Description
DAV013
With their 13th release, Dubs Alive Records is here to introduce to you a most outstanding new artist, Modi Bardo. Distinct in sound and contrast, Modi Bardo’s jaw dropping debut LP, ‘Ancestors’ goes well beyond genre and formula. In a world dominated by DJ friendly clichés, this new artist has charged out of the gates, breaking down the barriers and reminding us that beats for the dance floor can also speak to the deepest music lover.
Modi Bardo creates dub anthems, tapping a rootsy-psychadelia that originally grabbed the ears of Dubs Alive. Songs like OG Dubbist, Bardo of Dub, and Off Channel reach the original Jamaican dub aesthetic via warm, rich analogue tape sound. Next, contrast is integrated with a heavy weight, unique hi-fi edge that oozes deeply out of big sound systems. These songs pack a dub punch that hits you in all the right places. Shining with clarity and culture, Obeah Man slips in with dancehall luster. Drum machine beats refined to platinum status drive Obeah Man while its tonality and minimalism keep the unconscious locked in. Conversely, Sun Faded fragments with layer upon layer of broken vintage sampler tones and destructive synth sounds riding on abstractly pocket hip-hop and island beats.
The rumbling drums in Bloodfire Hustle distinguish Modi Bardo as a boom bap master with its anthemic dubstep synth drop that absolutely smashes the dance floor. Just when you think your dome will blow, it implodes. Bloodfire Hustle defies the rules and heads in a beautifully deep, dubby direction at the second drop. While still retaining the massive throb of classic hip hop drums, the tune ascends into a heavenly lush altitude and peaks above the atmosphere just enough to take a quick look down before it dissolves. The soul of Modi Bardo is truly highlighted in the distant, abstract morality so seemingly encrypted in the emotive tune, ReWild. This song and The Coolie Rockers Remix engage relaxation and awareness as they weave in and out of dimensions, with sub- divisions changing so much, yet keeping a beautifully fat pocket. The tunes are avant, yet cohesive with tension balanced by warm synth pads and sneaky dub samples throughout.
Calling in the Mothership Connection, Modi Bardo brings a J Dilla swagg and a thizz-faced throbber of a baseline with Slumpelstiltskin. Drunkenly karate chopping you right between your nine to fives, this romper mischievously explores the line between off the hook and off the grid. Its playful melody imbibes serious character with a dance floor banging bump.
In this same funked up spirit, Electrifying Bobo flexes Modi Bardo’s insane editing tastes with its tilted rhythm and fog engulfed chorus. One of the hardest tunes on the record, this glitch-hopped wreck machine rumbles the vibe and tweaks the mind.
Flowing like a Jimi Hendrix album, Modi Bardo takes us on a true journey of sound that is not afraid to dip into a cavern of influences. In the labyrinth of delay trails, poly-rhythmic layered samples, reverb swells, and side chained tape hiss, we find massive, driving, dance floor beats and basslines that are clearly in charge when the time is right. The music goes everywhere, from peak hour glitch-hop, to laidback dub techno. Though introspective at times, Ancestors retains an overall positive vibration painted in rich waves of growly darkness. Whether you’re a classic IDM fan, a deep reggae dub plate collector, or a DJ looking for the heaviest track to drop on a 3 AM sweatbox, Modi Bardo has brought you something different yet surprisingly familiar to love.
