(Moving Shadow/Inertia)

Omni Trio has been producing genre defining drum & bass since 1993. That alone was enough to impress me, but this CD will take you on an exquisitely techy, synth-soaked journey through 10 years of groundbreaking releases in dnb history. If you’re not familiar with the omni trio sound, think of a drum & bass version of Orbital and you’d be on the right track. It’s a very precise, intricately layered and immaculately produced sound with a strong sense of melancholy, and it sounds just as good in your headphones as it does on the dance floor.

Omni Trio, aka Rob Haigh, has been described as one of the most influential dance producers on the planet and has had a defining influence on the drum & bass movement over the last decade. He was signed to UK dance label, Moving Shadow to record drum & bass in 1993, but before that he dabbled in avant garde funk in the early 80s, as well as Jazz and Techno later on. By January 1995 Mixmag magazine had listed Omni Trio as one of the drum & bass movement’s ‘Ten Leading Lights’ in response to his first album ‘The Deepest Cut’, which is widely regarded as the first real drum & bass album. Now, another eight years and six albums later, it’s clear to see this praise was all well deserved.

Renegade Snares (1993), leads us into ‘Volume’ and the title is a pretty apt description of this broken-down, snare driven epic. Snippets of lyrics beg you to “take me up” while perfectly placed stabs of violin keep the tune well centred. Mystic Stepper (1993) is next up, which is a track that none other than LTJ Bukem himself was giving a smashing at the time of its release. It’s another broken down, techy number which has some great breakdowns that slowly build up through several layers to reach peaks of dance floor chaos. Smooth, percussive elements are weaved through the beautiful Thru the Vibe (1994). Euphoric piano breaks it right down and then builds the tune back up with the help of pitched-up vocals and snares that seem to bounce and echo around whilst still keeping perfect time. The raw breakbeat of Tripping on broken beats (1997) melds into some fruity synth rhythms and a camp vocal that together kinda remind me of a theme song to some 80s kids TV shows that I’ve long forgotten.

The tracks Who are you (1995) and Sanctuary (1997) have a sound that reminds me of when I first discovered Everything But The Girl’s ‘Walking Wounded’ and ‘Temperamental’ albums, with their minimal drum & bass backbeat, haunting vocals and melancholic melody. It just so happens that In November 1995 Ben and Tracey from EBTG asked Omni Trio to do a remix of their track Walking Wounded, which was included on their excellent 1996 album of the same name. You can definitely see the influence these two artists had on each other in the work they did around this period, and discovering little inferences like that is exactly what made this CD so rewarding.

As the album moves along, we see some of Omni Trio’s later work through 1999 and 2000, with some excellent cuts being the very soulful and melancholy Higher Ground and Breakbeat Etiquette, laden with sax and punctuated with funked up synth bombs.

Some might criticise this first CD for not going with the mix option, but in my opinion this only adds to its value. Besides preserving the purity of each of these gems, if you’re armed with a CD deck or two, this album would make a very valuable addition to a DJ’s collection.

The 2nd CD, mixed by Silent Storm, didn’t really cut it for me. Although it opened strongly, it lacked the freshness & clarity of the first unmixed disc, perhaps because we see a lot of the same tracks used (although to their credit they are usually different mixes). The mixing seems to dilute the sound a little – what I really enjoyed about the first CD was the slow build up through the skilfully layered elements of each track. Also, a mix CD with tracks from only a single artist is a pretty difficult thing to pull off, so it has very little variety in the mix, and ultimately couldn’t hold my attention for another hour. Although, that should in no way discourage you from getting a copy of this CD, because the first disc more than makes up for it and the mix CD is really just a bonus.

Do yourself a favour and take a walk through drum & bass history with Omni Trio. These are 11 classic tracks from a pioneer of the genre and any dnb fan should definitely give it a look. Not only does it make for great listening, but you might even learn something.