Rating:
Genre:
Electronica
Release Date: 03/10/2009
Almost two decades since drum'n'bass first made its appearance in London's underground clubs, it's hard to make it sound fresh or new -- but
George Levings and
Guy Brewer (aka
Commix) manage to do it. But they don't do it by trying to redefine the genre; no matter how experimental they may get with the specifics of their sound, they remain deeply wedded to the drum'n'bass fundamentals: rock-hard breaks, rich, juddering basslines, and textures that change with almost tectonic slowness and inevitability.
Commix's contribution to the
Fabriclive series is typically brilliant, featuring contributions by the likes of
Photek,
Spectrasoul,
Calibre, and
Rufige Kru along with a few original tracks thrown into the continuous mix as well. The results are consistently impressive:
"Creatures of Habit," by
dBridge, is simply beautiful; it combines chunks (rather than the usual dubwise shreds) of a prettily sung love song along with a spare, hard breakbeat and wispy clouds of synth chords, while a threatening bassline emerges occasionally from the depths below.
Logistics'
"Murderation" is more on the ragga jungle tip, with a brisk, no-nonsense beat and reggae-style female vocals; the
dBridge remix of
Commix's own
"Belleview" is darker and weirder, while
Breakage's
"Old Skool Ting" is exactly what it claims to be, with a skittery ragga jungle beat and dubwise vocals and effects.
Photek brings in an element of dubstep near the end of the program with his very fine
"Yendi." This album is about as good as it gets.
~Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
;)
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