Djrum - I Wander - Houndstooth
Felix Manuel has been pushing the boundaries of electronic dance music for years under his DJrum alias. Now, his first release since the impressive album Under Tangled Silence sees the light of day, once again on London-based Fabric sublabel Houndstooth.
DJrum has been part of the British tip of the spear since the early days – often described as the golden era of Dubstep, which started around 2010. Several tastemaker imprints such as On The Edge, 2nd Drop, and Smokin’ Sessions became the perfect platform for his sound to develop, before he released on institutions such as Ilian Tape, R&S Records, or Houndstooth. With fine, sensitive arrangements of warm basslines, steppin’ grooves, and – typical for that time – melancholic, if not downright cheesy vocal samples, such as Tension or Turiya, he perfectly captured the spirit of that era. We can agree he fully internalized and shaped this sound of Dubstep, but right from the beginning, he went further. Combining new, sound system-culture-leaning music with classical, mostly stringed instruments is a huge part of his signature sound: St. Martin, Plead With Me, or Forgetting are just a few of many examples.
His latest album Under Tangled Silence was the next step in his journey, mixing these previously described styles with the controlled chaos of Jazz and IDM. This intriguing combination is also to be found on his new 12” I Wander, which could be seen as a follow-up to the album. The release’s concept is to break the rigid approach of regarding tracks and full releases as detached from each other:
“What’s the difference between a song, a track, a work, a piece? I am interested in playing with these distinctions.”
I Wander is essentially produced as a single continuous piece, but all six individual tracks work independently. So the stripped-back naming of all titles from I to VI is a great choice.
A warm, simple 808 bassline builds the foundation of this intro, surrounded by modular play, subtle hi-hats in the background, and the vocal samples “I wander” and “Hello”. It continues flawlessly on II, while everything around it builds up and collapses frequently. Influences of IDM and Breakbeat, but also strong Jazz-leaning details, can be found here. Warm, organic sounds clash with distorted machine bleeps and scratch-like sounds – a style you might recognize if you’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing DJrum’s DJ sets. Tempo switches included, of course.
This work by Manuel is once again remarkably dynamic. He plays with expectations by stripping down the energy toward the end with a piano outro, only to build up even stronger afterward – almost warning the listener of III. This is an absolutely brutal weapon that turns from a heavy 140bpm techno stomper into a brain-melting 300+ bpm ride and back, reminiscing Aphex Twin’s raw hardcore aesthetics like Elephant Song. Flawlessly, he makes it back from that massacre to the warm, familiar bassline on IV, this time joined by IDM/breakbeat drum work and mesmerizing piano chords. Seemingly out of nowhere, they disappear and are replaced by harsh, dubstep-ish bass movement.
The drum-and-bass interplay continues on V, but a longing, deep, and sirenesque cello joins the jam. Just as he usually does in his DJ sets, DJrum uses triplet rhythm patterns to calm things down and build a bridge between DnB madness and immersive avant-classical. The final chapter, VI, is the exact non-dance-outro this masterpiece deserves. Careful flickering and jazzy cymbal highlights fly above warm, stretched basslines as well as tender strings and synth chords.
His play with the listener’s expectations is outstanding, and the production itself is crisp without ever feeling too sterile. This new release is simply another chapter in his unique cosmos, uniting experimental, UK-influenced dance music with jazz and ambient.
