This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Bristol DJ Roni Size’s 1997 album New Forms put him at the forefront of the U.K. drum ’n’ bass pack. Now, with Breakbeat Era, he’s move so much further ahead he’s practically lapping the competition.
Teaming up with DJ Die and a singer named Leonie Laws, Roni ditches the jazz licks and wailing divas of New Forms and tries hard-stepping funk and rock on for, er, size. It’s another perfect fit. With tough, punchy grooves, knife-sharp drum machines that skitter and lurch, guitars that howl down dark alleys and throbbing subterranean basses, Ultra-Obscene is high-tech sci-fi braindance that would make the ultimate soundtrack to Blade Runner’s urban dystopia. It’s true — Size matters.
