Nero are continuing the cause to take dub step and bass music to the charts and to the masses with this euphoric four minute party smasher. Signed to the Chase and Status’ label MTA Records, the English producer duo, known to their mothers respectively as Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray, released their debut album “Welcome Reality” just in time for the festivals in August last year. They baffled many, charting at number 1 in the UK at the demand of the bass maddened youth of today while the older generation sat scratching their heads as to what this new alien form of music was, just as their heroes Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers have done in the past.
This single release offers the A track “Must be the Feeling”, with “Innocence” on the B. The former is a more house friendly almost Justice reminiscent style with everything in the way of big pop sensibilities thanks to the sweet sounding vocal sample from 80s Detroit disco teen diva Carmen, which Stevens and Ray explain that they “scoured the internet” trying to find “rare boogie tracks”. Not to fill you with connotations of LMFAO or anything but you can easily see this track going down a storm in any night club back drop.
There is certainly an old school boogie theme running through this when you pay attention to the bass guitar samples in the fore front of the beat as well, very much in a way that is done by Justice on their track “Genesis”. But it’s all rather interestingly juxtaposed with Nero’s very futuristic sci-fi imagery. Indeed, Stevens has even described their full length LP as having a “fictional concept, set in the year 2808," he also told The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis "I personally hear this as a post-apocalyptic world trying to rebuild itself."
The music video accompanying this latest release sums up the sci- fi theme rather thoroughly as it sees the two coasting through a twilight city scape, smattered with huge adverts, (rather a bleak take on out future if you ask me) while in a high speed chase, driving the most swaged up Jeremy Clarkson heart attack inducing sports car anyone has ever seen. They appear clad in their customary leather jacket and massive sun glasses a look that manages to blur a line between Schwarzenegger and Bono. Dance producers have rarely sported the most daring stylists (bar The Prodigy) but it’s hardly the point really.
“Innocence” meanwhile, takes Nero back to their 2010 dub step foundations. It comes with a mighty wallop of bass and the genres signature compressed snare and bass drum sound. Although it comes with an effective enough vocal melody to provide the all-important hook, the track is more modest in its ambitions and dares not to stray from the genre’s clichés. Still, it’s a nice accompaniment all the same.
Nero spent the latter part of 2011 providing support for Tinie Tempah on his expansive arena tour and are currently on the road again providing floor fillers for the masses with their 13 date tour, hitting Academy venues of cities up and down the land. With the way this genre is going and the 100% chart success rate these two already boast, you’d be daring or just foolish to deny them their place on the arena stages in the near future as well.
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