SUBMORPHICS Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Rosebay Music is a new label from Submoprhics that opens its account with a new offering from the boss himself. He is someone with a unique style that is built on 174 bpm British foundations but adds elements from the foundational and more contemporary US styles of his homeland, from Detroit house to Chicago footwork. This debut 12' shows that to be the case again with 'Blastoff' bringing a lively juke-inspired rhythm with silky synths and nice lush chords. 'Cinerama' is another smooth roller, this time with spine-tingling female vocals.

Review: Submorphics deals in a unique sound: lo-fi drum n' bass. Yes, what was once reserved for a new style house can definitely be abstracted into other genres, contrary to what the less open-minded among us would have you believe. 'Verona Highway' is just that: working in old soulful house samples and self-recorded highpassed radio synths, the Netherlands-based artist works in a serene palette of sounds to convey a drum n' bassy idea of a late night Detroit to Chicago road trip aesthetic.

Review: Submorphics' new imprint Rosebay Music returns with its second release; this time the producer is joined by North Quarter boss and soulful drum & bass aficionado Lenzman. Fusing the former's soulful approach and the latter's high-octane neurofunk, 'Echoes Of November' harks back agog to six months ago, with snappy but swung drum lines providing the base for fast future arpeggiators, wistful soul vox chopups and bubbling synths, which almost recall the same bright guitar. As warmly merigold in tone as the front cover suggests, B-sider 'The Messenger' is just as neo-noir-at-noon, in part thanks to its deeply uplifting vocal line.