New Forms [Single Disc]

Personnel includes: Roni Size, DJ Krust, DJ Die, Suv, Onallee, Bahamadia.
Personnel: Onallee (vocals); Tyrell ? (guitar); Steve Graham (acoustic guitar); Adrian Place (saxophone); Clive Deamer (drums).
Audio Mixers: DJ Suv; Roni Size.
Photographer: Vikki Jackman.
Unknown Contributor Role: Bahamadia .
Arranger: DJ Tobs.
By far the funkiest of the numerous high-profile drum 'n' bass albums released in 1997, NEW FORMS, by Bristol, UK DJ Roni Size and his crew Reprazent, is one of the few that sounds as if it has a chance to appeal to the uninitiated. The basic drum 'n' bass design--high-speed breakbeats, minimal melodic underpinning, diva vocals--remains. Size and his partners apply the blueprint to song forms instead of soundscape/groove collages, and they don't chintz on textures, infusing the digital whole with numerous analog sounds.
Even the vocals stand apart from that of most club-ready albums. Two superb raps hint at the possibility of a hip-hop/d'n'b alliance that would serve both musics: MC Dynamite's crunching opener "Railing" and Bahamadia's work on the title track harken back to the days when rappers could move the dance-floor with a rhythm other than the funky mid-tempo. And even the instrumental workouts, like the mesmerizing "Brown Paper Bag," which rotates on samples of a stand-up bass and an acoustic guitar, have the sort of hooks and grooves that just aren't found on most electronic music platters. NEW FORMS is an album that remarkably lives up to its bold title.