METROPOLIS N by NIGELTHREETIMES

The latest offering from Astral Black comes in the form of the 'Metropolis N' LP, courtesy of NIGELTHREETIMES - Queens, New York's premier importer/exporter of Jungle & D&B.

Currently holding down residencies on both Rinse FM & The Lot Radio, Nigel initially built a reputation as one of New York City's most versatile club DJ's. Though with the release of 2020's 'Call Of The Void' project, Nigel also began to build a reputation as a producer in their own right, resulting in radio support from the likes of Tom Ravenscroft & Uniiqu3 and editorial from Resident Advisor, OkayPLAYER & Mixmag – amplifying their talents throughout New York City and beyond.

With 'Metropolis N' NIGELTHREETIMES distills their eclectic influences through the lens of rolling 160bpm breaks – taking in Jazz, 8-bit game soundtracks, science fiction & jump up D&B. Starting off the LP with the rhodes tinged double header of 'TSQ MELTDOWN' & 'EARLY MORNING FROM 103RD STREET', the latter featuring some of the best double bass work heard on a jungle track since 'Brown Paper Bag'.

Elsewhere, on 'ROAD2RAILS' and 'PHANTOM SHORES', the producer ditches the instrumentation in favour of oscillated square waves, dubbed out vocal FX & 8-bit melodies, without ever losing site of the projects underlying sense of optimism. On the album closer 'INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION', 3X manages to bring together the influences heard throughout the project, tying together muted rhodes chords, squarewave basslines, flutters of alien melodies and finely tuned, slices breakbeats into a 5 minute symphony.

The consistency and exacting production skills heard throughout the offering elevate this project from another drop in the digital ocean, to a landmark opus from a producer carrying the torch for this timeless sound, making the project worthy of a spot alongside some of the classics this genre has produced.

'Metropolis N' drops in full Oct 13th on digital and limited edition vinyl via Astral Black.