Photek has never really fitted perfectly into the mould of your average drum and bass producer, being one of the first to sign a major label deal in an attempt to pull his unique pared-down sound out of the underground and court a wider audience.
As a consequence his Eastern-influenced minimalism, like the machine creations of Aphex Twin before him, found some favour amongst the indie audience, even prompting a brief flirtation with drum and bass in the rock press. Here, he returns to his roots in early Chicago house and rave to escape the flagging d&b scene, despite having a trademark on possibly the most enduring sound to emerge from the clatter of all those break-beats.
Like other drum & bass producers who have fled the herd, there's a breaks element to what Photek is doing on 'Solaris' - after all who could resist making full use of those drum programming skills - but Chicago and Sheffield really form the backdrop to the sound. The bass is heavy throughout, oscillating between frequencies in a clear nod to the early Warp Records releases from Nightmares On Wax, LFO and Sweet Exorcist.
Detroit and Germany make cameos as well. 'Mine To Give' sounds like Basic Channel's Maurizio with a rave bassline and legendary Chicago house vocalist Robert Owens cooing over the top.
Owens is Photek's key collaborator on this release spreading the warm human textures that characterise his classic recordings onto Photek's even more austere electronic soundtrack. 'Can't Come Down', for instance, appears to be a typically sparse and perfect Photek drum & bass production until Owens joins in with some perfectly pitched Chicago-style vocals. Complimenting these, a Juno bass effect is introduced in the style of Mr Fingers' classic 'Can You Feel It' for just the slightest hint of analogue warmth, setting the vocals off to perfection.
'Infinity' - a lashing bit of stealthy Zen drum & bass - will please the purists, whilst the track from which the album takes its title is surprisingly uneventful. Things slow off as the album winds down, but even on the near catatonic 'Halogen' and 'Lost Blue Heaven' Photek's sound is unmistakable, though his penchant for minimalism leaves little room for the rich complexities of artists like Tricky, despite the obvious similarities in pace and mood.
Last year's 'Bleeps Tune' proved conclusively that he could do drum & bass better than anyone else around, 'Solaris' proves that he has the nerve and range to go beyond it, continuing to source new sounds and create rewarding albums. The best, you feel however, is yet to come.
