Dan Guidance: Upside Down & Steet Poetry EPs

This is a great time to be a Dan Guidance fan. In just over six months we have had three full albums in the form of Freedom of Movement, Freequencies  and Dan Guidance and Friends and Dan’s usual run of EPs brimming with the very finest Liquid Drum & Bass imaginable.

As if all this wasn’t enough, the last couple of weeks have seen two more EPs drop, both with contrasting flavours. The Upside Down EP features four tracks of Liquid Drum & Bass while the new Street Poetry EP is a collaboration with writer and emcee Salem Focus, who takes the vocal duties on all four tracks.

Both EPs are essential for all DnB fans and are further proof of Guidance’s wide sonic palette and his refusal to be tied down to one sound.

Upside Down kicks of with Euphoriac, which is as happy as its title may suggest. A simple piano refrain floats above the beats before a female vocal kicks in. The voice is haunting and minor scale and adds a slight melancholy to the music, which still maintains its upbeat vibe. The trick is very effective and creates a slice of blissed out DnB that would fit in perfectly on a summer dancefloor.

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Dan Guidance repeats his knack of providing catchy hooks that stick in the memory long after the song has finished.

Next track Balance Out begins with rumbling atmospherics and a bubbling bass before a rolling breakbeat and a saxophone sound kick in. This is another example of how Guidance can combine DnB and his more jazzy leanings. A disembodied voice creates melody without words and the track is less straightforward than its predecessor, with syncopated drums throwing it out of sorts. It again manages to sound both hectic and chilled at the same time, which is one of the more pronounced features of his work.

Double Dutch repeats the wordless vocal trick, with a male voice cut and manipulated to add texture. The song features a rolling low bass note that runs through the track and adds weight. A keyboard line reminiscent on Underworld provides melody but again it is the vocal that provides the main hook. A neat trick for someone who isn’t a singer to come up with.

The last track on this EP is the title track and Guidance has saved the best for last. Upside Down features another female vocal (I would put money on this being the same singer as track one) and is as catchy a slice of Liquid DnB as you could ever wish to hear. The piano, the vocal and the running time of just over seven and a half minutes mark this out as an epic track and the chorus of “you turned my life upside down” confirms it.

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Yet again, Dan Guidance has confirmed his mastery of the genre and given us an absolutely essential slice of DnB.

Meanwhile, just as we are assimilating this EP, yet another comes out in the form of Street Poetry. As the title may suggest, this is more focussed on the words of collaborator Salem Focus, whose raps give the EP a completely different feeling. Gone are the floaty vocals and in their place is Focus’ masterful vocals.

Track one, Freddy, again leans on jazz overtones, but the beats here are harder and higher in the mix. Salem Focus’ vocals sound slightly distorted, as if they were recorded at a distance and add a sense of unease to proceedings. He has a very smooth flow and speaks rather than spits his lyrics.

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In our recent 13 Questions piece with Guidance, he came out strongly in favour of MCs and here he nails his colours firmly to the mast. In truth there are long sections of music that don’t have any MCing, but the focus of this EP is firmly on these talents.

Second track Why’s The Water Blue again has flavours of jazz and Focus’ talented raps as the main focal point. This is more than a collection of Dan Guidance songs that have had raps added to them, but rather the songs and the vocals work and fit well together. Guidance is very prolific with collaborations and this EP demonstrates again why this is such a good idea as it gives us yet another side to his music to fall in love with.

Waiting Game starts of with a gospel feel before Salem’s rap takes over the song. His is a rich lyrical flow, with his words surging past in a smooth torrent. The EPs title of Street Poetry is explicated by tales of skinning up and high stakes.

Street Poetry finishes with Something For Nothing, combining chill out orchestral sounds with forward moving DnB rhythms. Salem’s vocals are free of effect and are high in the mix and drive the song on, the beats and the lyrics being perfectly matched.

As a new name to me, Salem Focus is undoubtedly a find and I will be checking out his Bandcamp page as soon as I finish writing this. Guidance has found a worthy foil for his music here and the result is more than the sum of its parts.

With these two EPs, Guidance has shown that he still shows no sign of slowing down his super prolific output and also that, as we have now come to expect, he also has no intention to let the quality control of his songs slip.

Upside Down and Street Poetry are out now via Portal Recordings & Fokuz Recordings, respectively. Purchase here and here.