well, if ever there was any doubt that ninja tune have moved on from their trademark jazz and beats releases, then this new ep from the man known as kevin martin, in his the bug alias, will eradicate any such associations once and for all, as this is a stunning depth charge of an ep, consisting of 2 original tracks, poison dart (ft. warrior queen), and the flip track, skeng (ft. flowdan and kill p) and several headline catching remixes.

now, despite the fact i know little of the music by kevin, he always seems to have been on the perimeters of my world. firstly with his experimental fusion of dark hardcore techno and hip hop with techno animal, of whom were often dropped onto various bill laswell curated axiom compilations, and then there was the almighty remix of rabaukendisko he sorted out for t.raumschmiere back in 2005 that literally knocked me sideways such was the brilliance of the dirty digital distress. subsequently, it’s a welcome entry to the higher profile world of ninja tune after several years of being hidden in the underground. for this ep, the vibe is all about joining the dots between the new world of dubstep and the well established sounds of roots and extreme electronic dub. the basic track of poison dart, featuring paint stripping vocals from dancehall queen, warrior queen, is a blistering beast that will, like an old renengade soundwave 12″ destroy woofers if extreme care is not aplied prior to this being dropped on any sound system play list as dark digital sonics are underpinned by an almighty desire to redistribute your internal organs. the results are glorious in all its on-sound system referencing, listen to some of adrian sherwoods more extreme variations of dub and you will hear the connection.

where the worlds collide are via the remixes that are part of the 2 * 12″ package.

current dubstep heroes skream and kode9 step up and apply their thundering science to the bug’s source material. 

however, i have to admit, that i actually prefer the original versions, and the cut up tricks of dj bakus megamix which just adds layers of disconnected vocals and even more aural chaos.

still, to hear this type of beautiful noir tinged noise on the previously polite ninja tune label is a very welcome breathe of air, and only makes the wait for the full length release all the more intense.

 

more detail : video - - ninja tune - - myspace