Listening to it again for the first time in probably at least a year or two, I can’t help but wonder if Michael Zorn was ahead of his time when he released The City’s Collapsing (But Not Tonight) in 2002 under his artist name Zorn. It came out on the now-inactive Lux Nigra label, and from what I can recall in niche circles it fared well critically. There is something in its unusual syncopation and pattern-weaving that would make it cozy up snugly alongside dubstep hybrid acts like Brackles or Shortstuff. It’s more streamlined and crisp, but has the same flare for slightly beguiling rhythm… sort of that broken beat jerkiness of labels like Hotflush or Hyperdub, but with a decidedly motorik framework, bubbling with dense, chunky synths and basslines that would make Anthony Rother proud.

Discogs | Lux Nigra