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Roots Manuva - Awfully Deep Awfully Deep might refer more to the sonic nature of this recording that any philosophical underpinnings, but Roots Manuva is someone who's always revelled in dual meanings. And as such, it's a perfect title for a man that little bit further down the line, that little bit wiser. A few bars into opening track, Mind 2 Motion, the listener is thrust right back into the uniquely compelling world of Rodney Smith at the sound of this little couplet: "I'm up to things, I'm into things, please God forgive me for my sinny sin sins."
It might be over three years since Run Come Save Me, but as the saying goes, it's like he's never been away. And you can hardly blame him, because the follow up to the Brit and Mercury nominated, and gold-selling Run Come Save Me was always going to be a challenge. The kind that keeps you awake nights. In fact, these difficulties are something that Rodney is quite open about, and you can find a little bit more about the process in our interview.
Not that the album sounds difficult, or forced, but on balance it's probably a little more measured. Not quite as spontaneous, but still frequently ingenious. Each rhyme still feels like it could end up anywhere, and indeed usually does. But that's always been the thrill of listening to Roots Manuva. There's something bizarrely personable about it all, and that's not something you can often say about rap.
Musically, it is a denser record too. Whether it's the synthetic hydraulic production lines that seem to reside in the background of the title track or Chin High, the sense that this whole thing is a more deliberate affair is reinforced throughout. In fact Chin High, which sits at the mid-way point of the album, is a real standout moment. Rodney insists that even though it's about overcoming a struggle, it's not about anything in particular. So as you nod your head to "Chin high, puffed chest, we step right to it: The choice is there ain't no choice but to pursue it," you can apply the upbeat mantra to your own issues.
Another track, Cause 4 Pause is effectively split in two, and with its strong melodic underpinning, punctuates the arc of the album on tracks 3 and 10 without feeling repetitive. And whilst there's probably nothing quite as infectiously melodious as Dreamy Days this time around, the dub sound and influence can be traced right through. Those round plummy bass notes pulsing through; distant depth charges heard from the confines of a submarine.
Often fairly laid back, this is best exemplified by Thinking, a track found towards the end of the album. It really does sound like the slow, pensive beat and arrangement is making its steady way through in the background, letting Rodney get his head round a few things and serve them up when ready. Half rapping (or ranting as he likes to call it) and half singing, the focal line is "I'm dangerously thinking, thinking about me sitting here thinking."
Finally, penultimate track The Falling deserves a mention. Strangely reminiscent of the atmosphere generated on All Things To All Men, (the track Manuva collaborated with The Cinematic Orchestra on), if not in terms of music, it's a steadying yet spooky urban hymn. Lyrically it's hardly upbeat, yet it manages to take on a universal voice, as if recounting the observations of an angel watching the city. Maybe that's an odd way to describe it, but when the majority of the album feels like an unpredictable journey round Rodney Smith's head, suddenly it feels distant and objective. It's the musical equivalent of that shot in the Wachowski brother's Bound, where the top-down camera pans over the different rooms, silently observing the occupants going about their business. Either way, it's a great moment and you're going to be hearing it a lot in 2005, one way or another.
Awfully Deep is, as they say, a grower. It might not hit you right away, but when it's got you it's a universe you'll want to inhabit often. Maybe it's the way the bass and instrumentation seem to envelope you. Maybe it's the way Rodney's lyrics always seem so playful yet almost sermonic at the same time. But that's just how you'd hope an album called Awfully Deep would sound, isn't it?
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