Final Oscillations

This is a compendium (reissue) of the two volumes of Oscillations material plus the remix album through which Laswell staked his claim in the drum and bass movement of a decade ago now. Since this was near the front end of the d ‘n’ b era, things are pretty straightforward – deep basslines, double, triple, and quadruple speed “drum” breaks and a bit of frippery to keep things varied. Conclusion, ten years on: the project started out hot (and those parts remain an exciting listen) but degenerated into a mind-numbing morass by the second volume

CD 1:
1. Percussion-focused
2. Fat bassline and flutes
3. Frantic drums, laid-back bass
4. Relatively natural drum track and pretty melodic bass part (though the bass is hardly there)
5. Monster bass groove
6. A bit of an Eastern drone at the start, then a pretty brutal drum track and a stalking bass; almost rock
7. Another monster bassline over a simple but insistent rhythm; reminds me a lot actually of Aphrodite’s jump-up style
8. Cut-up; glitchy, choppy
9. More hip-hop than d ‘n’ b but still has that outlaw spirit, sick samples, chopped up rap (with the f-word semi-prominent)
10. Downbeat and ominous, in the Wordsound style that Spectre is known for – no vox though


CD 2:
1. Mellow bass verses alternating with distorted guitar power-chord choruses
2. Nondescript burbly bass
3. Slow dub piece with lots of random bits coming and going in the mix
4. Mid-tempo and perhaps a bit evocative of a left-field thriller’s soundtrack
5. Mildly aggressive buzzing over standard breaks
6. The (ever-so-slightly) Indian breakbeat mix … well, there’s a tabla, after all
7. And another unmemorable doze-fest to finish