The Temple

Album Review

Bulgarian DJ and producer Ivan Shopov records drum'n'bass music under the name Cooh, but when the dubstep mood strikes him he shifts not only his beats but his moniker, calling himself Balkansky. His previous outing under that name blended dubstep and electro with traditional Bulgarian music, but this one heads off in a different direction. Both the album title and the suite-like organization of its tracks (four groupings of tunes, each under the heading Mind, Body, Spirit, or Soul) suggest a mystical spiritualism, while the music itself is firmly grounded on the dancefloor. All except the first one, that is, which is a gorgeous and only mildly funky remix of Badun's "EF10." On this track the beat is spare and embroidered all over with microscopic glitches, and the wordless female vocals are covered as if by a gossamer veil with shimmering keyboard washes and barely audible clouds of slowly drifting chord progressions. It's danceable, but more likely to induce dozey bliss. Then he gets down to business, though: tracks like "Koi" and "Mraked" are straight-up dubstep in all its herky-jerky glory, and sound like dance music written for a cyborg with a limp. "Herb" incorporates some reggae elements, and "Pollution" features a guest contribution from Scorn. There's even a genuine vocal performance from Nyree on the excellent title track. A brilliant album from an underrated talent.