(04.10.06) I recently read, on a well known site, a description of today drum’n bass that was something like ‘midrange bassline driven trance’ in opposition to the purity of the so-called drumfunk, a branch of jungle that focuses on drum edits and minimalism. While such a critic description is justified if one sticks to Pendulum or Fresh, it’s just a superficial look at a huge scene. My aim is to highlight a record that many may pass over because it’s not up to date with the state of the art.
Cyantific began to impress a few years ago, they’re a duo that introduced, before everyone else, some DSP effects on drums and vocals, nothing heavy and mental like Exile did, but it was indeed something fresh. They crossed d’n b with electro and you can hear such an influence very often, from the use of polished basslines in “Flashback” to the half tempo breakdown of “Ghetto Blaster.” Recently Cyantific are following a widespread fashion that merges d’n b with disco sounds, but luckily they don’t use cheap filtering and instead they rely on massive use of funky sampling, a constant feature of the middle of the album, from “Don’t Follow” to “Power Surge.” A particularly classic tune is “Cover Story” featuring Matrix and his Arp synth bass, a trademark that places him among my favorite producers of all time. The aptly named “Riviera,” with an incredible bassline and samples from 50’s movies, is tailored for low-riding a cabrio along the seaside on a sunny afternoon –too bad I have a citycar, I live one hundred miles from the sea and it has been raining for four days.
Ghetto Blaster includes a couple of early tracks that still stand out among the others, underlining how much Cyantific were ahead of their time but at the same time how they lost a bit of originality. I really like this record, but when I hear the electrified “Neon Skyline” (from 2003) I begin to think that maybe the duo should have decided to go forward in that direction, mixing 170 beats per minute with 80’s aesthetics, as they show in the final track “Asia,” deeply influenced by acid techno. But Cyantific are so skilled that they also make great old-school jungle tunes, both “Little Green Men” and “Solar Flares” are mesmerizing examples of modern hardcore, with “Solar Flares” being a sort of tribute to Jonny L’s “Hurt U So.” Drum’n bass influenced many artists who nowadays are under the spotlight doing breakcore and dubstep, but it’s absolutely not dead, with a bit of patience it’s possible to find fresh material even in 2006. Cyantific are my pick for this spring, and hopefully more interesting stuff will follow. (Buy it at Amazon.com)
Ghetto Blaster is out now on Hospital.
