DgoHn :: Tessares (Planet Mu)

Classic drum and bass/jungle break style—chopped and glitched

dgoHn (pronounced “John”) returns with Tessares, and it is a beast. John Cunnane—the London/Essex producer behind the dgoHn moniker, has spent the last two decades carving out a niche in the drumfunk world, a drum & bass subgenre that focuses on virtuosic breakbeat chopping and a jazzy sense of rhythm and improvisation. Where breakcore goes for the jugular, drumfunk hangs back, delighting in repetition and strange patterns, sometimes hinting at the percussive side of late 90s IDM. Cunnane has built a cult following over the years, gaining support from Thom Yorke, Tom Ravenscroft, and Aphex Twin, and collaborating with artists like Macc (their 2009 Rephlex album Some Shit Saaink remains a touchstone), Nic TVG, Jodey Kendrick, and Badun. Tessares is his fourth album but his first for Planet Mu, and it arrives as a fully realized statement: playful, unconventional drum & bass that contrasts sparse effects and melodic elements with complex drumfunk and breakcore. He often uses unusual time signatures and head-spinning polyrhythms inspired by jazz and math rock, sometimes within the same track. Somehow, he makes it sound effortless, and occasionally pretty as well, keeping a fine balance that never feels punishing.

All of the tracks are unique in their way, but all fall in line with classic drum and bass/jungle break style—chopped and glitched. There are other tracks that utilize drum break samples very well, stuttering and carrying great rhythms throughout the album. This is a classic harvested sound that only comes from dgoHn and a handful of other artists working in this space. In the past, dgoHn has kept his sound refined even on his Rephlex releases, and Tessares is just more of that missed drum break sound. It’s a fan favorite for sure.

I’ve always found it hard to stay focused with breaks and drums, there’s only so much an artist can chop and slice an Amen break or old-school drum sample used by countless artists. But just like Planet Mu‘s earlier roster—µ-Ziq himself in his earlier releases like Lunatic Harness (1997), Venetian Snares‘ relentless breakcore onslaughts, and Squarepusher‘s jazz-inflected drill and bass, this is a remembrance of that era, or just more of it. Those artists pushed the boundaries of what breaks could do, turning them into rhythmic sculptures that felt both chaotic and controlled. dgoHn sits in that lineage, but with a lighter touch. His breaks are intricate without being punishing, complex without losing the groove.

The opener, “Waiting For,” is gold. Cunnane wastes no time starting the album harsh with those drums. The beat here uses that old granular delayed pause on snare hits and long snare hits that just sound lovely for this type of style. It combines complex breaks with melodic fills, spacey effects, and dubbed-out vocals that feel like snatches of lost conversations, a combination Cunnane uses throughout the album, giving it an eerie touch of humanity.

The time signature is pulling the rug out from under you ::

“I Couldn’t Remember So I Made Something Up” is the first single, and it’s a great track as well. This is one of those tracks that teases the album in its entirety. The track introduces this bendy portamento-styled synth that wobbles and pitches high—classic Rephlex sound you’d hear in these types of compositions and beautiful breaks throughout and composition of those drums. dgoHn is a master at this. This track sounds like it was written in 15/8 time, which disrupts the listener’s expectations while the detuned melody eases the sense of dislocation. It feels like a conventional melodic drum & bass track until you realize the time signature is pulling the rug out from under you.

“Bus to Fairlop” is another heavy hitter, along with “Whistling on a Tuesday,” both are absolutely monstrous in their drum break compositions. There isn’t a single moment in this release where you will feel bored listening. It’s actually a very entertaining listen with the drum compositions. “Whistling on a Tuesday” opens with a light echoey piano countdown into bass stabs which introduce heavy whirling Amen breakbeats that switch between 180 and 120 bpm. The tempo shifts are disorienting in the best way, pulling you in different directions without losing momentum.

“Orchids” has its own drum kits used strategically through its composition, which is also done very well within the realm of classic drum and bass. Vocal chops and stabs of little chord hits and strings. Very nice vibe here. “Holly Can Swim But She Doesn’t Really Like It” is along the same realm as “Orchids” as well. You have samples and unique drum kits in these tracks that keep it in the break genre but also add a flare of uniqueness. You can also hear that bendy whiny synth in here as well that people will recognize, and a funky stab-in-and-out bassline. It’s the most rhythmically challenging track on the album – it feels hard to hang on to as its knotty breaks play out over bell chimes, like something Autechre might make if jungle was in their DNA.

The closer, “7 Years or More,” is absolutely brilliant. Just wonderful compositions of breaks that really keep the listener engaged, which is all you can expect in a dgoHn release. The track builds a filmic, dusty atmosphere of chimes and pads, layering in very subtle vocals, vinyl crackle, and echoing synth before giving way to tough drums. Then all of that is taken away so that just a voice remains. It’s a stunning closer, stripping everything down to its most vulnerable element.

Comparing Tessares to dgoHn‘s older releases, the core DNA is still there, the obsessive focus on drum science, the jazz-inflected rhythms, the playful manipulation of breaks. But there’s a refinement here that comes from two decades of honing his craft. The tracks feel more spacious, more melodic, more willing to let moments breathe. Where his earlier work on Rephlex and Love Love Records could feel claustrophobic in its density, Tessares knows when to pull back. The dubbed-out vocals, the melodic fills, the use of unusual time signatures, these aren’t just technical tricks, they’re emotional tools. The album feels exploratory without getting lost, complex without being exhausting. For fans of drumfunk and the kind of brain-melting beat science that Planet Mu championed in the late 90s and early 2000s, Tessares is essential. dgoHn hasn’t just kept the flame alive, he’s refined it.

Tessares is available on Planet Mu, June 26, 2026. [Bandcamp]