Label
Future Retro
FRMOTM009
- Tim Reaper's collaborative series returns with four more cuts expanding the horizons of modern jungle.
- If I had to pick one drum & bass label that everyone should pay attention to, it'd be Tim Reaper's Future Retro. Last year, the London imprint's string of original releases featured a who's-who of the scene's most exciting names—Sully, Dwarde, Kloke, Ricky Force—and every release was a must-listen for junglists new and old. Now, as the genre reaches a new peak of visibility thanks to stars like Nia Archives and persistent TikTok trends, Reaper returns to Meeting Of The Minds, the collaborative series that gave Future Retro its raison d'etre as "the jungle testing grounds" (according to the label's Bandcamp page, anyways).
For each edition of Meeting Of The Minds, Reaper invites four producers to collaborate with him, lending his implicit seal of approval to veterans and newcomers alike. "Ambien Sequence," featuring former Instra:mental member Kid Drama, is the obvious highlight, making skillful use of delays and layering in the mix to create a hypnagogic effect that brings to mind the mournful synth experiments of early Oneohtrix Point Never records. Lead track "Tidal Waves," with Leeds producer Pixl, comes rushing out of the gate, drums moving with speed and ferocity before a dreamy synth patch and reggae vocal sample wash over.
The mood switches from sublime to sinister on the B-side. "Demolition" with Metalheadz and RuptureLDN vet Quartz features plodding bass, minor chords and intense breakbeat workouts. "Switch Up The Pattern" with Gremlinz opens with a sad, spooky synth melody that quickly gives way to rapid-fire, crunchy drums and distorted breaks. With further collabs featuring Parallel, Ben Kei, X-Altera, Sheba Q and No Nation on Vol. 10, which dropped the same day, Meeting Of The Minds' triumphant return signals that Future Retro will more than likely be running jungle for at least another year, no matter what pops up on TikTok.
Tracklist01. Pixl & Tim Reaper - Tidal Waves
02. Kid Drama & Tim Reaper - Ambien Sequence
03. Quartz & Tim Reaper - Demolition
04. Gremlinz & Tim Reaper - Switch Up The Patterns