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Om Unit Champions the Drum and Bass Revival With 'Inversion' EP, Out on Metalheadz

The eight-track EP will also feature old samples dug out from Goldie's dusty archives.

London producer Jim Coles (better known as Om Unit) will unleash his next EP, Inversion, on Metalheadz—the esteemed drum and bass label founded in 1994 by Goldie and Kemistry & Storm. Coles has repeatedly said that Metalheadz is the label that has had the biggest influence on his own sound, and has previously released his 2013 EP Sleepwalkers and track "Timeless" on the UK-based label.

The eight-track EP is due November 17, and will feature samples culled from label boss Goldie's archive. "The project is really… a nod to [the] sound of my teenage self," says Coles in a press release. "To sweeten the deal, Goldie gave me access to some DATs out of his studio… which I gladly used as salt and pepper to spice up the work." The track "Bardo Realms," Coles reveals, features a more-than-a-decade-old sample of Goldie vocalizing an "Ahhh." "I love the thought of that," Coles says.

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The Inversion EP marks Coles' contribution to the drum and bass revival that we've seen in recent years. Signs that the scene is alive, buzzing, and moving in new directions have proliferated—including London's Southbank Centre's orchestral rendition of Goldie's 20-year-old album Timeless (read our in-depth interview with the legend here), the rise of Chicago footwork (which brought back the fast-tempos and breakbeats of sister genres jungle and rave), and recent, breakbeat-heavy releases by the likes of Zomby, Machinedrum, Andy Stott and Ital Tek.

But Coles is quick to point out that his next release is not meant to be "an exercise in technical skill, nor a showcase or automated sound design." Instead, he says, "It's a blueprint of what could be another way."

Tracklist 

01. Touching Down 
02. The War (Feat Jehst) 
03. The Crossing 
04. Layers 
05. Bardo Realms 
06. Understated 
07. Parallel 
08. Mystic

Om Unit's US tour starts today, see dates below. 

Weds October 8th - Flash, Washington DC
Thurs October 9th - Phoenix Landing, Boston, MA
Fri October 10th - Paperbox, Brooklyn, NYC
Sat October 11th - Club Vinyl, Denver, CO
Mon October 13th - Bullitt Bar, Orlando, FL
Weds October 15th- Barcelona, Austin, TX
Thurs October 16th - Habitat, Calgary, AB 
Fri October 17th - Flashbacks, Kelowna, BC
Sat October 18th - Open Studios, Vancouver, BC
Sun October 19th - F8, San Francisco, CA
Tues October 21st - Baltic Room, Seattle, WA
Weds October 22nd - New Parish, Oakland, CA 

@MichelleLhooq