It’s been 7 years since the legendary drum & bass duo Artificial Intelligence-led Integral Records unleashed a mysterious name into the DnB fray. Since then, the cryptic narrative of the label has only gained strength.
It all started with Dawn Wall, when they released a series of EPs in 2015, until Mohican Sun showed up just months after in 2016 to escalate the confusion. The similarities between the aesthetics of the two aliases and their song structures could be told in deep sleep. However, Integral Records did a fantastic job making the subtle differences between the two monikers evidently known.
This trend lasted until Integral Records steadily navigated the withdrawals of Dawn Wall and Mohican Sun’s consistent music releases, with their final release to date coming in 2019. Then came another mysterious name called Tatora carrying the same musical schematics. But this time, it was without their customary tribal artworks.
Like Dawn Wall and Mohican Sun, the entirety of the drum & bass fanbase has very little clue of who Tatora are; but after 7 years of hunting, we’ve all made peace with their anonymity because the music coming out from their camp is breathtaking.
UKF interviewed Tatora and when they were asked about doing an anonymous interview, they conveniently went on to say “It was kinda funny because I know you, and you don’t know who you’re speaking to.”
Tatora’s last release came by the end of 2021 with the ‘Confessions’ EP. And after nearly a year, they have returned to Integral Records for the ‘Cache_1’ EP. We took a closer look into the EP, beginning with ‘What You Gonna Do’, a track that is meticulously carved with sampling and drum style of Dawn Wall and Mohican Sun.
Next tune in the EP is ‘PR8LMZ’, which is once again a prime example of great sampling and delicate melodies. ‘Eyes Closed’ is where they unleash their tribal influences alongside Kaloa, the latest mysterious name from the label, which is another long story to tell. ‘Ashes’ takes the EP into the darker realms with its hypnotic pads and synths rounded off with classic Integral Records style soaked bassline. ‘FWM’ brings the EP to a close with deep and rolling sounds all the way through under tender vocal samples and oriental melodies.
Buy/Stream the ‘Cache_1’ EP – HERE
