Novelist - 'Quantum Leap': Cavernous space grime from South London's answer to Scott Bakula

Much like its cinematic namesake, Quantum Leap transports you into another dimension. Its whirring synth melodies and leadenly drum patterns plunge listeners into a vast interstellar expanse in which the only reliable form of spatial navigation is a juicy sub bassline peaking through a complex percussive soundscape. All but devoid of vocal interjection and named after a cult 80s sci-fi time travel series shaped around the concept of leaping between historical moments in order to right wrongs, this EP represents a definite stylistic shift for the Brockley MC and producer.

Unequivocally futuristic yet simultaneously anchored to a distinctly 80s-influenced sound bank of deep reverberating snares, sawtooth synths and ambient keys, the record’s sonic identity is unique. On ‘The Sapphires’, descending arpeggios chime from a thick old phased synth, peppering a heavy, sauntering beat like weighty drops of water splashing on a double-glazed conservatory roof. Twinkling hi-hats drop in and out of a deep, tense instrumental backdrop which appears to represent the musical equivalent of standing on the precipice of a black hole. Dense claps circle overhead, their echoes scattering across a deep, dark backdrop.

‘We are one’ appears to intertwine light, subtly ingrained 90s rave influences with speedy, pulsating dancehall tones. Its opening synth pads rise slowly like the calm glow of a morning sun, before the entrance of a captivatingly groovy percussive arrangement. Cowbells are sprinkled intermittently over the beat, while disrupted four-on-the-floor bass drums weave in and out of a track which encapsulates Novelist’s varied musical influences. The beat tape’s penultimate instalment ‘Billionaire Boys’ is driving, punchy, shaped by the same positive, hopeful energy conveyed within the song’s title. An ambient synth melody lingers throughout the composition, a kind of reverberating electronic keynote which wouldn’t seem out of place thrown into the introductory title of Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Besides an echoing opening speech which introduces theological influences in calls of ‘Let there be wisdom / Let there be prosperity’ and thus rings with the bold, simple, philosophical clarity typical of Novelist's lyrical work, the EP is completely stripped of vocals. Demonstrating his proficiency in production, Novelist steps back from the mic and in doing so creates an intrinsically spacious, contemplative and fascinating project.

Arguably, Novelist’s greatest strength is his prolificity; Quantum Leap is his fourth EP of 2020, and each project possesses a unique musical character. Infused with ambient keys and a sonic tone which repeatedly intertwines grimy syncopated rhythms with polyphonic forays into intergalactic realms, this latest release is arguably his most intriguing of late.