London Zoo (Vinyl)

In Gibson's Neuromancer, when Case & Molly meet the two surviving founders of Zion, there is talk of hearing a "mighty dub" in the Babel of tongues signaling the "final days". If indeed we're living in these ‘end times’, as many predict, then there can be no more of an appropriate soundtrack for the coming apocalypse than The Bug's London Zoo.

The Bug is the main project for Kevin Martin, a producer who over the years has also been behind a diverse range of projects. London Zoo was born of three key moments. An introduction to the thriving dubstep scene (of which The Bug was very much a pioneer before it carried a name) and its key producers (via Kode 9) where Kevin realized there was others on the same sonic trajectory as himself, an introduction to Warrior Queen via his work with Wayne Lonesome on the Razor X Productions project, and a Mary Anne Hobb's Breezeblock session which introduced him to Flowdan (Roll Deep), and Ricky Ranking. All three of which figure heavily in the end result and live presentation.

Although the obvious entry point to the album will be the dubstep tag, particularly after the success of the three lead up singles ('Jah War', 'Skeng', and 'Poison Dart') in that scene, it's a record that clearly reaches past and brings together/celebrates reference points from dancehall, grime, hip-hop, and noise onslaughts. A record that could have only come out of London sound-system culture but whose appeal spans past any singular city or scene.