- With dubstep's rise to student sound du jour comes the question: what now? Harsh midrange aside, the answer seems to be a mix of influences from the UK's 'ardkore past with breakbeats and diva vocals taking prominent role in reshaping a scene once known for space and darkness into a form fit for the mass audience it now commands. About as far from his paranoid classic "Crack Bong" as possible, D1's "Flood of Emotion" aims for lovelorn anthem status and hits its mark, the twinkling piano keys and heartbroken chorus living up to its title's euphoria.
It's hardly forward-thinking, but falls neatly in line with the music coming out of his Dub Police camp: populist in an endearing way and unwilling to follow the scene into death metal territory. Unfortunately, Subscape's remix is totally uninspired with a paint-by-numbers approach to half-step & LFO riffs that's unusual for one of the scene's more underrated workhorses. Enei's drum & bass mix fares better, though it does little more than speed up the proceedings for those operating within higher tempos.
B-side "Bleeps to Broadway" continues the early '90s nostalgia, this time mining the fertile bleep n' bass scene and marrying it to current tropical trends. Hardly the subtlest production, its charm lies in the way its rough-hewn programming emulates the energy of the era it draws on for inspiration.
TracklistA Flood of Emotions
B Bleeps to Broadway
Digital: Flood of Emotions (Subscape Remix)
Digital: Flood of Emotions (Enei Remix)
Digital: Bleeps to Broadway (130 Mix)