REVIEW: Warrior Soul By Kabuki

(V Records)

2 out of 5

Don’t by fooled by his eastern name; Kabuki is a mainstay of the German drum n bass scene. By all accounts he earned this position via his DJing talents as opposed to his production abilities. Not to diminish the work he’s put into building up a respectable back catalogue over the last 13 years, but he has not done much to enhance his reputation with Warrior Soul. The album starts off promisingly with ‘Watch Your Step’ featuring Jeru the Damaja, but this is a brief highlight amongst a generic collection of liquid drum n bass clichés - seriously, even Jenna G makes an appearance. This track shines out more due to the smoove flow and clever wordplay of Jeru the Damaja, boldly claiming, “If every rapper in the world was a waiter, they couldn’t serve me”. Not only does Warrior Soul fail to bring any new ideas to the table, but Kabuki also lets himself down in terms of production values. Across the entire album the basslines fall flat, offering no depth or drive. Drum n bass DJs will want to get their hands on a copy of ‘Watch Your Step’ (look out for the Need for Mirrors remix), but the rest of the album is less compelling, unless your music collection is lacking in blues saxophone and jazz piano.

Review by Joachim Hackshaw