There are moments in culture where the script gets flipped. Someone or some people produce something that elevates and evolves their chosen field. Think of The Beatles writing and recording ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, David Lynch creating Eraserhead, Georgia O’Keeffe’s Ram’s Head. In the field of Breakbeat/Jungle/Drum and Bass, Goldie has been central to a few of these pivotal moments whether that be via his iconic album Timeless or via his label Metalheadz. However, to truly see his influence you have to look at his work that he recorded with various collaborators under the Rufige Kru moniker. The first to truly move the needle was the 1992’s seminal Terminator. This was Goldie working with Mark Rutherford and where time stretching was first introduced to Jungle thus becoming a foundational sound for the metamorphosis into Drum and Bass. As Jungle godfather Fabio says “this was serious, this was science”.
Rufige Kru (this time Goldie and Danny Goldstein) would, once more, push the art forward with the 2001 masterpiece ‘Beachdrifta’, a track full of beauty, scope and grinding breakbeats. ‘Beachdrifta’ is a line in the sand sort of track which makes everyone in the scene up their game.
And so it is that we now have a full length Rufige Kru album. Goldie’s partner this time is James Davidson (SubMotive) who he has collaborated with quite a bit of the last few years as Subjective but whereas their two albums together were soulful and crystalline, Alpha Omega is a dive into the deep, dark heart of very essence of Drum and Bass. Over its twelve tracks, Alpha Omega drags you back into the world of densely packed clubs and sweat soaked afterparties. This is not music built for stadiums and daytime radio which is a welcome relief because on the surface we are currently riding a wave of watered down Drum and Bass popularity (as the father of a 12 year old drum and bass-mad son I can attest to this). This isn’t to say that that form doesn’t have its merits. If it helps attract people, and multiple generations to this form of UK based culture then that is great, however Rufige Kru are not residing in that world.
Alpha Omega is full of sharp teeth, urban paranoia and harsh synthetic slices. It is an ominous album that has a few lighter moments (the gorgeous Sandcastles being the pick of the bunch) but mostly likes to stay in the shadows. We are presented with clattering claustrophobia (‘Still The Same’ which features Grime MC CASISDEAD), dread rhythms (‘Siamese Ghost’ which samples a haunting melody line from A Nightmare In Elm Street) and lurching sub-bass (‘Alpha Omega’) all of which are held together by an incredible level of detail. It is safe to say that this is one of the best sounding albums released this year as its density and design anchor the whole thing whilst also allowing enough space for you to discover multiple elements that only make themselves known after repeated listens.
What also makes Alpha Omega so good is that you can pull it apart and use any of the tracks on their own in a set yet they also fit together really well making it one of those rare Drum and Bass releases where the whole album feels connected via a narrative arc and not just a selection of tracks nailed together to help sell sell sell.
This is a deep, intense and intelligent love letter to club culture. This is one for the ‘headz. An album that celebrates its uniqueness and heritage without regressing back to pastiche. This is music to march forward to, to get lost in and to celebrate. This is Rufige Kru….’nuff said.
Rufige Kru: Instagram Goldie: Instagram | Website James Davidson: Instagram
Review by Simon Tucker
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