True legends in London's ever-changing musical menagerie, Dusk + Blackdown are back with one of their hardest hitting releases yet. The Back 2 Go FWD>> EP is a monstrous package of original productions and remixes. For the most part, Back 2 Go FWD is a straight Dusk and Blackdown collaboration, but look out for Blackdown's solo jams "Timeless" and a Horsepower remix of "Wicked Vibez", as well as a Blackdown remix of Epoch's "The Steppenwolf". The first track to be heard from the EP, "Peng One Two", is a club-friendly banger with plenty of the dons' signature bleakness.
Supposedly, the duo were looking to build on top of UK funky and return to the darker, underground sounds of old. As Blackdown himself says: "For a while there, Dusk and I felt pretty musically isolated—trying to find this dark rolling path out of the trajectory of UK funky. But now, we roll deep: turns out there are many who are hungry for this flex too. The Back 2 Go FWD>> EP is our contributions back to the underground unity, vision and creativity we've found ourselves surrounded by in the last two years or so."
Blackdown's use of the phrase "we roll deep now" seems oddly prophetic, though perhaps that was intentional, as listeners will no doubt immediately spot Wiley's inimitable spitting jumping out for the track. But the Keysound bosses are walking a fine line on "Peng One Two" and this is all part of their balancing act, juggling elements of dub, broken beat, grime and even Detroit techno for an intimidatingly rough track. It somehow manages to be atmospheric and party-starting all at once. Listen to the track below. Back 2 Go FWD>> is out on October 20.
