Unity

The nebulous sub-genre of “post-dubstep” has many confusing cross-currents and streams, but its most vital contribution has been a renewed emphasis on sensual musicality. Acts like Martyn, Joy Orbison, Zomby and Joker, and labels like Night Slugs, Numbers and Hyperdub, have taken the enveloping bass of dubstep and grime and added funkier and more flexible rhythms, warm chords and zingy synthesized melodies shooting every which way but loose. And now Manchester producer Damu has produced what is possibly the most coherent statement of this strain yet.

The Keysound label boss Martin “Blackdown” Clark — also well known as DJ, journalist and producer in his own right — has always had an ear for the most technically refined producers in grime, dubstep and related scenes, and in signing Damu, his taste is reaffirmed. While Unity contains a broad range of rhythms, tempos and influences, Damu’s sheer musicianship gives it coherence. The slow development of its themes and the deadly precision of its sonic palette means that it binds together as a whole in a way that few club albums manage.

Whether the rhythm is a steady house pulse, the skipping funk of U.K. garage, or jazzy syncopations that recall… read more »