There have only been a handful of artists to emerge from the breaks scene in recent years who have consistently grabbed my attention. Baobinga & ID are one of those few – having churned out some innovative, thumping, rowdy bastards of tracks like their amazing, electro-frenzied ‘Sound Gal’ and their gruff, driving remix of Simpleton’s ‘Just Let Go’, impressing on each release with their sharp, thumping production sound and their wealth of captivating ideas. ‘Big Monster’ is their debut album, and displays their talent for producing electronic music across the board.
‘Carve Your Name’ gets us off to a rousing start, teasing with big, uplifting synth builds and an epic tone and a kick drum that never comes in, before ‘Recognise’ rears its funk-fuelled head, forcing bodies to wind with its bumping, gurgling electro lead-line and sharp, crashing half-time beats. Note: this is how to do tech-funk ‘Jump Up Get Hype’ with Mancunian grime-smiths just misses the mark – a great fusion of bumping, broken beats and old skool drum loops with some top MCing in the verses, let down by a weak, cliché-ridden chorus. Like Dizzee’s ‘Pussyole’ but tougher, it’s a great notion but unfortunately marred.
‘Jersey St.’ is a masterclass is slow, chugging acid house, with stuttering beats and vocal snippets pushing along under urgent hi-hats and a deranged 303 flow, while ‘No Bright Lights’ shows that the spirit of progressive breaks is still alive and in this case, very well, with its swirling, ethereal bads and subdued, deep bass. ‘NY3.5’ shows their skill at smoother moments, on some smoky, DJ Cam stoner hip-hop tip, ‘Rite Of Passage’ shows that the nu skool breaks format can still work just fine if it’s done right, although the nauseating, manic ‘Jewelz’ doesn’t exactly show the genre in a great light (even if it is excellently produced and full of great percussion and fills – the melody is just a bit grim for want of a better word), but storming efforts like ‘The Machine’ do a better job and show why breakbeat can be so exciting.
Working with a range of textures, styles and tempos, they’ve shown that you can still make an album that can stake a claim as part of the breakbeat scene, but without churning out a whole disc of formulaic nu skool breaks. It’s a pretty impressive first effort from the duo which cements their status as one of the most promising acts in their scene – and with Baobinga’s side projects with Tayo and other producers, they look set to reach the heights of fame that they deserve. Keep keeping an eye on them and check this out if you’re after some tough-edged, rowdy electronic music with a few surprises thrown in.
Click the pic to listen to & buy the album:
