Roni Size / Reprazent - New Forms

In 1997 roni size/ reprazent won the most prestigious music award england offers, the mercury prize. Goldie, on the other hand, has never been nominated.

Don't get me wrong, i like timeless, but it's a darker, less accessible form of drum and bass. The clean, light, jazz feel that Reprazent created on this album has to this day, yet to be imitated, even by the Reprazent crew themselves.

Roni Size / Reprazent - New Forms is a well recognized, classic electronic album. one of the best ever created. It's hard enough to make a cohesive album, especially an electronic, or drum and bass album, genres that are geared to singles, but not only does Reprazent provide a satisfying album experience with new forms, they do it through two discs, truly an accomplishment, by a crew at the top of their game.

Back before listening stations were the norm, we had to buy things based on the recommendations of others. Buoyed by Goldie's "Timeless" double disc, I thought drum and bass was the future and could do no wrong. (Don't listen to that hipster record store clerk: he doesn't necessarily share your taste.) What a mistake this purchase was. Whereas "Timeless" was a lush synthesis of jazz and techno that took electronic music in a new direction, this disc seemed to be harbinger of drum and bass to come: lame rapping, simplistic tech-step beats, and the overall feeling that this was just a bunch of mediocre singles thrown together instead of a cogent album. The only track I really enjoyed was "Digital", but even that one ain't no "Sea of Tears."

Too bad. I bought this back when I had a lot less disposable income. It was downright painful to take it back to the record store the very next week and get about 1/10 of the price I'd paid for it as a trade-in. I'm wondering, how well has this aged to those who were wowed by it when it came out?

This IS one of those DnB albums you need to listen to, but it's not what you'd expect. The album is highly minamilistic, for one. Also, apart from one or two songs, the album is relatively forgetable. It's still a must-hear, but just don't get your expectations too high.

Excellent cd at the time allowing more people to be introduced to drum and bass, but for those already a fan, there's not a great deal of innovation on offer here. For pure listening pleasure though, this cd will impress.

Not quite as awe inspiring as many make out, but still a top quality album that has matured well. (Can't say that about a lot of Drum and Bass, can you?)

A good overview of the softer, more musical side of Roni and the rest of the Reprazent/Full Cycle crew: Suv, Die, Krust and to a lesser extent, Dynamite MC, who only actually features on one track here, but is a mainstay of their live shows, and the single mix of 'Brown Paper Bag'.

For a further look at the harder, more dancefloor orientated edge of what they do, check out last years, 'Live at Level' CD: True Bristol style sonic terrorism.