DJ / Rupture – Uproot

This is one hell of a diverse mix album taking in lots of rootsy influences from around the urban dance genres, and then blending them seamlessly into an epic and atmospheric whole.

DJ / Rupture comes from New York and has an ear for melody and a sublime beat. All at once the selection sounds old and new, it’s got a timeless kind of feel to it. In this sence it reminds me of classic mixes like Coldcut’s Journey of the DJ, but only time will tell if DJ / Rupture has the staying power to match that.

Uproot travels through styles and genres with ease touching on Dubstep, dancehall, ambient, and Dub to name but a few; it’s a kind of global bass mash-up. Baby Kites and Nokea’s electro tinged steppa gives way to a pure dub reggae style shaker from Clouds and the excellent Elders. Hardly any of the tracks are dwelled upon for to long the mixing is fast passed, he gets through 23 tracks in total, but this doesn’t spoil the flow at all.

Other highlights include the absolutely wonderful Winter Buds by Atki2 that leaves me really wanting to dig this tune out on 12” to hear it in full. This track sounds like a long lost Aphex Twin ambient classic brought up to date with dubstep style beats and electro glitches.

Rupture even makes the wobblers sound good in this mix by keeping things moving and having a big dirty dub reggae edge to them. Plus they often drop off into some ambient meanderings as Clouds and Ekstrak do into Frescoe’s string led breakdown, which in turn builds with a bit more electro filth.

The beautiful strings of Jenny Jones and her Capilano Bridge bring a classy soundtrack feel to the mix as they melt seamlessly into more classic music in the form of Ekkehard Ehlers "Plays John Cassavettes pt. 2". It’s kind of moving in places and a refreshing change to hear a DJ build and break down a mix as they please instead of throwing in banger after banger.

After a complete holt after track thirteen, which I can’t quite make my mind up is a good thing like when you get that feeling after flipping the tape over in the olden days, you know a bit excited at what’s to come. Or a bad one in that it stops the flow completely… He soon gets back in the groove though with some dancehall vibes and dirty dubstep from Scuba. Then comes the one two punch of Quest and Shackleton. The Team Shadetek acapella over Quest works especially well.

A nice deep wind down ushers the album to a close, the awe-inspiring beauty of Moving Ninja "Uranium" almost fades to absolute silence before the hushed blows of Professor Shehab + lloop come in.

DJ / Rupture’s strength comes in his selection and mixing abilities, which is all you really want from a DJ really. It’s not the most upfront and in your face exclusive mix you will ever hear but in terms of an enjoyable listen Uproot comes out as a winner. With a warm and spacey glow DJ / Rupture with mesmerise you.

Baby Kites and Nokea’s ‘Reef’ free download

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