Unless you have fallen lifeless somewhere thru the cracks you’ve more than likely witnessed Cambridge come Londoners The Nextmen, also known as Brad Baloo and Dom Search, at one of their many sweaty styled-out club sets, festival-stopping performances or heard their incendiary mixtapes on the neighbourhood ghetto blaster.
This eclectic production duo have carved another shiny gem from London’s lovely low-end underbelly with a mix of electronic music styles in the form of their fourth studio LP ‘Join The Dots’ due to hit the streets in August. In typical Nextmen fashion the game has been sonically upped to dizzying heights as ‘Join The Dots’ progressed like a paint by numbers prayer of affection through all the genres and styles that are loved by the pair and their fans alike. The album was born from their explosive and eclectic DJ sets, which have been the focus of global critical acclaim over the last 12 years. Making this connection between music they love be it dancehall, drum’n’bass, instrumental and actual hip hop, soul, funk, dubstep, indie, leftfield, ambient, pop and straight-up hands in the air party jacking pleasers, is something Baloo and Search always strive to achieve, weaving their way on 4 turntables with mastery and abandon, laced with their own sought after mash-up edits, bootlegs and specials. This studio record is certainly a reflection and reaction to what they have accomplish as DJs and a natural follow up to their last critically acclaimed album ‘This Was Supposed To Be The Future’ (released in June 2007)
‘Join The Dots’ has those classic Nextmen moments. ‘The Lions Den’ is testimony to that and features co-production from fellow former Cambridge resident Andy Cato, (Groove Armada) and a stunning return to form from the mighty Ms. Dynamite in a tune that is set to burn down dancefloors all summer long. Other performances include stellar contributions from long-time Nextmen collaborator Dynamite MC on the new-reggae sound of ‘So Many Girls’ and The Meters inspired hip hop feel-good throw-down that is ‘Round Of Applause’. Further moments to inspire the skank and wobble come from the likes of Banana Clan Man Jimmy Screech, newcomers Betty Steeles and Roll Deep affiliate Kivanc, but it also tilts its hat in a major way to the electronic/dance/club music world, something the lads have been keen to do for a long time, with their DJ sets more so inclusive of all good music directions in recent years.
Elsewhere on the record features come in the form of Lindsay West on ‘Burn’, an emotional and detailed piece of electronic nu-folk with haunting strings and crisp, tight drums, not to mention the powerful instrumental tracks again as nods towards the dancefloor in the form of ‘Stay At Home’, complete with punishing beats and basslines and on the stunning title track ‘Join The Dots’, which has been described as ‘underwater jungle’.
This eclectic production duo have carved another shiny gem from London’s lovely low-end underbelly with a mix of electronic music styles in the form of their fourth studio LP ‘Join The Dots’ due to hit the streets in August. In typical Nextmen fashion the game has been sonically upped to dizzying heights as ‘Join The Dots’ progressed like a paint by numbers prayer of affection through all the genres and styles that are loved by the pair and their fans alike. The album was born from their explosive and eclectic DJ sets, which have been the focus of global critical acclaim over the last 12 years. Making this connection between music they love be it dancehall, drum’n’bass, instrumental and actual hip hop, soul, funk, dubstep, indie, leftfield, ambient, pop and straight-up hands in the air party jacking pleasers, is something Baloo and Search always strive to achieve, weaving their way on 4 turntables with mastery and abandon, laced with their own sought after mash-up edits, bootlegs and specials. This studio record is certainly a reflection and reaction to what they have accomplish as DJs and a natural follow up to their last critically acclaimed album ‘This Was Supposed To Be The Future’ (released in June 2007)
‘Join The Dots’ has those classic Nextmen moments. ‘The Lions Den’ is testimony to that and features co-production from fellow former Cambridge resident Andy Cato, (Groove Armada) and a stunning return to form from the mighty Ms. Dynamite in a tune that is set to burn down dancefloors all summer long. Other performances include stellar contributions from long-time Nextmen collaborator Dynamite MC on the new-reggae sound of ‘So Many Girls’ and The Meters inspired hip hop feel-good throw-down that is ‘Round Of Applause’. Further moments to inspire the skank and wobble come from the likes of Banana Clan Man Jimmy Screech, newcomers Betty Steeles and Roll Deep affiliate Kivanc, but it also tilts its hat in a major way to the electronic/dance/club music world, something the lads have been keen to do for a long time, with their DJ sets more so inclusive of all good music directions in recent years.
Elsewhere on the record features come in the form of Lindsay West on ‘Burn’, an emotional and detailed piece of electronic nu-folk with haunting strings and crisp, tight drums, not to mention the powerful instrumental tracks again as nods towards the dancefloor in the form of ‘Stay At Home’, complete with punishing beats and basslines and on the stunning title track ‘Join The Dots’, which has been described as ‘underwater jungle’.
