What with the popularity of their Autonomic podcasts, Instra:mental and dBridge have become two of the most talked about acts in the drum & bass community, with music lovers both inside and outside of the scene embracing their innovative take on the genre. Until now, Instra:mental's NonPlus+ imprint has been the outlet for these production forays, but just as their label is diversifying its sound with the experimental house and electro of Actress, the trio have founded Autonomic to focus strictly on releasing the halfstep drum & bass style that they've been championing.
As someone who found Skream's contribution to the NonPlus+ catalogue rather underwhelming, I was quite prepared to be disappointed with his Autonomic collaboration, but thankfully I needn't have worried. The rigid shaker shuffle and hi-hat hits of "Acacia Avenue" imbue the track with a tense robotic feel, its rumbling sub-bass hits propelling things along before a wiggling synth line appears to take things into even spookier territory. As with the rest of Instra:mental and dBridge's recent material, their minimalist approach and control of space really is something to behold. Drum & bass DJs who are looking for something deep and dark should definitely take note of this dystopian dance floor banger.
Instra:mental and dBridge explore a similar vibe on B-side cut "Detroid," this time utilising a tinny rolling groove and letting a series of sustained bass tones do most of the talking. It doesn’t quite have the same inventive touch as "Acacia Avenue," but should find favour with jocks who prefer a looser and more broken style over the technoid handiwork that the flipside offers up. As their Club Autonomic mix for Fabric has already demonstrated, Autonomic have got plenty more killer tunes in their coffers, so expect to hear much more from the label later in the year.
As someone who found Skream's contribution to the NonPlus+ catalogue rather underwhelming, I was quite prepared to be disappointed with his Autonomic collaboration, but thankfully I needn't have worried. The rigid shaker shuffle and hi-hat hits of "Acacia Avenue" imbue the track with a tense robotic feel, its rumbling sub-bass hits propelling things along before a wiggling synth line appears to take things into even spookier territory. As with the rest of Instra:mental and dBridge's recent material, their minimalist approach and control of space really is something to behold. Drum & bass DJs who are looking for something deep and dark should definitely take note of this dystopian dance floor banger.
Instra:mental and dBridge explore a similar vibe on B-side cut "Detroid," this time utilising a tinny rolling groove and letting a series of sustained bass tones do most of the talking. It doesn’t quite have the same inventive touch as "Acacia Avenue," but should find favour with jocks who prefer a looser and more broken style over the technoid handiwork that the flipside offers up. As their Club Autonomic mix for Fabric has already demonstrated, Autonomic have got plenty more killer tunes in their coffers, so expect to hear much more from the label later in the year.
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Published /
Fri / 30 Apr 2010 -
Words /
Richard Carnes -
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Tracklist /
A dBridge, Instramental & Skream - Acacia Avenue
B dBridge & Instramental - Detroid
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