- Cosmic Bridge, the label founded by Om Unit, isn't the most prolific imprint, with just nine EPs released in the four years it's been running. But quality is more important than quantity, and Cosmic Bridge has certainly been reliable, releasing lurching half-step—the sound Om Unit dubbed "slow/fast"—from both established names (Boxcutter and Kromestar) and relative newcomers (EAN, Danny Scrilla and Moresounds). Cosmology is the first compilation from the label, and the whole family is featured.
"Nuff Music," a collaboration between between Om Unit and Moresounds, is a strong opening statement. It manages to update the jungle template without merely splicing together other genres or sounding like a pastiche. The other Moresounds track here, "Sound Bizness," is another highlight, a tight half-step number with a ridiculously dubby, swaggering drum pattern. The VIP version of Danny Scrilla's "X" is everything you want from a VIP—the main body of the tune is left nearly intact, with just a little more madcap flare to excite the crowd. EAN's "I Bus The Mic,", an uptempo roller, owes as much to the resurgent grime scene as drum & bass and jungle.
Some tracks don't fare as well. Boxcutter's contribution, "Active Transformation," is a cheesy, sci-fi indebted cut that doesn't come close to Gnosis, his 2013 debut on the label. Other tracks don't add anything new to the conversation. Take Epoch's remix of "Hunch", which despite nice percussive flourishes sounds more like it was made in '06 than today, and actually feels more dated than the 2012 original. And Kromestar's "V7STX" could have been lifted straight from the LA beat scene circa 2008. The same charge could be levelled at Om Unit and Danny Scrilla's "Gentrification," a weighty slice of classic sounding digidub, though the sample of Giles the Brixton Foxtons representative that opens the track makes the whole think feel rather self-aware. (For those not based in the UK, Foxtons is an estate agency, the arrival of which signals the end of affordable housing in the area.) On other compilations, these tracks could be highlights, but when put next to material on Cosmology and on the label in general, they become middle of the road. Cosmic Bridge have pushed the boat out too far for that.
Tracklist01. Om Unit & Moresounds - Nuff Music
02. Kromestar - V7STX
03. Danny Scrilla X Om Unit - Hunch (Epoch Remix)
04. Danny Scrilla - X (VIP)
05. Moresounds - Sound Bizness
06. EAN - I Bus The Mic
07. Boxcutter - Active Transformation feat. Star Fu
08. Danny Scrilla X Epoch - Geometry
09. Om Unit X Danny Scrilla - Gentrification