The Bug Pressure
Antonio Gramsci said, “We are forced into an interregnum in which the old is dying […]
Antonio Gramsci said, “We are forced into an interregnum in which the old is dying and the new cannot yet be born.” He might as well have been talking about contemporary electronic music. But Kevin “Techno Animal” Martin, hardly a newcomer to harsh, rhythmic music, gives birth to the new on this mandatory record, which rounds up the best ragga vocalists in the UK and Germany to voice heavy, swollen, lease-breaking rhythm tracks. Don’t worry, Tikiman is in full effect, alongside Daddy Freddy and Roger Robinson. Martin can turn basslines on a dime, and his pneumatic-drill percussion turns every track into a melee. And this record also grooves. The raucous “Politicians and Paedophiles” and the bass pulsing sonar sweep of “Living Dub” are but two of the gems here. Ignore Martin’s output at your peril-he’s an important ally in a fallen world.