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Single Reviews
EP Review: The Bug – Infected EP (Ninja Tune)
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 17 November 2010
It’s been a busy year for the Ninja Tune team, who have been celebrating 20 years at the head of their game with parties and concerts and a whole load of great back catalogue releases. But can the London indie still come up with goods when it comes to new material? You bet.
In 2008, The Bug, aka producer Kevin Martin, released ‘London Zoo’ on Ninja Tune to critical acclaim. With a divergent body of sound, found in the intertwining cultures of London, Martin created a distinctive form that shared similar sonic space to Kode 9, Skream and Digital Mystikz.
Now, in 2010, Martin has returned with more spaced out adventures on the ‘Infected’ EP. The release leads with two reworked and revocaled tracks from ‘London Zoo’, ‘Skeng’ and ‘Poison Dart’, featuring singer Hitomi, who Martin utilised for the King Midas Sound venture, and the irrepressible, charismatic Roots Manuva respectively. Both tracks flow with a unique sense of space that Martin has managed to distil into a perfect form.
‘Catch A Fire’ – originally ‘Skeng’ – also now features Godflesh guitarist Justin Broadrick, who Martin has worked with previously on numerous projects, including Techno Animal. On this he layers up the wide expanse of the bass line with a guitar lick that is disturbingly atmospheric, bringing an extra dimension to the track.
‘Infected’ also features two remixes of the same original tracks, the much lauded Autechre remix of ‘Skeng’ and Scratcha DVA’s take on ‘Poison Dart’. Both start where ‘London Zoo’ left off, expanding the sound and adding extra depth and scope. SJS
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