LONDON ELECTRICITY – Billion $ Gravy

“Billion $ Gravy” is London Electricity’s follow up to 1999's "Pull The Plug" LP. Now only consisting of Tony Coleman, the Hospital Records stalwart (Chris Goss left in 2002 concentrate on running Hospital) is back and currently playing with a 7 piece live set up. In the long hiatus since "Pull the Plug" Hospital Records have gone on to become one of the most respected labels on the scene at the moment. Produced by Tony Coleman this LP has vocal collaborations from Robert Owens and Liane Carrol, as well as live breaks from the Jungle Drummer. The hard core heads with have to deal with vocals over most songs. But have no fear, things crack along nicely throughout. “Billion $ Gravy” has the trademark arms in the air, rising synth feel good vibe over loose, funky breaks.

With a more ‘traditional’ song structure “Billion $ Gravy” is more of an album (so to speak), but when the beats kick in you know what’s going on – it breaks down beautifully. ‘Great DnB Conspiracy’ kicks things off nicely, with a ‘Life is Beautiful’ vocal sliding over the top of initially smooth atmospheric beats, which drop superbly later on, drawing you in. ‘Different drum’ utilises a nice piano melody over a breaking beat and fat bass line - which then drops off to expose the piano before getting back in with the drop! This tune has a lot of levels, the grooving bass, chill piano and vocal from Robert Owens, with firing drums beneath, all sounding so tight. ‘Fast soul music’ flexes nicely with a rising synth pattern alongside, strong vocal - some sunshine DnB. ‘Cum Dancing’ invites you to the floor with a frenetic opening, pushing those bpm. Great when the snares/cymbals come in and midway thru when the strings begin to crank on top and everything’s moving along wickedly. There’s also a v smooth drop about three quarters of the way though.

Throughout, “Billion $ Gravy” gives off an upbeat, rolling vibe, unafraid to push a lot of buttons, it lifted me from my seat. The vocals and (mostly) live instrumentation work beautifully and Andy Coleman has to get some credit for pushing the envelope a bit here. There’s some great production, showing off their new ‘live’ style - which kicks it in fine fashion. If you can catch a live show it should make for a wicked time – where the above line up is augmented by such names as MC Stamina alongside Andy Waterworth and Landslide. Have a look at the video of their recent live show at London’s Jazz Café on the Drum n Bass Arena site. This LP marks a major step forward in the evolution of the Hospital sound and for the scene generally, a really diverse effort that should draw in some fans from outside of the DnB scene too. Good stuff….!