Back catalogue: Drum And Bass

Review: Jim Coles' decision back in 2010 to implement a swerve in his sonic trajectory away from his hip-hop past as 2tall in favour of a more all-encompassing approach that touches on various strands of bass culture as Om Unit has paid off and then some. Subsequent releases on Exit, Autonomic, Civil Music, Metalheadz and his own Cosmic Bridge imprint have all shown Om Unit eminently capable of tempo shifting productions that appeal to fans of Bass music, Drum & Bass and footwork alike. The latter has been explored further while the Dream Continuum collaboration with Machinedrum on Planet Mu and his Philip D. Kick alias where the link between Chicago's juke heritage and UK Jungle was explored. All this and more is included on Threads, a debut Om Unit LP for Civil Music that deftly collates various strands (or threads) of his production career over the past fifteen years for a cohesive 15 track set that veers through of hip hop, dubstep, jungle and even house.

Review: Cosmic Bridge founder, longstanding beat sculptor, futurist, absolute don: Om Unit continues to compose some some of the most beguiling, bewitching and immersive compositions in the bass sphere. Self is his third and most explorative album so far as he guides and glides us through powerful atmospheres, dynamics and textures from palpitating ambient such as the opener "Cold Love" and harmonic "Passages" and warped light fractures of "Fieldofdreams" to neoclassical motifs on rolling tracks such as "Out Of The Shadows". Other unmissable highlights include the haunted Rider Shafique sermon "Nothing", the jittering cosmic soul of "Make Believe" with DRS and Amos's heart-pulling mystic soul of "What I Can Be". One of those albums that continues to offer more and more with every listen, Om Unit has created something incredibly special here.

Review: Probably the largest project that could possibly be classified as an EP that we've come across this year, Om Unit's latest record 'Fragments' is an exemplary case of bass music vacillating between two referents that newcomers might mistakenly oppose: "atmospheric" and "banger". Once again released as part of his new spate of ongoing "off-label releases, which began with his titles 'Submerged' and 'Atlantis', this is a maximized, nebulous, glassy, spectral, constellatory EP verging on ghost-notes of UK hardcore and breakstep (check our fave, 'Moonglade'). Every drum hit is EQ-scooped, polished, glossed and preened to the max, evidencing Om's achievement of a sound that few dance music producers can hack without a burnout-inducing mixing session or ten.

Review: London-based producer Otik releases his first album Cosmosis on Martyn's label 3024. The 11-track LP signifies the fourth album on the imprint across its ten-year tenure, showcasing a more introspective side to Otik's musical output. The album leans into delicate melodies, hazy atmospheres and lush analogue sounds, often evoking blissed-out feels and ripples of brilliant colour. Produced three years ago during lockdown, Cosmosis comes after a period of spiritual struggles, where Otik questioned his faith, religious beliefs, and the concepts of right and wrong. While the pandemic allowed ample time for reflection, Otik translated these thoughts into music from his Peckham-based studio, later finding a home on 3024's evolving discography. Keen to release a body of work that explores the journey of enlightenment and the struggles to get there, Otik drew inspiration from the luminary filmmaker Terrence Malick and how Malick portrayed ideas and philosophies in films like The Tree of Life and Voyage of Time. As a result, the record conveys a compelling narrative of rebirth, told through exquisite sound design and a push-pull pace that oscillates across the album.

Review: Zero T's 4th album is a conceptual Drum n Bass marriage with legendary high-tech pianist ONJ, who has been on the cutting edge of music equipment for over 20 years. The 2 are returning once again for another release on The North Quarter, expanding the pair's 2 track EP 'Everyday Struggles' into a full-length project. Zero T pulls once again from Jazz influences, paired with his bright and expansive breakbeats. The amen breaks on tracks like 'Twenty Three' and 'Some Type of Way' meld with the jazz piano and saxophone riffs perfectly, broken up by lo-fi interludes, even a lounge piano portion on side D with 'Expendable'. Kilburn is an authentically British union of two polar opposite genres, and yet it just works so well. It's got to be heard to be believed.