Flowdan – Disaster Piece

East London's Marc Veira – aka Flowdan – has impeccable timing. A founding member of Wiley's Roll Deep crew, he's served as one of grime's most dedicated faces... but now his genre's back in the sun, and Disaster Piece (his label debut for TruThoughts) basks in that heat. Flowdan shows off exactly what we've been missing with foot-soldier metaphors, elastic scope and a serious talent for drama.

Over concrete pop structures and righteously sharp production, his distinctive gravel holds down tracks like Judgement or Testin' with winning confidence. Dons and Divas turns out in the record's hardest gear; Roll Deep pal Manga freaks out over Flowdan's 'Cool / Calm' mantra, holding down a vibe that's anything but. A couple of lines might still raise eyebrows for a casual listener – 'he's done with the bacon but he still goes ham,' for example, and Animai's guest vocals feel fresh on Curtain Call but wear a little thin four features in. Mostly, though, Flowdan flexes every inch of hard-won experience for a listen that's brutally, shamelessly exciting.