Album Review: DI Fresh - Nextlevelism

Dan Stein either has tons of friends or lots of contacts. Either way Stein, better known as DJ Fresh, has done it again as he's managed to rope in a swag of guest vocalists on his latest collection of wham, bam, I don't give a damn drum'n'bass and dubstep jingles.

For Kryptonite, his third album, Stein had a mere five guest vocalists. But a lot has changed since that record, namely the success of a few tracks which have given Stein more confidence and an apparent shopping list of vocalists that he'd like to work with. Thanks in part to the current DJ Fresh and Rita Ora collaboration, Hot Right Now ­­– which is irrefutably likable, with its repetitive vocal and candy-pop appeal – has Stein up there with fellow commercial ticklers Rudimental in the dubby, drum 'n' bass resurgence. Joining Ora are Dizzee Rascal, Sian Evans, Ms Dynamite, Adam F, Liam Bailey and Juliette Lewis. Yup, it's a motley crew alright. And for the most part, Stein's splice'n'dice approach that cuts through multiple genres works. The electro stabs aren't polished and the breaks basic at best, but subtly isn't the end game here.

At best, The Power (featuring Dizzee Rascal) and Gold Dust (with Ms. Dynamite) are perfect examples of club tracks that'll cross-over and be around longer than five minutes. At worst, Forever More combines sorrow masters The Fray with UK rapper Professor Green. The result is an angry and confusing song that fails to understand what it's about. Still, mustn't grumble – Nextlevelism is a welcome digression from the repetitious junk that's currently doing the rounds.