Andy Skopes / DBR UK / Denial: Missions (ft. Blackeye) / Poison Light
Dispatch Ltd

With this early-2016 single, Dispatch Ltd serves notice that the year should be a powerful one for the UK-based drum'n'bass label. Belters both, the release features two Denial collaborations, the first with Andy Skopes and the second DBR UK. Blackeye also gets into the action on the Skopes-Denial throwdown “Missions,” which locks into its steamrolling groove from the drop. There's a strong undertow to the tune, coarsened as it is by gnarly grime, a blacker-than-black bass throb, and the near-subliminal vocal elements Blackeye weaves into its lethal weaponry.

“Poison Light” by comparison opts for a light-speed, scalpel-sharp pulse that's equally rich in low-end dynamism and dystopic atmosphere. High-pitched bleeps and supplicating voices punctuate the mayhem at the same time as a monstrous bass figure writhes in the throes of seeming agony. Denial and DBR UK pack a heady amount of imaginative detail and texture into the cut's five-minute framework, making for a wild and dizzying ride.

February 2016