Release Date: July 12, 2011
2007 marked the first year dubstep producer Zomby began releasing music. The anonymous UK producer released his first LP in 2008, Where Were U in ’92? The album was heavily influenced by the early 1990s rave scene and gained positive reviews of Zomby’s genre-blurring beats. Despite the numerous tracks and a mini-album that Zomby has released since Where Were U in ’92?, his true identity has remained a closely kept secret. He was also invited to play at the All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival, curated by Animal Collective, but did not show up.
Self-concealed, Zomby has put together another full-length, Dedication. Boasting 16 songs, most tracks are short—some even under the one-minute mark. Dedication begins with “Witch Hunt,” a song with repetitive ticking and gunshot sounds over a pulsing bass line. First single, “Natalia’s Song,” was chosen as the first single and is the longest on the album. The song is layered with pieces of female vocals stirring about. Only two tracks into the album, it’s obvious Dedication is much darker than Zomby’s previous work. Yet, some of the dance-forcing beats still trail along the new hollow paths.
Zomby combines classic dance beats but layers them with dangerous chimes, haunting keys and a sense of the future. Where Were U In ’92? embraced the past, and Dedication is looking toward the future. Zomby has brushed the dust off his fingers and is finally ready to glisten.
Most of this album sounds as if it could be the soundtrack for an eerie thriller or video game. “Basquiat” has a somber piano taking the lead through the entire song. It’s an elegant twist that Zomby has thrown on to the album and stacks up against the rest of the tracks seamlessly. “Basquiat”’s abrupt ending almost seems like it represents a “goodbye” as it leads into the final track of the album, “Mozaik.” Zomby again falls back into his roots with a confident, fast beat that still has an eerie tone to fit the rest of the album. “Mozaik” feels clean, almost like a cleansing and beginning of a new era.
Dedication is an album most dubstep fans wouldn’t be expecting. It’s dark, haunted and sedated. Still, Zomby shows us his ability to play with sounds and beats as the album still finds itself to be moveable. In fact, it almost seems like the perfect getaway soundtrack.
Zomby – Dedication Tracklist:
- “Witch Hunt”
- “Natalia’s Song”
- “Alothea”
- “Black Orchid”
- “Riding With Death”
- “Vortex”
- “Things Fall Apart”
- “Salamander”
- “Lucifer”
- “Digital Rain”
- “Vanquish”
- “A Devil Lay Here”
- “Florence”
- “Haunted”
- “Basquiat”
- “Moziak”
