Unity - Ganja White Night

Ganja White Night flex their great muscles and spring together another wobbly dubstep album, a nifty addition to their mammoth catalogue.

 The Belgian trio have been in the wobbly dubstep game for a while now, garnering critical acclaim across a multitude of different albums that all seek to further the lore of their character "Mr. Wobble". And, as an overarching project, "Unity" does a pretty good job at being holistic in nature, feeling rich and full. For over an hour of runtime, "Unity" is ultimately very satisfying in nature at fulfilling its sound throughout the album's entire length, and, for the most part, Ganja White Night's classic sound is to thank for that. Their wonky basslines rip through grand buildups, staggering drunkenly across whatever soundscape they're thrown into, slicing a lopsided bass-serrated knife through buttery atmospheres and constantly throwing feints and curveballs, always staying on top — and, somehow, always maintaining a sense of unnerving dignity while doing it. To succumb to the evershifting rhythms is to succumb to the pseudo-psychedelic stylistics and intensity-charged bassline runs: an irresistible thing, when Ganja White Night do it correctly — and make no mistake, in "Unity", they often do. But I suppose what really makes "Unity" stand out is its ability to truly exist as a unified project, in that it feels almost like a journey. And the whole wobbly gag isn't to thank for that here, but the cinematicism exhibited outside of the drop sections. Ganja White Night utilise minimal synth lines and expansive stringwork, with an emphasis on sound design, to capture a sense of worldbuilding — however abstract — that proves imperative to the project's engagement. Faced with the task of melding this together with their aforementioned dubstep, equal parts quivering and destructive, Ganja White Night are unfazed. Unfazed indeed, and unafraid to draw out tracks where necessary — boasting an average track length of almost 5 minutes, something you don't often see in a rave-centric bass music scene — to truly let the dynamics of a track shine in full. Whilst "Unity" is a longer project for sure, it maintains its engagement all throughout, a prospect helped tremendously by the army of collaborators. From Subtronics to Mr. Bill, Infected Mushroom to PEEKABOO, Boogie T to PAV4N, everyone is able to bring some extra spice to each track, but it's always the deep wubby style and grandiose cinematics of Ganja White Night that ultimately prevails.

That being said, despite all the crafty atmosphere work, the storyline is a little too vague, and can often be undermined by the — once again, rave-centric — needs of the audience Ganja White Night must cater for. "Unity" is a rich project, a full project, a well-cooked project and a cohesive project, but it feels limited by the inherent nature of the stylistic choices undertaken by Ganja White Night. Nevertheless, a project I would recommend.