The Incumbent

About this release

About The Incumbent

If you like your D&B on the menacing side and you’re not already familiar with Fortitude then this release should be more than enough to whet your appetite. His latest work for Russian imprint Harder & Louder provides a miniature tour of the harder styles of D&B, and the tracks on show are top notch all round.

Red Shift kicks things off with a slice of dark, breakbeat-driven tech reminiscent of the golden era of Dom & Roland. Sci-fi-tinted pads, crunchy bass and tough but precise percussion; yes please! Incumbent ups the ante, bringing the bass to an animalistic snarl and adding a layer of distortion to the chaotically chopped breaks.

Last but by no means least, Succeed Control provides a dirty little roller that harks back to the time when neuro meant dirty bass and funky drums, not the level of precision and sheen currently associated with the genre.

— DNB Dojo, dnbdojo.co.uk