A mouth-watering collaboration; plus flips from Al Wootton and Ottomani Parker.
‘The opener Last Breath is a late-hour pelter: relentlessly moody and hypnotic, with heaving sub-bass pulses. Tunnel Drift switches lanes with its distinctive tech-stepping 90’s throwback style; a forward-thinking take on a nostalgic sound.
‘Al Wootton’s contribution is characteristically fresh and inventive dubbed-out house, with his signature layering of atmospheric textures, and a deep and groovy bassline.
‘After a blissful opening, the Ottomani Parker excursion overlays driving percussion with horns, keys and live hand-drumming; an uplifting finale.’
The first Paid Reach — in collaboration with Ominira; edited and produced by Kassem Mosse.
A fresh set of stripped, rubbery, bass-heavy grooves, to consolidate his Idle Hands debut; seaming FWD-night vibes, and Skull Disco, tribalism and grime.
‘Berceuse Heroique back in the fray with the first of three twelves serenading sound system culture. An invocation of the long-lost spirits of pure, heavyweight, hardcore hedonism.
‘Border Control is a fight anthem against Brexit, fusing the industrial slant of Brummie techno with the jungle techno pressure of the early nineties. The Dillinja-esque bassline of Fortune Teller tolls the death knell for all tin pan speakers. Loose Cables is an uncanny ringer for one of Pinch’s most underrated tunes, The Attack Of The Killer Robot Spiders.
‘Pinch runs the voodoo down one more time. He sounds totally pissed off and more fresh than ever.’
The two dubstep pioneers at the top of their game. Truly an album, the music is multi-levelled — dark as anything at times, but engrossingly varied and emotionally shaded, always on the move.
Extra to the LP, with a magnificent, epic, head-scrambling remix, more spaced and spooked than the original. Shackleton’s dream liturgy fully unfolds — an eerie, garbled sublimity, a kind of black-magic plainsong.
Aka Ricardo Villalobos & Argenis Brito.
Rrrrufff and gruff EP by the In Paradisum old boy. Better humoured, nervier and more reined-in for his long break. Ace.
Raf Reza from Toronto and Ramjac Corporation from Irdial.
‘It begins with a bouncy, cut-up, Errorsmith-esque rhythm, with a recurring fright night melody. Rotten Mix is more traditional house, with dub FX and a nice DJ friendly outro. The final uptempo excursion is head-scrambling electro.
‘Swampy Dub on the flip really dismantles everything up to that point, with slo-mo drums and a kind of modern classical sound. The finale Rootless Dub removes all the tough drums, for an ambient decompression.’
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The one-hundredth Trilogy!
Hats off to an amazing, uncompromising run of killer music and lavishly brilliant artwork. Bangers and magic like dirt.
21 gun salute.