Temple Of Sound

Fever. Obsession. Relentless beat. Nightmare visions. Poetry. Soho smoky night bars. Frenetic Cuban dancers. Sensuality. Sweat. Party.
No wonder Temple of Sound are two former TransGlobal Underground member-probably the most outspoken ones :Neil Spark, the poet, painter, percussionist and Count Dubulah, the forever masked figure responsible for these heavy dub rolling basslines, screaming guitars, and bouts of Mediterranean nobility. Alongside Neil and Dubulah come Turntable Taffia on drums and beats, and via Jamaica and Birmingham Hip Hop Diva Julianna on vocals.

Temple Of Sound deal out breakbeats with a difference: They incorporate heavy doses of near-hardcore-drum'n'bass, pulsating dub, hip hop raps, multiple layers of percussion, amid Afro-Cuban jungle screams and Rhodes piano. However the album is regularly punctuated by laid-back, languid, dreamy songs like 'Black & White' or 'Corazon' which perfectly balance the relentless and frantically feisty beat of 'Pretty Thing', 'Friday Night Shango' and 'Saturday Night Shiva', or the very dark mood of 'Black Orchid' or 'Sunstone'.

"Black Orchid...Late comer for album of the year, perchance"
-The Big Issue

"Dissonance and beauty in equal parts"
-Melody Maker