Roni Size
New Forms

THE REVIEW

From the heart of Bristol, the full Reprazent crew (Roni Size, DJ Krust, DJ Die, DJ Suv, and the vocalist Onalee) presented in 1997 the highly anticipated debut album, one of the masterpieces of drum and bass, a cornerstone of the genre.

A sprawling double CD halfway between the dark side, the hardcore sound of pre-millennium tensions, of urban collapse, characterized by rough, abrasive, and caustic drums, and voices of soul extraction, an overview of drum and bass that incorporates live musicians and evolves, ready to dismantle musical tradition to create something new, the new forms push musical roots into a kaleidoscope of new complexity; if jungle techstep annihilates the past, 'new forms' reinvents and recreates it, making it highly danceable, from the future funk of "watching windows" and "morse code" to the narcotic "digital", from the serpentine rap of "bahamadia" to Onalee’s baduisms on the title track, to the anthemic "share the fall", from the bass 'n drum of "brown paper bag" to the cinematic sabbath of "matter of fact" and "mad cat", the ambient funk of "jazz" and "hot stuff" to the nocturnal narcolepsy into which the double sinks towards the end in a stereoscopic ballet that closes the dance.

The contemporary breakbeat is also a child of this surprising mix, in this electronic mist that extends muscular jazz motifs with spectral guitar shores, sensual vocalisms, and lethally inventive, wobbly aerobic percussion.