Om Unit

Jim Coles is a UK-based producer who specialises in the upper echelons of the BPM bracket; his work around the 160-tempo has contributed in no small part to the drum & bass resurgence the genre is currently enjoying. His new LP, Threads, is the first released under the Om Unit moniker, rather than operating under a pseudonym (Dream Continuum, Phillip D. Kick), and we get a peek into the entire spectrum of the Om Unit sound. There are echoes of the pulsating haze of the L.A. beats scene (the sublime "Wicker and Pearl"), alongside ambient excursions into drum & bass ("Nagual"), à la dBridge. Dubstep and footwork are also deconstructed, their bare bones contorted to the hypnotic groove that Coles imbues Threads with. There are nods to Coles's past incarnation as a hip-hop producer, with featured vocalists including urban poet Charlie Dark and MC Jabu (previously of Ozomatli) on the menacing "Patients." On Threads, Om Unit is inviting you to the cutting edge; it's certainly worth the trip.