Review Summary: A concrete jungle in aural form, and an unparallelled definition of what Drum and Bass is all about.
When somebody mentioned Drum N’ Bass back in the day, chances are they’d be throwing one of two names at you-Photek or Goldie. And while Goldie may have been more famous, more controversial, and possessive of more commercial appeal, Photek was, in many ways, the superior artist. A part of the drum n’ bass scene since its birth, Rupert Parkes, more commonly known as Photek, released some of the most well-known and genre-defining jungle to ever hit the turntables. Easily more creative, more experimental and more thought out than his counterparts, Photek’s music is still to this day on par with the greatest of the scene. After releasing close enough to a hundred songs on various singles, Photek finally got his act together and issued his first full-length in 1997. This album, the highly anticipated Modus Operandi, is testament to a musical genius, and very well may be the premier Drum N’ Bass album of the original wave.
Insanely complex beats bash, scatter and shake alongside deep, rumbling bass and minimalistic keyboards. You struggle to keep track of the constantly shifting beat, waves and waves of percussion, bass drums and snares echoing around and around in your skull. Halcyonic synths merge with dirty basslines, creating the ultimate sonic painting. A concrete jungle in aural form. My friends, you’ve arrived at Modus Operandi. It’s easy to see why Photek is idolised in the jungle underground, especially in his native field of Ambient Drum N’ Bass. His attention to detail on Modus Operandi is astounding-every beat and pattern is expertly crafted, always evolving, never static or boring. Every sample is brilliantly placed, every song evolving at its own pace. Never once does Modus Operandi sound forced or constrained-Parkes lets his compositions flow and evolve naturally and organically, often leading to longer, drawn out ambient songs rich in atmosphere.
Functioning more as a complete suite and less as individual tracks, Modus Operandi is rich in lavish atmosphere. However, the pace doesn’t let up for much of the album. Aside from 124 and the title track, Photek keeps the polyrhythms blasting at breakneck speed for the entire album, putting most every other producer to shame with his complex arrangements. The basslines are as they should be in DnB-low, bassy and fluid, constantly moving and shifting, accentuating the beats and at times leading the entire song, while at others melancholically providing atmosphere. The keyboards also lend a great deal of atmosphere to this album, gently layering their airy melodies and chord progressions over the breaks and beats like smog settling over an urban landscape. Parkes, though adhering stubbornly to his unique style, incorporates a great many influences in his work-at times sounding almost jazzy, others faintly danceable, and others still laidback and ambient. Modus Operandi is in many ways the perfect soundtrack to a late night journey through the city-gritty, dark, foreboding; yet at the same time, insatiably curious, mysterious, and altogether fascinating.
Modus Operandi is an intense listen-the album is devoid of any form of vocal accompaniment, and has a fairly long running time, coming in at over an hour. With the shortest song clocking in at five minutes, and the longest over eight, many fans of more commercial Drum N’ Bass may become frustrated. The production of the album too makes for a hard listen-at times a tad flat, at times a tad hazy. Many will also find Modus Operandi a bit repetitious, with the album basically sticking to the same structure and ideas, albeit executed in different ways, throughout its entirety. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. These qualities further exemplify Photek’s unwillingness to conform to expectations, and his stout refusal to please anyone but himself. Further still, due to the (however great) monotony of the album, standout tracks are hard to pick up on, though songs like The Hidden Camera and the title track always seem to find their way back into the heads of Photek’s fans.
Regardless of your opinion on today’s Pendulum-infested DnB scene, Photek still stands as not only a defining DnB producer, but a revolutionary musician and composer who brought the style to new heights. Here on Modus Operandi, every sample, every drum pattern, every bassline is meticulously placed, with a sound that could serve as the soundtrack to Blade Runner. Despite the lack of variance and the intensity of Photek’s work, the atmosphere is unparalleled. Whether accompanying your study, reading, sleeping, drives, walks or midnight snacking, Modus Operandi is a must-have for every Junglist and fan of electronic around.
! Fucking love it. Been blasting this when I first wake up the past few days. Gets the good olll blood pumping! 
