For his debut album, Swindle has teamed up with Deep Medi to bring us ‘Long Live the Jazz’. Having previously worked with Roll Deep, Chipmunk and Professor Green, Swindle is no stranger to a grime/pop crossover and can provide a successful street formula when called upon. None of that can be found here, though.
The album is strongest when Swindle allows his pop influences to show, and in its brashest moments. Running Cold (with a guest appearance from Terri Walkler) is a perfect example of this. It's very Transylvanian (a creepy theme seems to - intentionally or not - run through the record), but also bold, with bassy undertones littered beneath the vocals.
Last Minute Boogie gives us further evidence of Swindle’s future in soundtracking horror films. It's a smorgasbord of sound that manages to anchor itself with spooky robotics, while When I Fly Away comes on like Owl City after a hard life on the street.
Another highlight is Ignition, a made-for-dubstep pop classic split open by grime verses from Footsie and vocals from NadiaSuliman - this is a book Katy B could take a few leaves out of.
Alas, one of the album’s weaknesses is its susceptibility to a crappy sound system. Now, Avicii might just be good enough on your £20 stereo to get half-cut teenagers dancing at a party, but Swindle’s intricate inclusion of Halloween-style dubstep, punch in-the-face beats and silky neo-soul are so easily lost on the way out of half-assed speakers. This one requires a system worthy of the job.
The man’s insistence on genre-bending deserves praise, as it’s done so effortlessly. Start Me Up is probably the record’s greatest moment of pure, unadulterated dubstep, but even that contains oddities like a medieval male voice choir, brass and strings for your eardrums to feast on.
At its best, 'Long Live the Jazz' a genuinely enjoyable adventure into the mind of one of Britain’s best producers. One for intrepid musical explorers everywhere.
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