d&b productions: symbiosis

After having two of his earlier tunes remodelled by Carl Craig and Mike Huckaby thanks to Sushitech, Detroit's Delano Smith re-emerges on the label with a double pack of tunes made with Brawther under the D&B Productions. That moniker has more to do with the pair's name rather than a suddenly conversion to drum & bass, although there's a love of dubby effects and deep bass power here that - at a stretch - could be said to be in common. The six tracks - Symbiosis' 1-6 - are smooth and simple, but executed with an ear (or four) for an irresistible groove, an economic but rhythmic keyboard stab and a knack for squeezing something nicely soulful from the barest ingredients. Nice work indeed.