Mohican Sun - Dead Sea EP

Mohican Sun
Dead Sea EP
2016
Spotify

Drum and bass is a very interesting genre. For years it has seemed to be quite stagnant, content with putting out the highest bass output and pushing the tempo higher and higher. The artistry seemed to slip away somewhat really insulating fans from the rest of the world. However this debut EP from Mohican Sun is trying to change all that. From the first track "Where Did You Go" it is clear that this is not a typical drum and bass album though many of the elements are there. The quick pops and clicks, the underlying tempo as well as somewhat dark overtones make this EP what it is but those elements are used as the jumping off point rather than the crux of the whole record. The second track is more classically drum and bass, and has that brooding sensibility but it also plays around and experiments with "woomps" and buzzes throughout. It feels a lot like an improv going where the music wants to go rather than forcing it into any one thing. However the third track "Sudden Change" brings us back around to that same beautiful swirling soundscape that the first track had.

Mohican Sun are clearly at their best when they are not playing by the rules. "Sudden Change" combines soul, some elements of funk and that underlying drum and bass beat come together to make something really special and new sounding. It is exciting to hear and engage with. What will really be interesting is to see where Mohican Sun takes this because there is a version where their music keeps evolving and keeps expanding and there is another where it sinks into itself and becomes more in line with the genre. The final track "Lost Village" is yet another exploration however this time it is Jungle that gets explored. This track tends to be a bit more straightforward but still manages to step outside the box a few times. It does not have that same pop that "Where Did You Go" and "Sudden Change" do but it still is wildly interesting. The beginning of something is always full of "what if's" and that is very much what this record feels like because something really great could be coming.

7.5 out of 10