Sabre

Ivy Lab founder Sabre, the production alias of Gove Kidao, returns to Critical Music with 'Big Cat EP'; a four-track exploration of under-produced drum & bass, breakbeat science and drum-machine electronica, where untamed distortion meets jazz-informed rhythm and industrial sonics.

Marking his first solo release in almost a decade, 'Big Cat EP' reconnects Sabre with the label that helped define his earlier work, while opening a new chapter that draws as much from JK Flesh, Emptyset, Shapednoise and Slikback as it does from the traditions of drum & bass. Across four stripped-back, high-pressure productions, the EP embraces abrasion, repetition and imperfect textures without losing sight of the rhythmic detail that has long characterised Sabre's work.

''Thematically this is undeniably a drum and bass project,'' says Sabre ''but conceptually it's way more influenced by acts outside the scene. It's primarily an experiment with untamed distortion. I just wanted to contribute a raw, punkish perspective to a scene renowned for its immaculately crafted precision productions. It's an experiment in genre fusion with a limited envelope that I'd love to expand on.'' - Sabre

The release also marks a significant personal return following the evolution of Ivy Lab, reconnecting Sabre with the alias that first established his voice within UK bass music.

• 1 Brisket
• 2 IBM
• 3 Ugly
• 4 Big Cat