2016 has been an intriguing year for drum & bass. Bad Company made a comeback, TeeBee and Optical have looked back at their glorious back catalogs, and producers like Detboi have helped light a fire under Goldie and the Metalheadz imprint. That said, there's still a void in the genre; not too many producers are taking charge and truly bridging the gap between the cerebral drum & bass pressure we grew up with in the mid-to-late '90s with today's sound aesthetic...until now.
Enter AGN7, a duo made up of SPKTRM and Ronin Selecta. Heads should be up on SPKTRM; he's one of the few stateside producers who truly updated the old school sound and style many grew to love, and his 2012 album Android Dreams on Project 51 was truly his opus. Ronin Selecta's put in this time as well, working as a producer and a force behind the decks, tearing it down for worldwide dnb radio institution BassDrive with a similar understanding of the scene as SPKTRM does.
These are the AGN7s of change. Calling their aesthetic "adventurous," AGN7 says they are "devoted to exploring the myriad corners of where the music could go, but hasn’t yet." With their debut single on AGN7 Audio, that definitely seems to be the case.
"Mantra" is one of those pressure cookers, with the drums kicking in super early (and super hypnotic), establishing a calm with some ethereal vocals and chilled breakbeat edit work before a monster of a gutpunch in the way of sub bass and even harder drums kicks in. On the flipside, "Vignette" gets more militant with a drumfunk exercise in precision cuts. A lethal collection that steps to the left of what people expect from their regular dnb diet, which is a huge plus.
AGN7 says that each release will be different than the last, which is a blessing for those who don't want to touch an imprint for the same "sound." Giving listeners something they can embrace because they know they'll be challenged? I'm all for that.
This single is set to drop via AGN7 Audio in October. Preview both sides down below.
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