Point Of Origin, Vol. 5 Review

I always find compilations like Point Of Origin interesting because you are basically being handed a list of names and told, “pay attention to these people.” Sometimes that feels a little forced. This one really does not.

Shogun has been doing Point Of Origin for more than a decade now, and looking back at some of the artists who appeared earlier in the series makes the whole idea a lot more interesting. Serum, Voltage, Monrroe, Sustance, QZB and others have all been part of that history. So even though I definitely do not know every artist on Vol. 5 equally well, that is actually part of the fun. There is a decent chance a few of these names are going to look much more familiar a couple of years from now.

There are twelve tracks here:

• Tian – Smooth
• Viridity – Up To Fate
• Silloh & Leks – Sleep Now
• IYRE – Fallen Crowns ft. Mark Menzies
• Speaker Louis, G-Class & RJD ft. K.O.A – Bun Dem Down
• Flint & Figure – See The Light
• Diagnostix – Clarted
• FONTS – Revel
• OVERTONE & Sofia Tea – Time
• Surreal – Into You
• Note, Zar & Jess Edie – Gettin’ Sentimental
• Martial Taktics & Lottie Jones – Three Words

The thing I noticed pretty quickly is that this is not twelve versions of whatever happens to be working on Beatport right now. There is a lot of range. Some of it rolls, some of it is properly musical, some of it leans into vocals and soul, and then Diagnostix shows up halfway through and basically kicks the door off.

Smooth is a very good way to start this

Tian opens the album with “Smooth,” and the name is pretty accurate. Shogun describes it around a rolling bassline with plenty of swagger, and that is really what makes it work for me. There is weight there, but it is not trying to batter you immediately. The groove has a bit of confidence to it.

It is also a smart first track for this kind of compilation. If the goal is to introduce artists rather than just throw twelve weapons into a folder, opening with something that has a little personality makes sense. Tian does not sound like he is desperately trying to prove he belongs on Shogun. The tune just settles in and gets on with it.

Sleep Now and Fallen Crowns show how wide the idea is

“Sleep Now” from Silloh and Leks is where things get noticeably darker. It starts in a much more atmospheric place before turning into a heavy roller, and I like that it takes a bit of time getting there. It feels tense without being overdramatic, then once the low end comes in the whole thing makes sense.

A track later, IYRE and Mark Menzies take things somewhere completely different with “Fallen Crowns.” This might be one of my favorites on the compilation because the jazzier production and Menzies’ R&B-leaning vocal make it feel like an actual song, not just a vocal hook waiting for a drop.

That contrast is probably the point of Point Of Origin. You can go from something moody and club-focused to something warm and soulful without either one sounding like it ended up on the wrong album.

Bun Dem Down brings the soundsystem side out

“Burn Dem Down” would almost be too obvious a title for a dub-influenced DnB tune, except the actual track listed here is “Bun Dem Down,” which somehow fits the attitude better anyway. Speaker Louis, G-Class and RJD link with K.O.A on this one, and Shogun’s own description goes straight to dub and soundsystem energy.

It is a nice change of texture in the middle of the album. There is a completely different kind of weight to a tune when it pulls from that soundsystem tradition instead of just chasing the nastiest possible bass patch. This feels more rooted, and it gives the compilation another personality before it moves on again.

See The Light and Revel are probably the two I would play outside the rave first

Flint & Figure’s “See The Light” is one of the brighter tracks here. Shogun talks about hope, unity and perseverance around the tune, with Sydney Bryce on the vocal, and it definitely sits on the more uplifting side of the record. I am usually a little suspicious when a label describes something as “anthemic,” because that word gets used for basically everything now, but this one at least has the songwriting to justify the bigger feeling.

Then FONTS comes through with “Revel,” which might be the track that surprised me most. It is built around a piano motif with a jazz-influenced opening, and that immediately separates it from most of the compilation. It still moves like drum and bass, but it has a warmth to it that makes me want to listen to it away from a set too.

That is something I appreciate about Shogun generally. Even on a project built around upcoming artists, there is room for somebody to make a track that is just beautiful instead of trying to win the loudness contest.

Then Diagnostix decides we have been comfortable long enough

“Clarted” is basically the opposite approach. Shogun calls it a tune built for total dancefloor devastation, which is fairly dramatic label copy, but in this case it tells you exactly why it is here. It is the point where the compilation stops being polite for a few minutes.

I actually like where they put it in the tracklist. After several tunes showing the deeper, more musical and soulful ends of the new talent pool, you get something whose job is much simpler: make the rave go off. A compilation about the future of DnB would feel pretty dishonest if that side of the genre was missing.

The back half keeps opening things up

The final stretch is probably where the compilation feels most like discovery to me. OVERTONE and Sofia Tea on “Time,” Surreal with “Into You,” Note, Zar and Jess Edie on “Gettin’ Sentimental,” then Martial Taktics and Lottie Jones closing with “Three Words.” These are exactly the kind of names I want a compilation like this to make me go look up afterward.

And that is actually where Point Of Origin works better for me than a normal various-artists release. I am not really expecting every tune to become a personal favorite. I want to finish it with a few names written down mentally, a couple of tracks saved, and some curiosity about what these people do next.

This one definitely does that.

The history makes the whole thing more fun

Finding out who came through earlier Point Of Origin albums changes how I look at Vol. 5 a little bit. Voltage appearing on the first one in 2015 is a pretty good example. Nobody needs an introduction to Voltage now, but at some point he was one of the names being presented as part of the next wave.

That does not mean everyone on this compilation is automatically going to become huge, obviously. That would be a ridiculous prediction. But it does make the album feel a bit like opening a time capsule early. You do not know yet which tracks or artists are going to end up being the ones people come back to.

Personally, that is much more interesting than another compilation stacked entirely with established names. There is a little bit of risk to it.

How it lands for me

I did not come into Point Of Origin, Vol. 5 knowing every artist, and I think that is probably the right way to hear it. I recognized some names, had a vague awareness of others, and had a few where I was starting completely fresh.

By the end, “Fallen Crowns,” “Revel,” “Sleep Now” and “Smooth” were probably the tracks that jumped out to me first, although “Clarted” is obviously the one I would want when I am in a much less civilized mood. The fact that those tunes are all doing pretty different things is a good sign.

More than anything, this feels like Shogun actually using its position as a big label to put attention on people who could use the extra eyes. There are easier releases to sell than twelve tracks from mostly emerging artists, and I like that they are still doing this series after all these years.

If even a couple of these producers end up becoming major names, it is going to be fun coming back to Point Of Origin, Vol. 5 later and realizing we were hearing that next stage start to happen in real time.