Rapoon – Cold War : Drum ‘N’ Bass (Digital/CD Album – Zoharum)
Although Robin Storey has been active with his Rapoon project for even longer, he will always be closely associated with Zoviet France. In 2001, the British artist released Cold War: Drm ‘N’ Bass, an album now celebrating its 25th anniversary with the addition of an exclusive third disc. The original double album was conceptual on several levels. Storey explored elements of D’n’B, fusing them with his distinctive musical universe, while also using the work as a personal reflection on the state of the world and contemporary geopolitics.
That theme remains as relevant as ever and serves as the guiding principle of the new third disc, which draws its inspiration from today’s global conflicts. The world seems not to have changed for the better—if anything, it has become even more troubled—yet these developments continue to inspire artistic expression.
The original album has lost none of its magic or power. It is Rapoon at its very best. Tribal influences emerge primarily through the rhythms, intertwined with the project’s familiar Eastern-inspired atmospheres. The music is dark, at times almost bleak, and enriched by the deep, low-end textures that characterize D’n’B. The new album features eleven tracks that echo the themes and ideas of the original compositions while leaning more toward Experimental music and Cinematic soundscapes. Atmosphere takes center stage, with the D’n’B elements receding into the background. Repetitive loops, Industrial textures, and wonderfully crackling samplings from radio transmissions are seamlessly woven together into an apocalyptic whole. I even detected a track with distinct Martial influences, which fits perfectly within the album’s overall concept.
This is therefore far more than a straightforward reissue. It is a thoughtful reimagining of the original work, shaped by the turbulent events of recent years and given renewed relevance in today’s world. (Rating:8).
Listen to “It’s Over Isn’t It?”:
About Rapoon
Rapoon is the solo project of English musician Robin Storey, based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Storey formed Rapoon in 1992 after the breakup of Zoviet France, the group he had been part of since 1980, using the new project to explore what he described as “ethnic musics” and techniques he felt he could not pursue with his former band.
Most of Storey’s recordings in the 1990s appeared on Staalplaat and Soleilmoon, including “Raising Earthly Spirits” (1993) and “The Kirghiz Light” (1995). A 1996 US tour led to a connection with Matt Jacobson of Relapse Records, which released “The Fires of the Borderlands” in 1998. Rapoon’s “Cold War: Drum n Bass” first appeared as a double CD on Caciocavallo in 2001. Later releases include “Time Frost” (2007, Glacial Movements), “The Library of the Dead” (2008, Ewers Tonkunst), “Disappeared Redux” (2012, Zoharum) and “Cultural Forgeries” (2014, Alrealon Musique). In 2019, Storey discussed the project’s approach in a Click Interview with Rapoon on Side-Line.
Zoharum, which had already released Rapoon’s “Disappeared Redux” in 2012, now reissues “Cold War: Drum n Bass” as a 3xCD edition, adding the new third disc reviewed here.
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