Vocal veterans DRS & Dynamite present ‘Playing In The Dark’, the debut LP from their collaborative project released on Hospital Records. These two pivotal figures, who have stood at the forefront of drum & bass for over two decades, have now teamed up with an array of globally respected producers including Calibre, Roni Size, Nu:Tone, S.P.Y, DJ Zinc, Chimpo and DJ Marky, to create an uncharted 16-track LP. Following on from the success of the pair’s first single ‘Fix It All (feat. London Elektricity)’, sit back and get ready to embark on the lyrical journey of a lifetime.
Getting straight to work, ‘Back & Forth’ sees the flows of DRS & Dynamite effortlessly bounce off each other over a relentless S.P.Y instrumental. Cold bars and a fierce bassline set the track up to be timeless, that will ignite sound systems worldwide. Following suit, rave legend DJ Zinc lends his vast depths of experience for ‘Get Down’, a high energy roller with bouncing vocal hooks, energising drums and that signature catchy low-end that Zinc’s become so famed for.
Affirming his status as a true mic champion, DRS demonstrates an ability to complement his heavy hitting flows with dynamic vocal melodies in title track ‘Playing In The Dark (feat. The Vanguard Project)’, coupled with Dynamite’s sharp and meaningful lyrics, they explore the importance and inequality surrounding MC and lyricist culture within D+B. Reminiscent of their love for pirate radio, ‘Highrise FM’ sees DRS & Dynamite reflect on memories of spreading music and good vibes which still shines brightly to this day. The track is produced by none other than the liquid-funk, ambient and downtempo pioneer Calibre. Leading figure of the jungle and drum & bass movement Roni Size also steps up for ‘Not The Fakes Ones’. This remarkable link up of three legends within the scene culminates in a truly up front and in your face record, exactly what we’ve come to expect from the Reprazent pioneer.
DRS first came across Dynamite during his time in Roni Size’s Bristol collective Reprazent, the winners of the 1997 Mercury Prize ‘Album Of The Year’, now showing full circle movements in 2020. ‘Playing In The Dark’ pays respect to this collaboration and the combination of styles which is signalled so clearly throughout DRS and Dynamite’s sound. As Dynamite explains that “the producers [brought] their pallets” for himself and DRS “to paint on”, the duo were able to convey their message, history and wisdom in one of the most boundary pushing projects that drum & bass has seen.
