In @ the Deep End

Nookie's first full-length album in seven years reaffirms his position at the forefront of the U.K. drum'n'bass scene as if he'd never left. However, where his earlier album, The Sound of Music (1995), was released by Selector Records and was much akin to 4 Hero's work for the same label, In@thedeepend is released by Good Looking Records and is much akin to LTJ Bukem's work for the same label. The tracks on this album represent the lighter and more musical side of drum'n'bass — no monstrous basslines from hell and nightmarish motifs like much U.K. drum'n'bass in the early 2000s, but rather a pleasant array of live-sounding instrumentation and some lingering ambience quietly tucked behind the percussion. Furthermore, Nookie even collaborates with one of Good Looking's MCs, DRS, for "Pushing the Vibe," a very Bukemesque track that's surely an album highlight, along with "Natural Experience," which features a subtle use of vocals along with some of the trademark dolphin-like sounds associated with Good Looking. And, just to prove that he's one of the most versatile drum'n'bass producers out there despite his longtime inactivity, Nookie even throws in an homage to old-school Detroit techno, the "No UFO's"-sounding "Stepping Back [Made in Detroit Mix]." By the time you make it all the way through the nine epic tracks filling this album, you can't help but hope Nookie producer Gavin Cheung continues to release tracks through Good Looking rather than drop out of the scene again, as he'd done following his previous and also impressive album in 1995.