Have you ever played that game where you watch a James Bond film with the sound turned down, and create your own soundtrack? With DIY sound effects, terribly clever one liners and your own wicked tunes? No me neither, that would just be childish. But if I had, the single most difficult task (after stealing the chain off my brothers bike to authentically replicate an AK47) would be to find tunes that balanced the action perfectly. I mean, there are hectic car chases, high-tech toys and gadgets, intrigue and of course seduction. So the perfect tracks would need to be the exact right balance of adrenaline and sophistication, frantic but understated speed, and a whopping dose of uber-cool. And… I’ve found that perfect sound. Syncopated City from drum n’ bass legends London Elektricity delivers the payload.

This is the fourth album from the production unit of the Hospital Records machine. Chris Goss and Tony Colman formed up as a duo in the late 90s, but since 2003 Goss has focused on the label, leaving Colman to drive solo. It should also be pointed out that he also has a cracking time bringing us the Hospital Podcast filled with “everything new and groovy in the world of DnB” every week.

With Syncopated City, Colman has dipped into the magic toybox of 70s film music, mixing up authentic sounds and smooth jazz flavours with kicking beats and clever vocals. Add in a full orchestra and a few film samples, and you end up with a smashingly exotic and adventurous album. He’s collaborated with jazz vocalist royale Liane Carroll on several tracks which adds some ‘ball-tearing classy dame’ cred. But never forget, this is a drum n’ bass album, so the intensity and suspense will not let up for anyone.

Standout tracks include This Dark Matter, which combines heavy strings with vocals by Agent Carroll and invokes the yearning power of Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy mixed with the 18-carat sparkle of the theme from Diamonds Are Forever. On the other hand, Attack Ships on Fire is all instrumental retro-tech. The bass rips along, punctuated by rapid-fire 70s style brass ‘action stabs’ with the voice grab taken from the showdown in Bladerunner. Watch the movie again, and the title of this song will suddenly make perfect sense.

The absolute ball-cracker is All Hell is Breaking Loose. With Liane Carrol cutting loose, the bass storming along, massive big-band brass stabs and a sneaky sped-up sample from one of the Bond soundtracks, this track has “sophisticated spy action theme get me a Vodka Martini” written in bullet holes all over it. Sure, the Propellorheads performed a similar feat a decade ago on parts of DecksandDrumsandRockandRoll using quite large samples from John Barry’s original film-scores, plus they commandeered the original Goldfinger vocalist Shirley Bassey to their cause. But London Elektricity does it way better.

And so, back to my childish MI6 obsession! There’s definitely a symbiotic chemistry between drum n’ bass and the whole James Bond thing. But if artists like Pendulum channel the Daniel Craig ‘hardass gritty realism’ edge of the franchise, Syncopated City is all Connery down to the brown silk suit and racing-green Aston Martin. This album is masterful, smooth, suave and sophisticated. It’s gunning with energy yet packs an emotional punch. And it totally swings. In the elite realm of the 00, London Elektricity’s Syncopated City has a license to kill. So where did I put that bike chain…