- As one of the members of the Reprazent crew alongside Roni Size, Die and Krust, Suv is definitely one man who can be trusted to deliver awesome drum’n’bass tunes. He’s been described as the “Lee Perry of drum’n’bass”, mainly due to the heavy dub basslines incorporated into each of his compositions. So what can we expect from Suv when he releases a mix CD? Reggae, dub and drum’n’bass? Of course! However, after the release of his debut album, Desert Rose, Suv’s been known to incorporate the Latin and Indian sound…
… and kicking the mix off with February confirms that fact. Spanish guitar, trumpet and the vocals of Max De Castro fit Suv’s drum’n’bass beats and heavy bass well. Smith & Mighty’s remix of Big Youth’s Jim Screechy amps up the bass even more, sounding like it stepped out of 97’s jump-up era and it can’t seem to make up it’s mind whether it is at drum’n’bass tempo or at a half speed reggae dub.
Suv’s Making Waves brings back the latin vibes and the vocals by Patricia Marx sound like she’s been lifted off a classic song by Antonio Carlos Jobim (of Desafinado and Girl From Ipanema fame), then tears into his typical Reprazent style, with Give It To Me Now featuring Darrison on emcee duties – it’s about here where Suv leaves the world music theme behind and mainly gets into his own drum’n’bass groove, he even adds a little R&B influenced drum’n’bass into the mix with Heist’s Show Me.
Capoeira is a summertime dancefloor bomb! Infrared takes the vocals of Gil Felix and lays them on a wicked beat that is sure to get people dancing, but the tune that captures the whole vibe of this mix has to be Greg Packer’s Fiesta Latina featuring Cuban horns and a phat bassline, just another example of the awesome production work of one of Australia’s most talented and respected producers in the drum’n’bass scene.
I did mention the Indian vibes, and they come in at the end of the mix with Punjabi MC’s soon to be classic Mundian To Bach Ke - Knight Rider, tablas and Punjabi vocals never sounded so good – all before closing off with Sunu Tabla. Drum’n’bass? No! This time it’s tabla’n’bass and the small Indian drums are used to good effect.
Overall Suv’s cooked up a pretty potent mix of drum’n’bass including Latin Influences, Indian vibes and some Reggae business. This is a mix perfect for the summer and a good one for us in the southern hemisphere to shake off the winter chill and picture ourselves in 6 months time. Now all he needs is to visit the sounds of the east and start incorporating the pentatonic scales!