Squang Dangs in the Key of Vibes

Manchester’s Fox has been a fixture of the city’s LEVELZ drum & bass crew for years, though until now his own productions have stayed firmly in the background. Squang Dangs in the Key of Vibes—his debut album on Lenzman’s Amsterdam label The North Quarter—is the sound of that patience paying off: eleven tracks of liquid drum & bass that never shout, and get further for it.

The supporting cast reads like a liquid drum & bass hall of fame: Calibre, L-Side, Lenzman, DLR & Alix Perez, Redeyes, Satl, Biome and FD all take production credits, and the record wears its collaborators well. Calibre’s warm, soulful rollers sit naturally beside L-Side’s unshakeable grooves, whilst Redeyes’ jazz-sampling instincts and Biome’s moody, low-slung pressure lend the album real breadth without fracturing its identity. Rather than a parade of cameos, it feels like a conversation between friends who share a language.

It’s fitting that The North Quarter should be the album’s home. Lenzman’s imprint has long championed the deep, hip-hop-inflected end of drum & bass, and NQ026 sits comfortably alongside the label’s best work—Bandcamp Daily has already flagged it in its July electronic roundup. The daft, self-aware title sets the tone: a record that takes its craft seriously but never itself.

Highlights come thick and fast. Opener Just Chillin’ lives up to its name, rolling breakbeats cushioned by sun-warmed pads and a bassline that wades rather than pushes. Sunshine Blues greys the palette, its mournful chords and half-time swagger carrying a genuine ache, whilst Empty Promises and Lion Ting bring the dancefloor pressure—Lion Ting in particular, all dancehall-inflected percussion and clipped vocal chops, is the album’s most immediate hook. Title track Squang Dang is the playful centrepiece, all skippy drums and cartoonish stabs, before Burdens closes on a note of real weight, sub bass and reverb working overtime to see the listener off into something reflective.

It would have been easy for a debut with this many A-listers attached to collapse into a showcase, but Squang Dangs in the Key of Vibes hangs together as a single, coherent statement. Fox’s taste in collaborators is matched by his own steady-handed production: drums always crisp, bass always round, vocals placed with room to breathe. For a first album it’s remarkably assured—a strong statement of intent from a veteran who’s clearly been quietly earning his stripes, and one that was well worth the wait.