For many years, UK Garage artist albums ceased to be a thing. It's only in recent times (as the genre has gained traction once more) that we've heard stellar efforts from the likes of Sammy Virji, Soulecta, Phonetix & Stave. One might question the validity of the LP in the modern streaming era - &, generally speaking, that's a valid stance without doubt. But where a strong enough concept is imagined or an artist with enough momentum simply throws together a big body of work: it can mean nothing but excitement for true fans of this niche.
& few artists in NUKG have as much momentum right now as MPH - a guy it seems hasn't set a foot wrong in years. Whilst Apple's styleguide might dictate that '132.000FM' was listed as an album, it might be fairer to specify it as an EP. Released this week on Night Bass, 'Refraction' is something of a milestone (pun intended) for the young producer. His single biggest body of work released in one go, it marks a level-up from singles & EPs, & is a big leap for any artist.
Thankfully, if there's one artist who could convincingly make that leap - it's MPH (not that that was ever in doubt!). The superb 15-track offering showcases MPH's high-level engineering abilities, whilst - artistically - he continues to deliver bangers in every sub-genre UKG has to offer, as he has done throughout his tenure over the last five years. Whether it's the bumpy, sidechained musical 4x4 of 'Cadence', hard-hitting bass-heavy, chopped up vocal rollers like 'Just Like' & 'Shoot To Kill', Dubstep-twinged 'Funk Master', brutally gritty stepper 'North LDN' or the sole Jungle offering on the release 'Crowd Rolling' - you can be assured that it's all top-drawer.
We could break it down & write-up each track in detail, but you'll really gleam more by just wrapping your own ears around the release! Do it now, thank us later.
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