Dubvirus - Spiral Animals [Out NOW on Muti Music]

Published: January 6, 2014

By: Anand Harsh

Outsiders might be like "Why are all these producers obsessed with the Fibonacci sequence?" But fans of heavy bass know what's up. The world of dubstep is all about finding the harmony in dissonance. The "golden ratio" that binds the beautiful with the ghastly; dizzying drops packed with vengeful, subsonic frequences that plunge into gorgeous melodies. Sacha Csicsery-Ronay flat out gets it.

The inherent balance of the new Dubvirus album, Spiral Animals, out now on Muti Music, is the perfect distillation of the harmony hidden in nature. There is chaos, to be sure, but it's governed by rules and form and structure. This isn't haphazard production. This is focus as laser-guided as the bass.

"Before the Dawn" kicks open the EP with apocalyptic synths reminiscent of early NiT GriT. The Bay Area producer gleefully marries throbbing bass blasts with playful piano melodies. And those strings. The string work is ubiquitous throughout Spiral Animals; at once majestic, and onimous at other times.

"Big Bang(er)" and album highlight "It Comes in Waves" are the darkest of the project. The former blends chiptune with elements of glitch-hop for a bouncier feel. But "Waves" is a straight up furious blast of evil. Headnoddingly addictive, the breakdown with its stabs of bass will be rattling around in your head all night. Again, the string arrangement rushes in and turns a brooding bass line into a chorus of Seraphim.

The yin and yang closing with Parts I & II of the title track resolve the internal struggles and notions arising from the album's unfolding. Odd and eerie is replaced by soothing and reflective. And in that dichotomy, and its eventual resolution, we get it, we get the Dubvirus M.O.

There is a unifying force. It's broader, much broader than our understanding, but there are those of us who see the patterns. The beauty. The math. Nod your head to that, Fibonacci.