RESPONSE レコード& CD

Review: Contemporary drum & bass bringers Response & Pliskin take a break from their pressurised plus-170 numbers for a dreamy foray into atmospheric breaks and liquid jungle. 'Live Ur Life' is a varied EP, beginning with the opening new age breaks of the title track, upon which we're geysered on high over humid rainforests of sound, while an ascendant vocalist - capable of wingless flight and incorporeality at will - accompanies us on our aloe vera-doused journey. Once we approach our quest's mythical, live-giving source, we're met with 'Virtuous' and 'Over The Hill', two raw yet revelatory Pandora's boxes uncovered somewhere deep in the heart of said jungle, and which both channel a dialectically calming yet ominous sound. Closer 'Hate Is Reality' refuses to deny hate as a fundamental composite of our lives, healthily channelling this extreme affect into a measured but heavy amen riffer.

Review: At this point Okbron is a byword for the best atmospheric d&b coming out these days and while they may have drawn people in with their archival and reissue offerings, they're just as vital for platforming new music. Response & Pliskin represent the best of Manchester's d&b scene, and they've delved into a particularly mellow sound world for this release. 'Soon Forgotten' is a dreamy, subtly haunting roller with a clean, crisp beat and fulsome subs you can just float on, while 'Mainstream' deals in more layered, evolving pad tones and diced up breaks without losing that light, airy feel you want from a proper atmospheric release.