Over the last two years drum 'n' bass has been gradually rising out of its harder, darker, nastier phase. It was a period that threatened to lock the music into a cul de sac and it's largely thanks to a few producers, such as Total Science, that the music managed to turn around and come back out to grab the mainstream recognition it deserves again.
All of which makes Total Science, aka Q Project and Spinback, the obvious choice to compile and mix React's follow-up to the recent storming 'Drum 'n Bass Arena' compilation.
But more to the point, it means we get to enjoy a couple of TS cuts, most significantly the sheer production mastery of 'Manhattan Transfer', as well as Q Project's 'R-Factor' and perfectly selected tracks from acts such as Cause4Concern ('Timestopper'), Decoder ('Fuk U') and Davide Carbonne ('Innocence').
The inclusion of the new school funkier acts, such as Cause4Concern, Carbonne and Kemal and Rob Data, gives the album a fresh energy, but this in no way means we're given a light or easy journey. For starters the album is ripped through the middle first by Decoder and then, more decisively, by Dagga's 'Analogue Vision'.
React are no strangers to drum 'n' bass compilations (earlier ones include Artcore and 'The Darkside of Drum & Bass') but this does mark a significant return to the field. And it happens to be a field that's increasingly stuffed with Premier League players.
