Two of the nine cuts on 'Metal Box' carry the same triple signature: Flipz MC, Invadhertz and Qua Rush. That is the backbone of this Delta9 Recordings compilation, and the connection is no accident. Invadhertz came out of Italy — with stops at Flexout Audio and Addictive Behaviour — before carving out a place in the London scene, and Qua Rush travelled almost the same map: an Italian producer active since 2009, now based in London, with catalogue on Delta9, Flexout and Four Corners and a reputation for the deeper, more soulful side of drum & bass. Flipz MC closes the triangle: he shares the monthly Strictly Business show on Subtle Radio with Qua Rush, so what you hear on 'Run Away' and 'Revolution' is a well-worn partnership, not a one-off studio meeting. That both keep coming back to a label based in Bergamo gives the compilation a very concrete axis: Italy–London, both ways.
'Run Away' also arrives in the hands of Manikin, author of the only remix in the set and its shortest cut (3:22): someone else's material twisted in barely three minutes. At the other end, 'Ciapaqua' — Euphorics alongside Qua Rush, the Italian's third appearance on the record — takes 5:43, the most generous runtime of the nine, to unfold its argument without hurry.
The rest of the cast plays the discovery card, and Delta9 plays it well. Monyu is the only name to appear twice solo: 'Void Dweller' and 'Hyst' share an anchor in E — major on the first, minor on the second — like two faces of the same sketch. Kutlo ('Ghostin'), OZOH ('Faded Minds'), Broma ('Carpetbagger') and C-DU ('Deep Secrets') contribute one cut each, four voices the label sets in dialogue with its household names. That is the logic of 'Metal Box': two or three recognisable signatures hold the door open and a new crop walks through it. If Invadhertz and Qua Rush were once bets of this catalogue, it is worth noting who occupies that spot now.
Sources: Bandcamp · Drum & Bass UK