- James Clements recently wrote at length about how he classifies his music, saying that just because it's at 170 BPM, doesn't make it drum & bass. That much has become clear with his Auxiliary label, which, if anything, feels more indebted to late '90s Warp. And it continues with his latest EP of, as he describes them, "slower dubbier grooves."
It's hard to argue with him; who would call "Solemnity," with its measured stop-start thrust, drum & bass? The track has all the luscious synth work and detail we've come to expect from ASC, along with an unexpected pillowy breakdown that feels like a different track altogether. The same goes for "Fulcrum," where the kick drums are merely punctuation holding the stark chords and mournful brass together.
Even at its most rhythmic, this is hardly dance floor music. "Wave Upon Wave" has a flowing pulse that the others lack, but weighed down by its funereal melodies, the emphasis is on an emotional response rather than dancing. "Lone Star" recalls the Autonomic movement that ASC helped birth, with volley after volley of tightly coiled percussion contrasted by a solemn piano figure. Like the best of Clements' work, it packs a brute physicality inspired by drum & bass without absorbing any clichés.
TracklistA1 Solemnity
A2 Fulcrum
AA1 Wave Upon Wave
AA2 Lone Star