The curiosity of seeing a new album from The Expert brings back nostalgia from the previous decade for arguably the first great rap group from Ireland, Messiah J and The Expert. One of the things that separated them from the crowd was the sheer quality and imagination of their production was light years ahead of their contemporaries.

The Expert aka Cian Galvin has returned with a debut solo album ‘Dynamic Drift’. jam packed with soulful samples and down tempo beats lathered with atmospheric production. The Expert always operated in a different league to their Irish contemporaries in their heyday and Galvin’s the ability to meld disparate samples together seamlessly into a song with an overwhelmingly natural feel have not diminished in the intervening years. For a process that draws sounds together from disparate sources, it never comes across as anything other than organic.

While individual tracks are of a high standard ‘Dynamic Drift’ deserves to be consumed as a whole. From Short Trips right through to Rainy Night the songs shift, shuffle and slide with ease with the overall tone is smooth and easy to digest whilst subtly morphing throughout.

For instance, The Expert ups the funk beats on Sharks In The Bedroom before shifting ito more cinematic fare on Toasted Tuna. While smatterings of sampled vocals on the outstanding Da Wha, float in and wave goodbye just as quickly as they say hi.

Not since RJD2’s ‘Deadringer’ has an Irish album of this ilk reached such heights. It’s no understatement to say that The Expert’s ‘Dynamic Drift’ is every bit as memorable. ‘Dynamic Drift’ is the work of an artisan producer at the top of his craft. You might even say an expert.