Maybe it’s just the anticipation of clubs and festivals slowly opening up again, but it seems lately the hard dancefloor releases coming out are hitting harder. Of course, both Smooth and DC Breaks always hit hard AF, so a collab between the two D&B monsters was bound to be epic no matter what. Add in the punishing vocals of MC Coppa on the last track and our premiere, “Chainsaw,” and get ready to move your furniture because any floor turns into a dancefloor.
Steppy, synthy and intentionally aggressive, every track on the Out There EP slaps hard and conjures up visions of hot, dusty festies, MCs spraying water on the crowd and the punishing rattle of bass through one’s jaw. These tracks were made for a big rig, and hopefully soon we’ll all get a chance to hear them thus. The EP opens with the title track and instantly any D&B head will know who they’re listening to. A steppy, single-kick beat and a rolling, heavy synth that slices back and forth through the track.
Following the title, “Original Soundboy” is a heavily syncopated chugger with throwback rave samples that’ll have heads bobbing even in the breaks. “Fu Manchu,” meanwhile, is a cheeky synth-heavy number and said synths go from Prodigy-inspired tones to deeper and darker as the track rolls on. Lots of blast beats and double-kicks here as well; this track could easily translate to metal or hardcore. 
Out There culminates in our premiere, “Chainsaw” with Coppa on the vox. This track somehow sounds like both classical DC Breaks and classic Smooth at the same time. You can literally feel the bounce of the floor in a party as everyone stomps to the beat. It’s snappy, stompy and, with extra kicks at the phrase transitions, there’s just no way to get away from that beat, and why would you want to? If that’s not aggressive enough, Coppa comes over top brandishing a lyrical chainsaw…marvelous.
It would have been common knowledge among the drum & bass community that a collab EP from Smooth and DC Breaks and featuring Coppa would be an epic ride, but Out There has turned out even better than most of us could have hoped. It’s one of those EPs that’s like a great ride: when it’s over, one finds oneself yelling “again, again,” but in this case, it’s “reload, Reload!”
Out There drops on Korsakov Music on April 9. Pre-order or pre-save here.
