Professor
Smalls
FROM
SIDE LINE MAGAZINE
PS is a solo-project set up by Martin Stovey
(member of Sykes, Elixir and Phobos 3). He has
already released music under the moniker of PS, but
has now joined the Iris Light stable! If you like the
sound of Sykes, this album will probably please you!
The d&b remains the main basis while it has been
completed through a single astral universe like
featuring an alien guest! It adds a cool ambient
touch to the force rhythmic while now and then
walking on other borders like eastern melody
lines of whispering dialogues. From a purely
musical point of view, I get fascinated throgh the
deep sounding consonance of the "Chew The
Stem" cut. The last piece "Gun Metal" already
reveals another perception, entering darker
regions with some Klinik-al bleeps! This is an
interesting experimental form of d&b!
SIDEL INE #42 (0103) (DP: 6 out of 7)
FROM MOVING
HANDS MUSIC MAGAZINE
Professor Smalls is a side project of Martin Stovey;
the
man behind projects like Sykes, Elixir and Phobos 3. I
must say that this was a really pleasant discovery. The
release notes describe the music as "..stunning
breakbeat/drum'n'bass with an alien abduction theme.
" and "...the atmosphere is eerie and enveloping". And I
think that gives you a good clue of how this album sounds.
Frenetic breakbeat loops bounce around low
bass drone sounds accompanied by chilling pads,
analogue blips and cut up voice samples making the
general sound really chilling and atmospheric. I found
myself constantly thinking of Photek's debut album
"Modus Operandi" minus the more complex jazz
arrangements and with a horror movie edge. The
opening track "Blood Smoke" is a perfectly executed
display of the above making it one of my favourite
songs of 2002!
As with many drum'n'bass records
the energetic drums can be a bit tedious to listen to
after a while but fortunately this album offers a lot of
variation. "I See You" mixes the chilling sound with a
down-pitched hip hop beat and "Shallow Grave" makes me
think of Boards Of Canada in the downers mood. I still
think some of the tracks could have been a bit more
thought over because sometimes it feels like Mr Stovey
wants to put too much into one song making the final
result a bit too fragmented. Like someone needs to tell
him "Stop fiddling now, this track is as good now as it
will ever get!" But otherwise this is an awesome album
and perfect for late night programming sessions.
8
out of 10
FROM NEW
EMPIRE MAGAZINE
A solid piece
of dark drum&bass is Martin Stovey’s
Pofessor Smalls-release “Out of Body experience”. Threatening
arrangements and straight break-beat patterns
dominate the 8 tracks. The whole EP is over 69 minutes long
and could be considered a real album.
One brilliant track is
“I see you”, featuring speech-samples by Erich von Däniken
about aliens manipulating the genes of human beings. The
song creates a very strange atmosphere, almost esoteric
but with a strong technological approach.
Some groovy drum&bass-tracks with the typical
broken beats are “Blood Smoke” or the extended “Gun Metal”,
a track over 25 minutes long. They make this album very
exciting and add life to the ambient soundscapes. The
combination of the atmospheric parts and the rhythms is well
done. Another example for is “Alpha Numeric” with the wailing
sound-layers and a very straight, monotonous beat.
Released on Iris Light Records in the land of drum&bass,
UK, this is not a typical genre-album and will meet the
interests not only of the drum&bass-scene but also of the
industrial-folks, because of its darkness. People who like Dryft
or Somatic Responses should check out this album too,
even if it goes a step further back to its roots and the
broken beats are dominating. No noise here but a lot
of brilliant soundtrack-like arrangements.