(Perfecto Records)

Famous as the man responsible for coining the term ‘nu-school’ breaks, DJ-producer Rennie Pilgrim is always pushing forward. His last mix album Tribalizm was at the cutting edge when it was released last year; 12 months down the track, tunes like Black Widow are still being thrashed by breaks DJ’s around the world, and James Lavelle featured no less than three of the tracks on his Global Underground release. Now for his next offering Perfecto Breaks, Rennie has been recruited by the biggest name in dance music, and a long-time advocate of the break-beat sound – Paul Oakenfold. A new CD from Rennie can always be relied on to show where the future of breaks is heading, and it was with eager enthusiasm and high expectations that I slipped Perfecto Breaks into the player. So what exactly does the future of breaks have to offer?

While a DJ like Krafty Kuts adequately represents the funkier side of breaks, Rennie is the pinnacle of the nu-school scene, a genre that puts the focus on innovative sounds and forward-thinking production techniques. Looking over his back catalogue it is remarkable how prolific Rennie Pilgrim is as a producer, and this hasn’t changed with Perfecto Breaks, as he has production input on no less than six of the tracks on the CD. As per usual his mixing is flawlessly smooth, and the sounds on the CD are very fresh and new: the tracklist reads like a who’s-who of nu-school breaks, including big-name players like Meat Katie, BLIM, Uberzone, Moguai, and Koma & Bones.

Rennie starts the mix off slowly and gradually builds it, with the first half of the CD very dubby and progressive. He begins with his own twisted mix of Timo Maas’s smash Help Me, an upbeat take with a few interesting ideas, and for the next few tracks Rennie moves us through the deeper side of nu-school breaks. Meat Katie and Elite Force’s Ju Ju is a nicely subdued progressive number, with a tribally percussive influence underneath the funky futuristic sounds that builds into a high-pitched acidy breakdown. Likewise, Blim’s Dust is another slow number, gradually building the tension for the listener. He finally ups the tempo a little with Silencer’s Rollin n’ Controllin; merged to the previous track with layered washing synths, the big beats are finally brought in. The track is a great example of rockin’ progressive breaks, with a simultaneous layered and sophisticated undertone.

This trend is continued with Moguai’s U Know Y, a big fat slice of break-beat funk that won’t fail to get you moving, and is already getting caned on the radio. Rennie’s newbie Voodoo London is up next, an extremely groovy track punctured with electro-style big synth stabs that takes a nu-school twist in the middle. The song, like more than a few others on the album, signifies a desire on the part of the nu-school producers to return to the dancefloor; while retaining the sophisticated cutting-edge production, Voodoo London has an undeniably funky and rocking edge to it.

Voodoo London merges right into another one of his tracks written with Uberzone, Cous Cous, which continues on the upfront vibe, and Zero’s Emit/Collect is a stomping head-fuck of a nu-school anthem, the most rocking tune on the release. General Midi’s track Further is probably the choice cut on the album, futuristic and deep but undeniably groovy. It sums up where the appeal lies in Perfecto Breaks – a tune that offers interesting sounds for the head but also beats for the feet, one that would be at home in any prog-head’s collection but still able to rock the floor of any club. Koma & Bones’s new track has a distinct 80’s vibe, with an evil nu-school bassline layed underneath a pure electoclash synth, and he wraps up the proceedings with the sweeter sounding Turning It On by Mara (once again one of his own remixes).

It’s been widely noted by many in the dance community that nu-school breaks are in danger of disappearing into a shadow of pretentiousness: yet the brilliance in Rennie’s DJ’ing and production is that he succeeds in both pushing the musical boundaries, while still maintaining the energy on the dancefloor. His sound is challenging and progressive, but never so much that it bores the listener. So he avoids the direction that its musical cousin progressive house has been heading in the last few years – slow, plodding, and occasionally uninteresting. Nonetheless, Perfecto Breaks may be a little slow to start off with for some – but a few listens will show how well paced the CD is, a slow builder that will really grab you if you give it some time. Rennie manages to deliver a reasonably wide range of diverse and eclectic sounds while staying within the genre, stylish and sophisticated to the extreme and his mixing always flawless. With Paul Oakenfold taking the sound center stage, Perfecto Breaks is an essential purchase for any listener interested in seeing where the future side of breaks is heading.