Strange Nature, WOW! immense roller with sublime atmospherics, drilling booming bass and crisp beats. Superb

bloody lovely, smooth and cuddly!

Fark me... Another well over looked gem!!! Ah... Jonny L. Where do I begin!? Even though he was never really deeply involved on the underground Drum & Bass circuit (in the way that Bukem, 4 Hero, Goldie, Fabio and Grooverider were) he was non the less capable of fabricating deep and complex grooves of break beat wonder that were never out of place in a classic DJ set... Mainly coming to fame through his massive track Hurt You So (which became firmly implanted in my mind, mainly from listening to too much KISS FM during its pirate days in 1990 - Abstract Dance with Colin Dale, especially), I think it was this man's vision of future music that single handedly is responsible my becoming a broke and hedonistic teenager helplessly hooked on Drum & Bass 12"s and free parties... And then, as if to add injury to insult, he seemed to vanish from the dance music scene for several years, while leaving me yearning for more... But anyway... I digress from the matter at hand. Because, for me at least, it's this release that made up for his vanishing act, and really tuned my interest back onto his music... The A Side, Tychonic Cycle, named after Tychonic Theory (to do with Tychonic geocentric model), is the one to check out in my humble opinion... Nicely chopped up breaks that remind me of the amazing programming on Scotties Sub and Golden Hen, both by Subnation, this is easily without a doubt some of the most original and innovative chopping and layering of break beats ever... In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Jonny L lifted that breaks directly from that Subnation release... But that is nothing more than speculation. And to be honest it doesn't really matter... As it's that ridding cymbal, which sits nicely on top of the mix, that roles it into something totally different... Intertwined with lush stereo delayed melodies, this number just beckons me each time to get on the dance floor and groove out... A classic that Bukem dropped many times in late 90s. On the flip is Strange Nature... With a somewhat darker feel to it than Tychonic Cycle, it is no means any less impressive. Some of the beat editing is just amazing, with EQ filters emphasizing the drop outs and chops. But what stands out for me, is that weird metallic reverb that rides over the top of the roll out, and that mutant saxophone sample backed by those hollow rhodes... Heard Grooverider drop this a lot in his sets back then! And for good reason... Either way, this is a great release to demonstrate Jonny L's undisputed talent for forging Platinum ingots of Drum & Bass. Killer...