Skeptical, Zed Bias, DRS, Morph & Safire: With You / Set The Bar
Plasma Audio
That old line about “Too many cooks ...” clearly doesn't apply in this case, even if multiple individuals participated in the production process. Five creative forces came together for this collaboration, which is rooted in drum'n'bass but bleeds boldly into other areas, too.
Opening the single is the dynamic “With You,” created by Skeptical, Safire, DRS, and Morph. Atmospheric ambient swirls and synth flourishes establish a brooding, even foreboding presence at the outset before DRS's vocal (“I hear my desperation, it's quite cool / I slay my reputation falling with you”) enters to advance the track to its next stage. After punchy drums and swooping bass throbs add drum'n'bass and dubstep flavours, DRS returns, this time his voice delivered in an MC-like style (“Closer than I've ever been / Deeper than I've ever seen”).
Radically different from “With You” is “Set The Bar,” which, with Zed Bias aboard, works elements of jazz, funk, hip-hop, soul, and, naturally, drum'n'bass into its design. Imagine, if you will, a declamatory, mariarchi-styled horn lick coupled with jazzy keys and grooves that alternate between laid-back and uptempo and add deep, Doom-like flow from DRS and you're pretty much there. Episodic by design, both tracks cycle through their respective parts a number of times, the effect in each case captivating and the productions impressing for their sophistication and scope.October 2019