From the moment that Audio dropped in on Hive‘s seminal classic, Neo, the tattooed-up tech freak has been running roughshod on one of the biggest imprints of drum ‘n bass, Ram Recordings. Years later, it’s the same deal – Audio causing a ruckus. What else is new, right?
Freshly released as the 28th long-player on Andy C’s million dollar dream, the man shifts into high gear with Beastmode, a 14 track journey into the darkest parts of the unknown. Heavy reece-like synths drop in on the intro before eerie keys cut through Thunder Ridge, one of the massive stormers on the LP. The deeper the rabbit hole goes, the darker Audio gets before his signature techy style touches down. Shatterdome rolls in with gritty wit, sure to set the dance floor ablaze.
Coming closer to the mid-point of the mix, Nuklear MC rolls out the vocals in legendary MC Jakes fashion, with a guest appearance from techstep bad boy Prolix on Creatures. Sure to roll (or is it ‘wreck’?) the bass bins, tasty drum fills push the pulse to the catchy Drop It Human. If you’re into that swingstep ting, this tune is for you.
Bricktop squelches with jazzy riffs that Roni Size would be proud of before sound-crafted minimal beats take you aboard some strange UFO as we Move It Along. The tune gets a bit 16-bit as warped female vocals alert us to “strange sounds”. Not in drum ‘n bass. We don’t play that strange sound business, ever. Thud provides a wicked follow-up with drum-ridden madness.
Toecutter and Motormouth house that classic build-to-drop, while Rogue takes its sweet time to drop into floor-moving mayhem. Our guess is that Audio had already downed a good amount of alcohol once Make It Happen hits. Classic Tech Freak style here – tear-out drums, and floor-smashing mayhem.
Beastmode ends on a sweet but rough note with the ending credit, Sovereign. Easily one of my favorite tracks on the mix/album, this tune brings me back to the early 2000s with tunes like Sleepless VIP, Fallin’, Spiral, and Murder Inc. If you were around, you know the drill.
All-in-all, impressive mix from the one they call Audio. Be sure to swoop up the sampler, featuring a banging remix of Ultron by neurofunk champion, Mefjus – and of course, the three disc long-player, featuring Toecutter, Ambush, Creatures, Thud, Thunder Ridge, and Sovereign.
Check out all of the goodies that Audio has to offer, including the CD, LP and Sampler here – http://www.juno.co.uk/artists/Audio/
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