Album Review: Zed Bias – Boss

It’s fair to say that Dave Jones is the hardest-working man in house music. From his output as Maddslinky to being one half of Phuturistix, Jones has long been putting out bass, garage and dubstep tunes that have helped define a generation. Not one to pussyfoot around with his samples and sets, the Swamp 81 big man has released his third full-length album under the Zed Bias moniker, to remind us just exactly what we’re dealing with.

Aptly titled Boss, the ten-track album is a bass-filled whirlwind, ready to test your speaker’s limits. First track ‘Eingang’ is a taste of what’s to come: hard, unrelenting, but not short of ‘gun-finger’ moments – if you aren’t snarling after two minutes, then you’re doing it wrong. It’s unfair to completely relate Zed Bias to dubstep, but the dark theme and ever-present intensity that underlies the album evokes memories of early dubstep raves – it’s unsettling and keeps you on your toes every step of the way.

But Boss isn’t all Sarf East Laandan, ‘We Are There’ is a beauty of a track, and Zed is helped out by none other than Chicago house legend, Roy Davis Jr. The Chicago feel is instantaneous, and a heightened use of synth and more playful rhythms step up the game by a country mile. The crooning, whispering vocal sample reminds us not to get too comfortable, eerily letting us know who’s there.

I know what you’re thinking ‘a Zed Bias release without label-mate and MC extraordinaire Chunky?’ Of course not! Towards the second half of the album, Chunky makes two appearances, each brimming with bass and breaks to destroy any dance floor worth its weight in Red Stripe.

Swamp 81 have been putting on parties and bussing out releases for years, becoming a stalwart of the underground bass scene in the UK. As electronic music goes, they’re a label that we can be proud of, and this is another release that yet again is testament to that. If Zed Bias is the Boss, I’d sure as hell like to see the Christmas party…

– Liz Ward