Join the Q

Join the Q is one of 2009’s most highly anticipated dance albums. It boasts an impressive array of guest vocalists, from Mike Patton, legendary front man of Faith No More, to the king of grime himself, Wiley, via a whole bunch of significant names in the drum’n’bass scene too numerous to list here. The different genres from which their guests come represent the wide experience and experimentation in music that The Qemists were born out of. The trio originally came together as guitarist, bassist and drummer of a rock band, touring the UK and Europe, but around ’97 found a firm interest in drum’n’bass, which they are now most often classified as. However, their rock’n’roll background is still there under the laptops and decks, and it’s because of this fusion of sounds that the band settled on their name.

Opening track ‘Stompbox’ immediately lets the listener know exactly what they’re dealing with. Sounding something like a nation of robots rebelling, it opens with mutterings of dissent which gradually grow into a full blown riot, and spotlights the combination of the main two styles of music the band are interested in.

On track two, Mike Patton makes his appearance, offering to “be your hooker”, a slightly disconcerting notion. However, any worry you may feel about this will be removed by the song’s catchy refrain. Track four ‘Dem Na Like Me’ is a highlight; real dirty grime done by the master. One other interesting guest appearance deserves a mention: Zoe Devlin Love from Alabama 3 sings on track six, ‘S.W.A.G’, bringing suggestions of their own bizarre genre-blend (acid-house-meets-country-and-blues) to what is already a confusing mix. ‘On The Run’ offers slightly more melodic vocals from another female singer, whereas ‘When Ur Lonely’ has one of the most obvious guitar parts on the album. Penultimate track ‘Got One Life’ takes the prize for best sampling, although I sincerely hope that techno-opera isn’t the future of music.

There is such incredible support from other musicians on this record; surely there’s something in that, surely they can’t all be wrong? The phrase “something for everyone” truly applies here; The Qemists appear to be on a three-man-mission to break down as many musical barriers as possible. The only problem is that whatever your particular “something” happens to be, it’s guaranteed to be layered over several laptops and a couple of decks. Join the Q is an ambitious record and definitely deserves points for innovation, even though the end result can be a little messy at times.