitement that transformed it into a household genre in the late ’90s. Whether you’re an old junglist pining for the pre-d’n’b days or a drum’n’bass fan who found himself turned off by the music’s increasing tempo and lowest common denominator approach, there hasn’t been much to make you stop and pay attention. That’s not to say the genre has been entirely devoid of potential either; rather it’s become increasingly difficult to really care.
Enter dBridge – one quarter of the legendary Bad Company who, depending on where you stand, either ruined the genre or took it into new territories. At this point, and for the sake of transparency, I’ll point out that I fall into the latter category for both previous remarks about drum’n’bass. Once BC’s heydays were past in the early part of the last decade and the group splintered, dBridge continued on a road that has seen him continuously embrace modern d’n’b’s potential, first via his Exit records label and later via his work alongside Instra:mental as Club Autonomic. It’s the latter which has rekindled many people’s interest with the genre by openly embracing influences from across the dance music, hip-hop and wider electronic spectrums.
Mosaic Vol. 1 represents Exit Records’ first label compilation. Released as a means to showcase the quality of the music being sent to the label, Mosaic fulfills this purpose close to perfectly, with 22 tracks that explore this aforementioned musical potential. The only let down is that a lot of the music here feels unfinished at times, hinting that while this may be a worthy showcase it’s also an early one – more, and better, is to come from a generation of new and old producers keen to ignore drum’n’bass’s more abrasive tendencies.
The tracklist makes for fascinating reading, with upcoming producers such as Indigo, Synkro, Mode and Code 3 alongside established names such as Commix, Loxy and Genotype and dubstep mainstays Skream, Scuba and Distance – who in recent years have not shied from showing their appreciation of Club Autonomic’s approach. And the tracklisting’s promise is instantly delivered, with Scuba’s ambient opener ‘In_2’ setting the pace for a measured balance between experimental – which here, can be taken to mean “open-minded approaches to a tired template” – productions and dancefloor-friendly numbers, something remarkably well sustained by clever sequencing that never lets the pendulum swing too much in any one direction.
On CD 1, Distance’s ‘Fading’ is the first surprise, a track that sidesteps the producer’s trademark industrial-tinted approach for a deep, hypnotising roller that strips down the tempo’s energy and wraps it in warm sub. dBridge doesn’t shy away from experimentation either, coming with three tracks that perfectly embody Mosaic‘s spirit. ‘Forget What I Needed to Forget’ is my favourite of the three, a slow, sparse and detailed production that reminds you that d’n’b doesn’t have to be all in your face edited breaks to work – it’s just a shame it feels unfinished. Dan Harbanham delivers arguably the compilation’s strongest track with ‘Nu Este Roz’, a remarkable production many will have first heard on Club Autonomic’s Fabric CD from last year. The combination of deep sub, tight drum edits and what sounds like acoustic guitar creates an atmosphere that’s at once claustrophobic and soothing. As with much of the music on there it eschews the tired formula of intro, build up, drop, instead opting for a more interesting approach where the drop is always hinted at yet never fully delivered, teasing the listener’s expectations.
Over on CD 2, Commix’s ‘City Section’ is another gentle roller that taps into the hypnotic tendencies of the best house music, while Indigo shows serious chops on ‘Time’; a rhythmic backbone full of intricate drums slowly building into a paranoid mood before releasing the listener into a deep groove. Skream’s contribution, ‘Motorway’, is one of the more upfront here; slightly jarring at first, it’s still perfectly executed with ice cold stabs and driving breaks. And then you also have Instra:mental’s ‘Scene 3’, a track that owes as much to hip-hop as it does electro or drum’n’bass and provides yet more evidence of the diversity that’s made this duo one of the scene’s driving innovative forces in recent years.
At 22 tracks long, Mosaic has more than just these highlights to offer the listener, especially those whom, in dBridge’s own words, “thought this forward thinking music was left behind in the ’90s [yet is] still capable of throwing up some surprising and unpredictable results.” How much further this approach can be taken and what it could lead to is the most appealing aspect of this release though. If anything it’s the perfect showcase of what drum’n’bass can become, and if dBridge can continue to build on this with his own work and label, further volumes could prove to be crucial.
Laurent Fintoni
