#Calibre reviews series#

'Time To Breathe' underlines Martin's emotive and lyrical capacities as a producer, an expansive, reverberant interlude. Against echoing pad stabs, DRS's vocal hook rings out: 'Cah your ting say you're badman / But youРІР‚в„ўve never been bad in your lifetime.' The MC's second contribution to Feeling Normal arrives with 'Say Enough' an intriguing reconfiguration of 2-step and dancehall influences. On 'Badman,' for example, captivating ambience gives way to a cavernous, rolling beat reminiscent of early dubstep. At the one minute mark, a deep, sub-bass driven beat appears, foreshadowing the sonic depths in which Calibre will plunge listeners throughout the record. Crucially, however, the opening track 'Barren' quickly signals the the LP's rhythmic intensity: a tinny percussive sequence rattles through a high-pass filter and against the roof of your brain, as pads drift in the backdrop. You can sense traces of another recent creative detour, 2019's ambient album Planet Hearth, in the album's tense, atmospheric introduction. Various compositions around the 140 BPM mark have gradually piled up in MartinРІР‚в„ўs portfolio since. The title track, which scatters piano chords across a choppy garage beat, was first written on Valentia Island in Ireland around seven years ago. On his February RA Podcast, Calibre showcased his sonic versatility in a mix that moved smoothly through warm ambience, swaggering dub, funky garage and tight, pulsating drum & bass. Centred around 140 BPM, the album shifts from experimental ambience to skippy garage through lumbering dubstep, all the while retaining elements of the distinct, highly musical drum & bass sound the Northern Irish producer and DJ has cultivated over two decades.

#Calibre reviews series#

Wedged between two editions of the Irish producer's long-established drum & bass series Shelflife, Feeling Normal underlines Calibre's artistic versatility.