EUSEBEIA レコード& CD

Review: One of the UK's wonder-children of music production, Eusebeia, returns for a cerebral new drum & bass EP, 'Snakes & Ladders', homing in on vibes of barren atmosses and desert drumfunk. Opener 'Snakes & Ladders' is Sub-Saharan enough, opening with a bullhorned call to arms over a figurative, dust-laden sonic dune, all while a rallying 808 booms underneath like the distant underground squirms of a sandworm. Things then take an unexpected turn, however, as the producer takes brooding refuge in a nighttime cave on 'Morality Lessons', cleverly traversing an odd time signature and a nocturnal texture. 'Ladder To Salvation' embraces the desert dawn, relishing the misty morning, while 'Vice & Virtue' rounds off the B-side with an impeccable ambience and movement through several competing kettle-breaks and versions of the same atmosphere.

Review: Prolific, prodigious jungle explorer Seb Uncles arrives on Rupture LDN in a logical meeting one minds which shows how much there is to be excited about in d&b right now. 'Optimyst' is a sparkling cut which shows off the Eusebeia sound in all its glory. The push and pull between aggression and delicacy is masterfully handled, as Uncles' insanely detailed production hooks you in and feeds body and mind in equal measure. The airy pads behind 'Restoration' set a dreamier tone for the track, but there's plenty of force on display up front. 'Shadow Work' is a nimble affair with pronounced synth hooks, while 'Darkest Before The Dawn' focuses on the cinematic mood which so often creeps into the Eusebeia sound, albeit marked out by yet more staggering displays of jungle science.

Review: Eusebeia and Artificial Red: Two artists together across three tracks on one beautiful 12" Samurai off-shoot label Mind Games are spoiling us silly right here. The magic is evident the moment those luxury drums swoop and dip on 'Sweet Memories'. More jazz than jungle, there's a cosmic urgency laced throughout that sets the tone for the whole EP. Elsewhere 'Peace Of Mind' goes full GLM with its dreamy pads and soft subs before 'Cloud Nine' finishes with a tender ravey hug. Music for the Mind Games, soul games and indeed body games.

Review: Following Tim Reaper's inaugural MINDGAME release earlier this month, along comes Eusebeia with another three gems to add to this Samurai sub-label collection. Taking off where he left us with his Rupture EP a while back, here the London artist gets even spacier and more cosmic as we hurtle around the jungle nebula. 'Way Back When' boasts some beautiful cascading pads and sudden dramatic switches, 'Days Gone By' gets into more of a microfunk situation with its super tight springy riff while 'Future Times' finishes off with a vibe and tone that's so serene you'd swear you've taken a wrong turn and found yourself in a place of worship. Phenomenal.

Review: It's been an exciting and prolific year for Eusebeia with releases on the likes of Future Retro, Samurai, Lore and Umai so far. Now Omni, too with 'Change Your Stars'; a dreamy escapade into the most cosmic corners of the jungle solar system. The title track put lightyears between the breaks and deep celestial voices and pads harmonise with tension in the background while 'Reconciliation' shimmers with an offkey soul that sits somewhere between Peshay and Orbital. Flip for 'Correspondence' where everything orbits around the brutalist breaks and 'Radiance' that lives up to its name with swooping jazzy keys and a strong sense of Detroit. Timeless.

Review: Offering another foursome of new tracks for Spatial Recordings comes Eusebeia with 'Age Of Awareness', charting a new topology of human understanding via the archetypal throughline that is drum & bass. Perhaps Eusebeia is aware that Apollo's son was the god of healing and remedies: A-sider 'Healing Properties' shoots for jungle of the least abrasive kind, lowpassing the breaks to allow a thick cloud of pads and synths, which dance about the mix. Also helping to cement Eusebeia's renaissance in sound is 'Scope Of Understanding', which clarifies the Overton window for a new sonic age; keeping to sampled-breaks orthodoxy but nonetheless pushing for a full reformation in breaks and ambience, blowing any and all potential competition out the park when it comes to sound design and sense of cosmic space.