Bass Is Maternal

No matter how much credit Rob Smith and Ray Mighty get for their part in the evolution of UK bass music they will always deserve more. Their hybrids of Mantronix style electro funk and dub reggae space were crucial in street soul, the birth of “The Bristol Sound” (they produced Massive Attack‘s first single), and the emergence of jungle. This album was recorded while in development hell with a major label through the early 90s and only finally emerged on Smith’s own More Rockers in 1995 — but it is epochally great. In fact, it has matured like fine wine: its rich urban blues, glorious rolling breakbeats and gigantic bass make more and more sense as their place in the big picture is better understood.