The New World

It’s always nice when a plan comes together. Swindle was an extraordinary — and fiercely independent — talent from the moment he emerged as a teenage grime mixtape producer. Playing wild funk keyboard solos, incorporating dubstep sonic impact, playing old blues and soul records on Rinse FM, producing slick videos, his ambition was boundless. Over the course of several albums, he wrangled with incorporating his funk/soul influences with the sonic demands of big international dubstep audiences — but on his fourth artist album, he truly nailed it. There is a cascade of UK vocal talent here: singers like Joel Culpepper, Poppy Ajudha, Maverick Sabre and Joy Crookes and top level MCs like Ghetts, Knucks, Akala and more. There is smooth soul, there’s deep dub sound system impact, there’s drill and grime impact: it is absolutely the full package, a consolidation of Black and multicultural British experience, and a complete masterpiece.