Breakbeat Science, the premier US label for Drum & Bass, continues its prestigious Exercise mixtape series. The fifth installment boasts the selections and mixing of DJ Clever, long time BBS employee and Offshore Recordings label boss. In the wake of such greats as Dara, Juju, Klute and DB, Clever joins the legacy with an upfront selection and his keen musical sensibility.
Last year's Troubled Waters established Clever as a halcyon in the current state of Drum & Bass. It gained praise from such music critics as Simon Reynolds, who deemed it "refreshing" and "the best drum 'n' bass mix CD I've heard in probably six and a half years." This interest along with it's 7.9 ranking from PItchfork Media spawned an intense blogger and music aficionado following for Clever and his Offshore imprint- which still runs rampant.
Continued touring and press along with a healthy output of stellar music on Offshore Recordings bring Clever to his Exercise 5 mix CD. He pools together forthcoming dubplates, current favorites and even a few classics. The result is the perfect bridge: dancefloor enough for the ravers, edgy enough for the chin strokers and evocative enough to bring back those who may have given up on Drum & Bass.
Exercise 5 sets off with the blaring horn and cracking break of Endemic Void's dynamic return, "Off the Market". The mix twists and turns from start to finish, never letting the mind or body wander. Highlights include:
-Warp Records artist Beans with his first ever venture into Drum & Bass territory, a futuristic robotic vocal anthem aptly coined "I Am Metal"
-Deep Blue (of Moving Shadow and Helicopter Tune fame) gets remixed by DB and Stakka on "Do You Voodoo?" and by Spirit on "Coral". He also remixes Black Rain's "Uptempo"
-Klute and Pieter K, both members of the Breakbeat Science family, showcase progressive beats.
-Clever even makes a production appearance in the form of Tundra, he and Morgan Packard, with a warm analog rhythm titled "Deep Sleep".
After delivering what many critics agreed was one of the best electronic albums of 2004, Clever once again raises the bar in 2005 with Exercise 5.
7.98
