North Base is one of the most interesting drum and bass supergroups to come out of the UK in a long while, and especially out of Manchester. They are a combination of some of drum and bass’s best known heroes who carried the mid-00s for UK dnb: Silver, Splice and Prophecy. Now on the heels of their highly well-received collab with Erb N Dub (“Punk Rock”), the trio’s hotly anticipated new track is due to drop on Technique tomorrow, September 8.
“I’m Forgiving Love” features vocalist Ewan Sim and starts out as though it’s going to be a ravey track, with throwback synth horns and a lot of sparkly flourishes along with Sim’s vocals. Underneath all that and a crashing snare, however, is a rumbling sub bass synth which builds slowly and menacingly until the drop. Said drop comes out of a really interesting, twisty break which sounds somehow familiar and new at the same time.
Once the beat kicks in, the ravey synth takes a bit of a back seat to what turns out to be a heavy, grumbling darkstep bassline which, for lack of a better description, seems to move like electronic lava around the beat and Sim’s vocals. The way in which the two seemingly contrasting elements of the groaning bass and the vocal/rave synth are integrated is impeccable, and it’s no surprise at all that Bassline Smith and his cohorts snapped this track up for Technique.”I’m Forgiving Love” is out on Technique September 8, and can be pre-ordered by clicking here.