Track Review: Hybrid - Break My Soul

It's only fitting that the first track review for the new progressivebreaks.net is one from Hybrid. PBN might not exist if it weren't for the boys from Swansea. It was some ten years ago when I first heard "If I Survive" playing over the speakers of the little club in my hometown. It stopped me in my tracks then and even today remains one of my favorite songs of all time. Over the years Hybrid has provided many a spine-tingling moment: whether from seeing them perform live, or randomly happening across one of their old remixes. Indeed the PBN studio is adorned with autographed Hybrid posters. What I'm getting at is that to love Hybrid is to love progressive breaks, and I love me some mother effing Hybrid.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way... The boys have just recently released "Break My Soul" to the public. It's the first track off their upcoming album, "Disappear Here" set to release at the end of March. Funny thing is, "Break My Soul" is *not* progressive breaks (gasp!) At least, not technically. I'm clocking it at about 150bpm, and the beat sounds decidedly drum n' bass-ish. However there is no denying the trademark Hybrid sound: lush, orchestral sounds hit you from the very first moment. The haunting voice of Charlotte James joins in soon after and then you are in for a driving, cinematic, beautiful journey that travels between melancholy and uplifting emotions with an artful deftness that only Hybrid can achieve. To me, these qualities embrace the core ideas I associate with progressive breaks, and for that reason, "Break My Soul" deserves a review on here, genres be damned.

This is an excellent teaser for the new album and only heightens my anticipation to see what they've come up with. I was pretty disappointed with Hybrid's last full CD, Soundsystem 01 (2 CDs of Ambient/Downtempo and House? C'mon guys. #FAIL) so I'm hoping "Disappear Here" is the return to form I so desperately want them to make.

Keep an eye out for a full review of the CD on progressivebreaks.net when it is released. You can watch the video for "Break My Soul" on http://hybridsoundsystem.com or download it by signing up for their email updates. I suggest the latter, burning "Break My Soul" on to CD, rolling the windows down in your car, and cranking it to 11.