Music Spot: DJ Tomban - Forgotten

From time to time, we shine the spotlight on a SoundGym member by reviewing one of
their releases for our Music Spot feature. This time around we are taking an in-depth look at
Tomasz Banaczkowski’s latest album as DJ Tomban, Forgotten.
 

There’s a difference between playing by the rules and reinventing the game, and DJ Tomban
lives somewhere in the middle, a musical mad scientist in a lab of breaks and bass. A
product of Poland’s late 90's hip-hop hustle turned genre-blending drum and bass explorer,
Tomban doesn’t just make tracks; he conjures sonic escapades. His music thrives on
contrast: delicate piano lines rub elbows with seismic bass drops, and liquid D&B meets
moments of reckless experimentation. With Forgotten, he takes us on a thrilling ride - a
kaleidoscopic journey through the conventions of drum and bass and the places they might
be broken.

Album opener ‘In The Dark’ sets the tone with deceptive ease. A wash of ethereal synths
and fragile, skittering breaks unfurl before detonating into something ferocious. Distorted
basslines rip through the track, but there’s a delicacy here too-tinkling piano figures and
melodic vocals that nod to the liquid D&B canon. It’s a declaration of intent: this album
won’t play it safe, but it also won’t abandon the emotional resonance that anchors the
genre. Tomban understands that D&B thrives on tension between dark and light, chaos
and order and he exploits that balance beautifully here.

Of course, it’s impossible to discuss drum and bass without acknowledging the rules etched
into its DNA: frenetic tempos, chopped-up breaks, and basslines engineered for maximum
damage. The best producers know the real art lies in bending these boundaries without
breaking the groove, and Tomban proves himself more than up to the challenge. Take ‘Lift
Me Up’ for example. Here, he makes the audacious choice to hold back on the drums,
never really letting them kick in, a move that might feel like heresy on a single but works
brilliantly within the album’s arc. It creates a moment of respite that amplifies the album’s
peaks and valleys.

What makes Forgotten such a triumph is its embrace of influences without ever feeling
derivative. ‘Last Night’ nods to Metrik’s sleek, sci-fi aesthetic, its synths shimmering like the
reflection of neon lights on a rain-slicked city street. Meanwhile, ‘Face the Storm’ recalls the
relentless drive of Delta Heavy, its beats propelling forward like a freight train at full tilt. The
standout moment, however, is ‘Euphoria.’ Here, Tomban channels the introspective
soundscapes of Etherwood, layering lush pads and intricate details into a track that feels
less like a song and more like a living, breathing environment. It’s the kind of piece that
stops you in your tracks and demands your full attention.

So much of the formula of D&B is almost set in stone - the smart artist relishes the
challenge of being creative within these boundaries. Tomban doesn’t just relish the
challenge; he revels in it, twisting familiar elements into shapes that feel fresh and vital. And
in doing so, he manages to honour the genre’s lineage while carving out his own niche
within it.

The real magic of Forgotten, though, lies not in its technical prowess or its clever
subversions but in its emotional pull. Tomban’s music is never just about the beats; it’s
about the moments in between the spaces where beauty and chaos collide, where the
pulse of the dancefloor meets the stillness of introspection. This is an album that dares to
take risks and lands nearly all of them. And in a genre that often feels like it’s hurtling
forward at 174 BPM without pause, Forgotten is a reminder that sometimes, the most
thrilling journeys are the ones where you take a moment to look around.

You can find DJ Tomban on Instagram, TikTok and Spotify.

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