Magnetic Man CD

Hailed as "dubstep's first supergroup", funded by the Arts Council and signed to Sony: the story of Magnetic Man is a bit of a fairytale to be honest. Comprised of dubstep pioneers Skream, Benga and Artwork, the tripartite production project will inevitably do for dubstep what Pendulum did for D&B. The trio have already hit the top 10 with ubiquitous anthem "I Need Air" earlier this summer and now "Perfect Stranger" featuring chanteuse du jour Katy B is sitting well inside the top 20. The unashamed pop element of the album is, of course, what has pushed Magnetic Man into the public eye, but they haven't taken a full bite from the apple. Dark, bass-orientated tracks such as "Ping Pong" with its ominous auto tune vocal, the murmuring weighty riddim "Mad" and the crazed "K Dance" keep it real. Strange to think, that but a decade ago they were pioneers in the little known dubstep scene that was just crawling out of Croydon in its infancy. Maybe they really are magnetic?