Tectonics
Forget two-step, jump-up or U.K. garage, the real sound of the underground is the synapse-shredding pulse of nu-skool breaks. Melding hip-hop, electro and drum and bass into a bass-heavy amalgam, this melting pot of styles takes breakbeat as its common starting point and then deconstructs it, along with all expectations. Skillfully mixed and compiled by the undisputed king of the genre, Adam Freeland,Tectonicsis the world-class DJ's homage to all things nu-skool, and it kicks like the proverbial mule. Blim's "Chronologic" quickly sets the pace, a gentle, tickling intro giving way to gilded breaks and bass as fat as butter. Further down the line, Apex's "Bangin" growls away like a famished panther, its anger and discontent mirrored by deep bottom end. Jewel in the crown, though, is Beber's "Juvenile Delinquent," the tune that almost singlehandedly kick-started the genre. Like all the culprits here, it's a malevolent beauty with fire in its belly.--Paul Tierney