seven

i have first encountered makai over a year ago and was immediately fascinated by their "classic" approach to drum&bass presented on "millennium", showcasing the best traits of the genre. there wasn't that much information available at the time about the band, up until recently when i have stumbled upon "beneath the mask, polaris" vinyl that resurrected my fascination with their sound.

opening "beneath the mask" became one of the most popular drum&bass tunes coming from germany back in 1998 when it was originally released. it has all the elements that made the genre initially so popular - straight percussion attack with heavy beats breaking and crashing with amazing persistence, then there are multiple strings and deep basslines that back this well-crafted drum&bass classic. and then in the middle of the song chanting female vocals is brought in mixing perfectly its tribal feel with high-tech bass-filled breaks. the combination, the contrast and the ultimate harmony is what make this song.

"polaris" is a sci-fi mystery with clean synthlines and slow intro that evolves into twisting and turning passage that breaks out into deep pulsing drum&bass heaven that explores different tempos and arrangements constantly driving the track forward.

with recent release of "stealth" that is supposed to resurrect and redefine the genre, kabuki and mainframe are touring the europe, sharing their fascination with drum'n'bass, videogames and japanese culture - seems like it's the best time to get your hands on their latest release.