High End Theory: Theorist – A World Full of Robots

CD Review: Theorist – A World Full of Robots

1^st Blood Records

From mild-mannered Metal Mickey to the terrifying T1000, the human race’s relationship with robots has always been a strained one. So acting like the audio equivalent of Will Smith in I, Robot, Notts born-and-bred producer Theorist presents this aural attack on a world of androids.

Best known under the name Zero Theory, his classic hip-hop beats on local rhyme heavyweight Cappo’s Get Out albums are legendary. These were followed up by a proper vinyl EP release on Breakin’ Bread which – if you can’t get hold of the homemade originals – you should definitely buy.

Theorist wastes no time with pleasantries, enquiring on opener the Battery “How would you feel if you were the only human in a world full of robots?” No time to think as a mighty drum track comes crashing in, rousing a war cry in the listener before cinematic strings swirl through and there is some reprieve. The album continues in much the same vein, reflecting the otherworldliness of a struggle between man and machine. Menacing soundscapes and haunting choral samples are punctuated with mechanical whirrs. Digital beeps are at odds with playful 80s action film-style guitar riffs.

This album is a masterpiece in production – and made entirely on an old-school Ensoniq sampler. Isaac Asimov may have ruled that a robot may not injure a human, but these ‘bots just killed it, blud!

DOWNLOAD THE FULL ALBUM FOR FREE HERE.

Originally published in Left Lion magazine Issue #33.

Advertisements