On his MySpace page, The Bug lists ‘beats, bombs, bass, weapons, congestion, space, concussion and seduction’ not as influences on his sound, but as metaphorical equals of his aesthetic. Martin’s third album as The Bug (he’s previously worked as God and Techno Animal) shifts these elements into sharp focus. The producer-DJ – who’s remixed Thom Yorke, among many others – has long been in the business of what might be called ‘unsettlement’, ie crafting dark, heavy, intense and often disturbing soundscapes that depict urban decay, global anxiety, societal meltdown and our slow journey to hell in a hand cart.
The Bug may be a thoroughbred beats maker, but he favours a mongrel sound and here marries his first loves (reggae/dancehall/bashment/ragga) to his current crush, dubstep, thus creating something both unclassifiable and utterly Bug-like. ‘London Zoo’ throbs, judders, bounces, twitches and sweats with the sounds of this city’s myriad sub-cultures, underlining its creator’s talents as an ambassador of bass and joining the dots between The Wild Bunch and Wiley. Guest MCs – Tippa Irie, Spaceape, Flowdan and Warrior Queen among them – up the record’s apocalyptic ante, but there are boomtastic thrills aplenty here alongside the gloom.
