Lord & Dego 2

The broken beat (or “bruk”) scene, in which 4 Hero’s Dego and Bugz In The Attic’s Matt Lord were key players, is often seen as forbiddingly complicated. And certainly some releases can have fiendish chords and rhythms designed to trip up all but the most expert dancers and DJs. However, it is still dance music, and above all else is built around funk. And that’s rarely clearer than in Lord & Dego’s two albums to date in the 2020s on Dego’s 2000Black label. The music here is futurist, it’s sophisticated, it’s got the sublimated dancehall and jazz undercurrents that “bruk” requires — but ultimately this is gorgeously smooth disco and funk, the grooves steady, and the pleasure principle right up front.