- Last year, Matt Harris was chosen for the first installment of Critical's Binary series, a collection of digital releases designed to showcase young producers doing interesting things with drum & bass. The release was a gentle push, not so much reinventing the wheel as rearranging its spokes, but it was a promising start. (Since then, he's remixed SOPHIE and been accepted into the Red Bull Music Academy.) Giving Harris the inaugural edition of Binary showed that he was someone to watch out for, and No Drama is further evidence of this. It marks his debut on the main arm of Critical, and gives Harris the opportunity to stretch out further than he has before, pointing in the diverse percussive directions of label mate Sam Binga with drum programming that feels mightier yet more composed than ever.
Harris's appeal is that he breaks up the trackiness of club-wise drum & bass by shifting patterns frequently, placing the focus on space. The title track is a sterling example: the heavy drums hit strategically, flanked by space-age synths and jet-engine basslines. Every element is bellowing and powerful, but Harris never gets too aggro or claustrophobic. A bleepy melody provides something to latch onto in the percussive rockslide.
Harris is a new and exciting figure but his music still looks to the past—specifically, ragga jungle. He prefers vocal samples and heavy dub effects drowned in reverb, until they resemble a smear reflecting in the chrome of his drums, which give his tunes an ominous feel without any chest-beating. "Cloud Cover" makes a heady stew out of quick-footed percussion and ragga chants, while "Astraya" contrasts the metallic sounds with warm, filtered R&B vocals. He takes it one step further for highlight "Each & Every," where Harris slows things down and fills the space with sinuous leads.
A few collaborators join in on the fun. Halogenix is a like-minded youngster in the drum & bass world, and when the two team up for "Hallelujah," the product is hard to deny. Their contrast between pillowy synths and gut-punching drums is more visceral than ever. Sam Binga steps in for "Thoroughbred," and though he brings his typical kitchen-sink approach, Harris keeps it minimal, landing somewhere sleek and stylish. "Little Heart" is the only bum note here. It's a collaboration with Bogues, whose spoken-word drawl sounds like it was recorded at an open mic night, despite the creamy synths behind it. Regardless, Harris is still trying something new, which in itself explains why he's one of the more intriguing names to hit drum & bass in recent years.
TracklistA1 No Drama
A2 Cloud Cover
B1 Hallelujah feat. Halogenix
B2 Astraya
Digital Only:
Thoroughbred feat. Sam Binga & Redders
Each & Every
Little Heart feat. Bogues