|
|
What the hell happened to drum'n'bass? The Revolutionary Sound Of British Urban Yoof has withered away into tiresome Met Bar celeb-fucking (step forward, Goldie) and comfortably muso self-justification (see LTJ Bukem's most recent album - or perhaps you didn't?), or shamelessly defected to the underground garage cause. And what's left behind? A few quietly innovative labels - Certificate 18, Moving Shadow - catering to a slim hardcore of believers. And a very successful Bristol crew, back with gospel intact.
If people are chiselling the drum'n'bass gravestone, though, it's because the scene has lost its manic momentum. Many hold Roni Size and Reprazent responsible, saying the maverick heart of drum'n'bass died on that day in '97 when the jazzy 'New Forms' accepted the Mercury Music Prize handshake of death, filled its 'Brown Paper Bag' with the dirty money of the mainstream, and turned the whole genre into a byword for coffee table credibility.
So, where does the renegade go, after being coquetted on the corporate lap? Why, to the dense, and relentlessly angry 'In The Mode'. Look first to the collaborations; Reprazent could have gone for Roisín from Moloko. Instead, they went for Method Man and Zack de la Rocha from Rage Against The Machine. And 'Ghetto Celebrity' and 'Center Of The Storm' are the sum of their parts, which is to say, pretty damn good the first sees Method Man rapping with pleasingly lateral associations ("Roni Size/Shady guy with lazy eye/Crazy high/Maybe I/Crash and burn like Princess Di"), the second finds de la Rocha smearing fascist faces with elephant shit and comparing himself to Salman Rushdie. Which is great.
And there's more kick-ass moments: 'Who Told You', as exhilarating as it is lyrically pointless the vocoder-laden 'In Tune With The Sound', featuring Rahzel from The Roots and the nay-sayer baiting 'Snapshot' ("You think this is as good as it gets? It gets better"). After 80 minutes, you're wishing that someone would lecture Reprazent on the merits of brevity.
But who cares?
'In The Mode' is an example of fierce, righteous, and - despite the American
input - fearlessly British innovation. You want them to justify themselves?
"Sell our souls/Keep the money/Then we cancel", raps MC Dynamite on 'Dirty
Beats'. And you're thinking: can they do that? Is it allowed? Well, there's
no-one around to prove them wrong. Now, Roni Size and Reprazent are leaders
in a field of one.
7/10