Mysteries Of Funk (Anniversary Edition)

After ten years of being the best drum'n'bass mixer around as well as running his own stellar label, jungle godfather Grooverider finally released an album of his own, and it's worthy of the hype. While the beats on Mysteries of Funk are reminiscent of tracks recorded for his Prototype label by Matrix, Fierce, and Optical (the latter did much engineering work on the album), Grooverider has made them his own with atmospheres dedicated to the science-fiction end of jazz and fusion. "Rainbows of Colour" and "Imagination" are expansive four-minute diva tracks, and while there is an excellent darker track ("Where's Jack the Ripper"), Mysteries of Funk succeeds most when Groove is wrapping his drum'n'bass two-step around a distinctly mainstream attention to house and fusion ambience. It's wholly an artist record (whereas The Prototype Years was a tracks collection), but Mysteries of Funk succeeds on all its points. ~ John Bush