ASC
(NonPlus+ Records)
While the man behind Nothing Is Certain is known for his drum 'n' bass production, those who are familiar with James "ASC" Clements' work likely consume it for its broad-spanning, heavily atmospheric appeal - this is not the d'n'b your friends have told you about. Nothing Is Certain combines various rhythmic patterns and divergent textures for mysterious, dense results. Clements weaves in dubstep influences, deep and reverberating drum sounds, and midtempo techno to get the distinct compositions that characterize his debut full-length for NonPlus+, the London-based label run by likeminded techno/d'n'b producers Instra:mental.
"Opus" is aptly identified toward the close of Nothing Is Certain. It features experimental dubstep producer/Clements' wife Vaccine, and its crisp snare shots and glassy synths pair nicely with powerful countermelodies and airy swirls padding the track's busy percussive end. "Opus" is layered and rhythmically propulsive, with a sporadic vocal materializing to haunting effect. This is how vocals are used on Nothing throughout-they're little more than fragments, augmented with delay, and then gradually disintegrating like cigarette smoke. "Losing You" doesn't move in the frustrating, angry manner that one might suspect; Clements employs the same sampled vocal approach and a delicate d'n'b framework on the percussion end. Synth chords rush to the fore at each turn as they do for "The Depths," with the producer adding minor bits here and there for murkier effect, driving any sense of certainty far out of reach.
DOWNLOAD: "The Depths," "Opus" DOMINIC UMILE
