Naibu

First thing to do: check the imprint: Horizons, also home to the
superb June Miller, definitely one of the names of the 2010 and key
when it comes to the types of shifts the genre is undergoing and has been for time. You know what shifts they are: less emphasis on overt
tempo but rather on BEATS, for the love of them, simple. Also
different tones, different textures, different audience expectations and an experience that will resonate differently with each listener. Sign posts such as these are in evidence here, Naibu's self-titled.

Now all that said, jump to that Seba remix of 'Fireflies' (album
standout?) and know that this would smash the hell out of any floor.
It's that simple. This, alongside cuts such as 'Stand By' (check the
buried tramen! Definitely another standout), 'Dusk' and 'Doubts' which alternate between perfect grace and deadly filth. While breezily merging with elements of pure freebase liquid funk and soul; fans of the Fabio mindset will rejoice when it comes to moments such as 'Opium Lady' and the sublime 'The Shrine' which calls to mind a certain Makoto in terms of cinematic flourish.

In a sense, the palette of 'Naibu' is of not dissimilar to that shared
by Survival and album collaborators Zero T and Seba not to mention
those formidable Exit chaps in terms of their shared expertise in the craft of breaks and their application old and new, and of hazy, otherworldly melodic layers. One thing shines through: with this
album, Naibu has nailed exactly what makes this genre so evergreen and seductive in as much as you feel as if you are in the presence of something one moment graceful, the next dirty and downright gully,
even if only ever implied, less sometimes being so much more. Magic!