Dego—one of the longest standing servants of the Broken Beat scene—gives us his most latest offering “The Negative Positive”, inundated with shuffling and sporadic electronic broken beats, swaggering bassweight and stuttering, jerking rhythmical syncopation overlaid by his idiosyncratic key work and brooding, assonant melodies. The album is a pinnacle of his musical output, a maturation of earlier Broken Beat and a more succinct amalgamation of Broken, urban electronic sounds with rawer Jazz moods and Funk energy.
“This Is A Message To You”, one of the album’s highlights, trundles and jerks to an unquantised kick pattern with a round, squelchy moog bassline bouncing around the midriff of the track—alongside which Nadine Charles’ vocals offer soulful reprise. The album’s title track “Negative Positive” offers up some interesting interplay between bass and guitar parts, a languid groover that ebbs to a 4-4 groove that makes you want to move. “Is It The Whole Truth” identifies heavily with the Broken aesthetic—arguably one of the most electronic tracks on the album—with a flatulent and funky bassline rolicking within the framework of an off-kilter time signature, underpinned with some great Jazz piano playing. A repetitive synth line and taught conga riffs compound the track’s rhythmical swagger.
Available only on vinyl in limited quantity, courtesy of 2000Black Records.
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