by John Bush
A full decade of acid jazz never produced a more stunning fusion of electronic music with live instrumentation than Making Bones. Poised halfway between
Sly & Robbie
and
Roni Size
, Red Snapper's first album for a worldwide audience surfs a wave of breakbeat funk that includes nods to dub, punk, soul, drum'n'bass and hip-hop. The rock-steady rhythm section of
Richard Thair
(drums) and
Ali Friend
(bass) holds the groove better than any sampler, tying together radically different material like classic British soul on "Image of You," metallic drum'n'bass on "The Sleepless" (with excellent rapping by
MC Det
) and the fusion update "Bogeyman" (with trumpeter
Byron Wallen
). It's obvious the Snapper have mastered all aspects of '90s electronic dance, and Making Bones is proof positive.