- Drum & bass Dutchman Jeroen Snik has built up a solid discography based around clean, melodic productions, but it was his Minimal Dub / Xylophobia dubstep twelve from 2010 that (rightfully) got him attention outside of 170 BPM circles. The second single taken from Icicle's debut album Under the Ice is another dubstep single, and like much of that album, they're heavily polished vocal tracks, taking the pummeling thrust of "Minimal Dub" and slapping a nice coat of vaseline over top. Comparisons to Photek abound: Snik has tapped Robert Owens for "Redemption," and the aging vocalist performs almost as well in his role here as in the hallowed days of Solaris. His tremulous moan fights to be heard above cresting waves of LFO and a busy, multi-limbed percussive background. "Breathing Again"—featuring emphatic diva vocals from Proxima—dresses up Icicle's now-trademark mix of pinpoint drums and snorting midrange bass with dramatic, uplifting synths, caught somewhere in between paranoia and ecstasy. A promising salvo for an album that looks to be one of the highlights of 2011's polyglot bass music.
Tracklist A Breathing Again feat. Proxima
B Redemption feat. Robert Owens