- Nucleus and Paradox have been making music together for 20 years. In that time, they've stayed fresh without changing their approach, cutting up punchy breakbeats with a level of precision and speed that outpaces classic Photek. Sure, the duo have tried out different tempos, but no matter the speed, you can always count on them for big basslines and killer drums.
"Ubiquity" presents the two UK producers at their peak. The breaks are jerky but not stilted, making hard stops and taking sharp turns. Between the drums are viscous, textured blobs of synth that contract and expand like they were taken from a Basic Channel tune, all of it powered by a roaring bassline. When the track plateaus into a relaxing chord progression in the second half, it reveals the duo's trump card: a live approach to production that encourages dynamism instead of rigidity.
There's a similar switch-up on the faster "Foundation," where jabby drum-funk takes flight into jungle. The drums ride warped, old school chords like thermal updrafts, while the bassline offers tough wind resistance. This is the mix of force and finesse we've come to expect from Nucleus & Paradox. 20 years on, they're still delivering thrills.
TracklistA Ubiquity
B Foundation