Kryptic Minds – One Of Us

Back in May of 2009, Blackdown posted an in-depth interview with Kryptic Minds and Loefah, breaking down how Loefah started his Swamp81 They spoke at length about the parallels between DnB and dubstep, especially from a label-sound point. Well, at the end of this month, you can own what’s sure to be one of the scene’s more captivating releases to date. What I want to push with Swamp 81 is the gap that isn’t really being represented anymore. The roller, the halfstep… spacious.” What Loefah heard in those first few Kryptic Minds beats is edgy, rolling, stripped back spacious dubstep that was spectacularly well made and also had its own identity– emotive, organic in places, very junglist in spirit– unlike the vast number of producers who tried to clone his sound in 2006, and failed. The first fruits of the partnership are Kryptic Mind’s “One of Us”, a deadly 12″ that encapsulates producers who understand the difference between edgy and too angry; that restraint often has more impact than chaotic release. This deft understanding of the tensions and contradictions buried within dubstep, and how you use them is played out yet further on their new album, “I’m thinking Wax Doctor, Doc Scott, Goldie– that kind of thing. It’s that transitional phase between Reinforced and Headz that is in my heart” explains Loefah. “That’s what I’d like to do with Swamp. And I don’t want it to be labelled as ‘the halfstep label.’ I want it to have that kind of tunnel vision Metalheadz had in 1996, that kind of ‘we’re going this way. I’m not watching what you’re doing, I’m not watching what you’re doing– I’m going straight ahead.’” In that spirit, Kryptic Minds’ One of Us zooms in on edgy 140bpm halfstep, forcing the listener into a headspace where perfectly placed details come into vivid focus, like the hyper-real intensity of night adrenalin. Everything is tautly coiled, as if priming the listener for a flight-or-fight reflex. The tension is barely unleashed throughout the album. “To me the album– and this may be really gushy,” enthuses Loefah, “it’s like a night out. Leaving the house or wherever you are,
going through the night and the last track is morning. The sun’s come up and it’s time for bed.” “I think the Kryptic Minds album and the 12″,” concludes Loefah, “it’s just making a bit of a statement. We’re saying ‘you know what? It’s not this, it’s not that, we’re right in the middle and we’re headstrong with it.