Sound of the Pirates

by John BushSound of the Pirates, the first mix album from one of the British garage scene's best and most successful producers, tweaks an increasingly commercial sound and attempts to move it back to the underground it came from (pirates being the extra-legal radio stations that break most new sounds in the British dance scene). Zed Bias may be able to lure in a few pop-friendly listeners with the track listing, though most of these familiar titles -- Roy Davis, Jr.'s "Gabriel" (mixed by Large Joints), Basement Jaxx' "You Can't Stop Me" (by Stephen Emanuel), Artful Dodger's "Movin Too Fast" (by Zed Bias himself), and his own massive hit "Neighbourhood" -- are actually exclusive remixes, not originals. Bias also moves into heavy ragga later in the mix, with great tracks from Northbound ("Northbound Sound"), Suburban Lick ("Here Comes the Lick"), and Wideboys ("Something's Got Me Started"). If there's anything left for 2-step in the underground dance scene, it's most likely this tougher sound, not the American-influenced R&B that hit the charts.