Exit Recordings has been steadily putting out some of the freshest drum & bass since it's inception five years ago. It began as an outlet for D-Bridge to release some of the more non-floor driven solo material he had been working on. Since then the label has gone on to release singles from Rufige Kru, Commix, Calibre, Break & Survival, Black Pocket, and now
Instra:mental.
Al Bleek & Kid Drama are a duo ignoring any current trends that may have taken a hold of drum & bass music over the past few years. Trends that have possibly sent d&b toward a dead-end of predictability and monotony. They work in the fringes, injecting their own interpretations and desires as artists doing what they want and foregoing any concern about dance floor reactions. Their music has been compared with the earlier works of Photek, where percussion and ambience play a central role in producing mood and texture (as opposed to gnarly riffs and growling basslines under stagnant two-step rhythms). Their first releases came from the shortly lived
Demonic Label run by non other then Source Direct (another early artist of Goldie's original Metalheadz camp known for pushing dark, disgusting, breakbeat driven jungle, similar in vein to Photek). And then, nothing was heard from the duo until late 2006 when their tune, "Comanche" started showing up in sets from Marcus Intalex and anyone else brave enough to play it. Since then they've put out three singles on the
Darkestral Recordings label run by Paul Laidlaw aka Drkstr. Their sound is a blend of contrasts, dark moody colors injected with percussive ammunition resulting in a dense, yet fluid sound that operates outside of the confines of drum & bass scene-dom.
Their newest release on Exit continues their tradition of experimental beats and ambience. The a side, "Intervention," is a seductive, Detroit infused movement of introspection. Soothing pads waft in and out accompanied by filtered technoid leads and riffs, underneath the bass moves along simply, keeping the rhythm anchored. In the background a (sometimes indistinguishable) vocal speaks of late night regrets and early morning contemplations; a questioning of is this worth it? The late nights? The parties? Can they mean something more or are they just opiates for our daily lives?
The flip side "Horse" (co-produced by
Nico, owner of seminal jungle label
No U-Turn) takes a much darker approach through the use of heavy percussion, tension filled atmospherics, and dirty bass kicks. It's hard to not hear Nico's influence as the song drones through what sounds like the twisted, future streets of Cybotron. Having helped pioneer the early techstep sound along side Ed Rush and Trace, Nico's influence is evident in the minimal percussion and overall moody vibe of the track.
Exit has released one of the best singles of the year here and it comes in a no expenses spared presentation: a 10" double sided picture disc, die cut full print record sleeve, a sticker sleeve, and a hand numbered, limited print of only a 1000 copies. The artwork was also done by Kid Drama of Instra:mental showcasing their talents don't lie solely in music.
But it here:
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