The title says it all, as for ‘In Cuba’ Mala – known up until now as half of Digital Mystikz – travelled to Havana with Brownswood head Gilles Peterson. The results are a blend of very deep, almost primal rhythms that bring Mala’s dubstep beginnings in to the equation, but he tops this up with intense bursts of Cuban flavour. What is immediately striking is the depth of thought that has gone in to the production, and the way Mala can take a small seed – a rhythm, a dislocated piano chord, some distant chanting – and run with it to make a completely captivating track. Best heard underground in extreme darkness, ‘In Cuba’ allows its listeners the chance to close their eyes and imagine their own part of Havana. Once that’s done, they’ll not be able to stand still to the rhythms on this strangely invigorating record. Dark, exotic, a little twisted – and futuristic too.
5 out of 5
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
