Aquasky

From sleepy Bournemouth, UK, the trio in Aquasky caught everyone's attention in 1996 with their singles of Bukem-ish drum & bass. They were rewarded by being signed to Polydor but when their Orange Dust mini album was released, the scene had moved on from that dreamy, melodic sound. Now Aquasky are back at Moving Shadow with a double CD of 16 tracks (12 on the 5-piece vinyl version) that display a new toughness. The double bass hooks of “Gemini” move them into Reprazent territory, and "Blue Thunder" is a ‘70s style funk-jazz track, but mostly they are now rockin' to a tech-step beat with the new element of distortion previewed by January's pre-release of the raspy roller "Sonix." A more recent single, "Bulletproof," starts with a variation of the tech-step beat, featuring “chunky snare” counter-rhythms. The mood is softened by euphoric jazz chords, but changed after the breakdown when a large bass wobble takes things to a heavy duty level. "Agitator" and "Suspekt Device" are even more dramatic, seasoned as they are with Source Direct-style atmospherics, the latter with blasting bass encounters of the third kind. Bodyshock also packs some other stylistic surprises that will please on impact.