N Phect & Dizplay Beautiful Bytes CD

As the drum'n'bass scene continues to splinter into ever tinier and more hard-to-distinguish subgenres, anyone whose enthusiasm for junglism isn't certifiably pathological can be forgiven for losing track of what's supposed to be what at any given moment. N. Phect & Dizplay, two brothers from Cologne, Germany, play a variety of dark drum'n'bass known locally as "neurofunk" -- dark but not menacing, highly energetic but not chaotic, it's not the type of music that is going to win the genre any new converts, but established fans of this music will be sure to enjoy the duo's skillful blends of traditional song elements, funky breakbeats, minor-key eruptions and dense, jittery sonic textures. Unlike many of their peers, N. Phect & Dizplay do not shy away from vocalists, and several fine ones are featured on this album: notably the uncredited (and niftily distorted) singer on the gorgeously funky "My Velvet Morning," which has apparently been a major club hit in Europe, and the equally uncredited but even prettier singer on a new mix of "Inside the Hive," which features a variety of breaks and some very lovely nylon-string guitar. Other highlights include the strange but attractive "Damn Wire" (a remix of an original single by TGM [aka the Green Man]) and a complex broken-dub workout titled "MoFo." Very nice. ~ Rick Anderson