Drum & Bass has been getting quite a beating since the 'invention' of dubstep in the mid-00s. "It's too fast" or "it's macho music" are the usual accusations and to some extent they're warranted...it's difficult too play with space, composition and melody at such tempos and, yes, anyone whose been clubbing to d&b knows that the guy/girl ratio leans heavily toward one side. This being said d&b was one of the most innovative scenes in electronic music and is responsible for a lot for the sounds we hear today, especially in dusbtep circles (basslines and drum sounds from the dark era of d&b - the whole "who has the roughest bassline" competition isn't a dubstep novelty after all) and even in techno (atmospherics from the lates 90s and the Metalheadz era - just check out this hommage mix by techno masterminds Raime). However, having just heard this Physical Therapy remix of Elite Gymnastics' "So Close to Paradise 3", we're tempted to raise a 'new sub-genre alert'...is this the return of d&b in a romanticised retro lo-fi packaging? The sound of the 90s is coming back in many ways: balearic Ibiza nostalgia with Air France, instrumental hip-hop with Clams Casino or, more recently, Chicago house. This track even features a carefully selected slice of the Faithless spoken word vocal sample from their decade defining "Insomnia" hit, taking the track to 90s cult-classic levels. Regardless of the potential wider significance of this track (we might be reading to much into this but once u hear it, you'll understand what we mean), we highly suggest you give it an objective listen below (or download it for free via the Fader):
