<p><span><span>- It sure is an odd time to be an electronic dance music creator. UK based drum’n’bass producer Nectax dropped his new <em>Source Code</em> EP this week to a country where social events are legally restricted to outdoor meetings, two metres apart, with one other person. The UK dance scene is used to navigating illegal gathering laws, but that used to apply to raves in the forest, not going to the shop to buy a record.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>This hasn’t stopped new music being made, mind you. In fact, at the rate Nectax moves he could have another three releases out by the time UK lockdowns are scheduled to end on June 21st. Current conditions may not be the most conducive to enjoying drum’n’bass music in its natural habitat of the sweaty dancefloor, but they at least are more suitable to those whose production methods involve one person sitting on their computer compared to those who require different instrument players gathering in the same room.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Like all subgenres and subcultures from the past, drum’n’bass is thriving still on the internet. The UK also has a pretty extensive network of specialist club nights and labels like <strong>Overview Records</strong>, who are putting out <em>Source Code</em>. Occasionally it will still turn up in the mainstream pop charts through artists like <strong>Rudimental</strong> or <strong>Chase & Status</strong>, though Nectax is much more likely to be an underground favourite than crossover hit.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Typically of underground drum’n’bass these days, most of <em>Source Code</em> is dark and minimal. It’s full of uneasy minor chords, disembodied snatches of voice, menacing bass drones and sheets of harsh noise. This theme begins from the opening title track, and reaches its climax on <em>Phantom</em> – a slow, heaving monster of minimal dub.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Following that though, the EP takes an abrupt turn on final song <em>Beyond Stateless</em>. The old school jungle track is definitely Nectax at his most dancefloor friendly. It’s as light as the rest of the record is heavy, with rave style keyboards and euphoric breakbeats sounding like they are skipping across water.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>If most of <em>Source Code</em> sounds ripe for the isolation and claustrophobia of Britain’s endless winter of disconnection, <em>Beyond Stateless</em> seems to be looking forward to a summer of stepping outside into post-lockdown freedom. Let’s hope that somewhere in that nation of sixty-five million people, there’ll be a dancefloor open where songs like this can be enjoyed the way they’re meant to be.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- Andy Paine.</span></span></p>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1060626766/size=large/bgcol=f…; seamless><a href="https://overview.bandcamp.com/album/nectax-source-code-ep">Nectax - Source Code EP by Nectax</a></iframe>