N.Phect & Dizplay: Beautiful Bytes
Basswerk

Progenitors of storming Drum & Bass—or ‘Neurofunk' as they're currently want to call it—since 2002, Cologne-based brothers Sebastian and Henrik Wild (aka N.Phect & Dizplay) stoke some blistering noise on their debut album Beautiful Bytes. The album's burning bass lines and frenetic beats thunderously throb, from the writhing surge of the opener “White Russian” and primal screamer “Mofo” to the epic crunch of “Tsunami 2006” and “Beyond the Invisible.” “Motor,” with its dizzying gallop and opium den flute playing, is especially memorable, as is the album peak “My Velvet Morning” (here in a 2006 remix) where haunting vocal hooks leave a trance residue. Wisely, the Wilds cap the 80-minute set with a soulful acoustic treatment of Starke & Gorter's “You Can Go On,” leaving listeners well-sated if not a little spent.

November 2006