I’ve decided to give up doing regular articles for the site. However what’s already been written will remain on the net. I would like to see the music download links becoming permanent, but in the meantime if you’re not having any luck with them contact me and I’ll get them up & running again.

Unfortunately Blogsome (the company that hosts this site) can be hopelessly incompetent at times. It’s because of them that Darkside Sophistication is so slow to load up compared to other blogs, but you should see how fucking slow it is when you want to actually upload something onto it, it’s even worse!

It’s came to my attention that the site has an issue when it comes to viewers posting comments. Basically blogsome wants me to approve each comment before it posts them up, but it’s not always obvious that poeple have done one, which explains the delay in getting them on the site. And due to the complicated nature of the Admin page I did accidentally delete one from Bruno Belluomini of the http://www.tranquera.org/ Brazillian Dubstep site a few weeks ago. Sorry!

Here’s a more recent comment by Lizard Drinker on the Tasha’s piece below: ‘Being a broken beat junkie myself, I have to say that (for me personally) some of the dubstep I have heard has for the main part, appeals to my ears. I think you’re spot on when you say it’s a ‘dirtier’ sound. And there’s nothing wrong with that it all!’

Lizard Drinker and some other ‘Broken Beat junkies’ have spoke some more about the article on this thread: http://p198.ezboard.com/Broken-Beat-amp-Dubstep-Article-by-Tasha-TP-on-DarksideSo/fomniverse21281frm1.showMessage?topicID=7102.topic (the 4hero forum, Broken’s main one). 

So meanwhile, yeah, comentary is a slow process but if you’re getting pissed off with it you can always contact the site the more direct way via the ‘contact’ link on the top right of the page. But as I seem to be getting more of them I’ll be manually checking them more frequently from now on. 

Tasha is heavily involved in the Broken Beat scene through her work for the Broadcite.com internet magazine and her own fanzine, TP: A Soul Sample. Relatively new to Dubstep, in this article she looks at the interraction between the two genres. Tasha can be found on Broadcite,  www.myspace.com/tashatp and close to the speakers in Co-Op!

Dubstep & broken beat: two peas in a pod or two million miles apart? 

Dubstep - A hybrid of Garage. Spawned from the UK Garage sound and deemed a ‘South London sound’ due to the location of many of the scene’s key players and it’s main record store. Played at the night, Forward in London. The name ‘Dubstep’ is said to have hailed from the media (no surprise there). Dominating features are the sub bass, the frequency and the unexpected drum patterns. File next to: Grime, UK Garage/UKG, Dub Reggae…

Broken Beat – the term given to the type of music produced and played by producers such as IG Culture, Domu, Bugz in The Attic. Deemed a ‘West London sound’ due to the location of many of these artists’ studios as well as key distribution company, Goya Music. Played at the club night, Co-Op in London. Dominating features are unexpected drum patterns and a wonky-sounding ‘broken’ beat, sound clashes…. Organic synths and vocals also feature in many tracks. File next to: Jazz/Acid Jazz, Soulful House, Soul, Techno.
 
Please note: these genre descriptions are not only subjective, they are also very generalised, so please keep reading even if you’re already cussing! The rest of what I’ve gotta say may be even more subjective - though hopefully pretty thought-provoking too. 

When I was asked to write about the similarities between Dubstep and Broken Beat (and their scenes) my initial thought was: well, Broken Beat has more soul and Dubstep is dirtier. And after weeks of pondering and exploring both sounds I think I still come to that conclusion. But things ain’t that black and white…

It’s hard really to separate each of the genres’ ‘sounds’ and each of their ‘scenes’; this would involve trying to decipher exactly what constitutes a ‘scene’ – probably highly debatable and would include such factors as: clubs playing the same kind of music, people with similar interests attending similar nights, the same DJs playing at certain nights etc. Defining a ‘sound’ is slightly easier, however the dominating features (see above) may still be debatable and may not even feature at all in any of the more prominent Dubstep/Broken tunes au jour.

I’ll delve deeper into the history of each of the scenes in a moment to see if there are any similarities in the sounds and the roots of the scenes, but first of all I want to highlight some of the more obvious similarities between the two sounds which are both raw and from the underground. The experimentalism of both of these genres is definitely something that relates them. Separated at birth? I don’t think so… BUT there is certainly a wealth of similarities worth exploring and analysing…let’s start scratching the surface…

Some of the more obvious similarities:

Co-Op started at the Velvet Rooms, Central London but now runs at Plastic People in Shoreditch, East London. Coincidentally (or not) Dubstep’s most prominent club night, Forward also started life at the Velvet Rooms (back when many parts of the UK were awash with the sound of UK Garage) and now runs at Plastic People…

Both sounds allegedly spurred from one part of London (Broken Beat from West London – key producers had studios here and the West is home to Goya Music Distribution); Dubstep is credited to South London due to the fact that key producers J Da Flex and El B (from Ghost) as well as Benga & Skream were all from Greater Croydon as was the Dubstep-pioneering (but now defunct) Big Apple Record shop. 

For both Dubstep and Broken Beat there seems to be one company acting as a ‘hub’, for things such as distribution, promotions and even running the scene’s most prominent regular night: these are Goya, the hub of all things Broken Beat (with close connections to the Co-Op club night) and Ammunition, the hub of all things Dubstep (Sarah (Soulja) Ammunition is responsible for the Forward night, the Tempa record label, Dubplate.net and a tonne more Dubstep-related biznizz)… Incidentally, the promotions arm of Ammunition was once graced by Zed Bias AKA Dave Jones from the Phuturistix school of production…See further down for more about the influential Phuturistix crew…

Some tunes/artists that have traversed both scenes:

Certain tunes from Digital Mystikz have a particular dutty bruk (broken) element and would definitely appeal to many Broken Beat heads. In fact the more Broken Beat associated Benji B, Patrick Forge and Domu have played some of this South London collective’s stuff. 

Landslide’s Conundrum (on Sick Trumpet) has been played at the Co-Op as well as the ‘Grimey mix’ being a fave of some Dubstep heads. In the early days of Forward he was a resident.  

(I’m sure there are plenty more examples that would substantiate the issue here…)

And then we have the bruk/Dubstep-fusing DJ’s/producers…

J Da Flex is right up there with the pioneers of the Dubstep sound. Hailing from Croydon, South London, he was part of the Ghost crew and played a big role in propelling the sound, eventually taking it to the BBC’s 1Xtra station… Now, however, J Da Flex is resident down at Broken Beat Mecca, Co-Op…

Phuturistix – As mentioned above, Zed Bias from this crew graced the decks at Forward back in the day (in fact, he was one of the residents along with partner DJ Injekta & J Da Flex!). Phuturistix were fairly prolific in 2-step production and also provided smattering of Dubstep tunage but now Zed Bias is head honcho over at Phuture Lounge – Manchester’s finest broken beat label…

Some more factors that appear to link the sounds/scenes:

Both scenes appear to have close connections to the Drum & Bass scene – although, interestingly, while many Broken Beat producers/DJs have a colourful history from the D&B scene, this is not really the case for Dubstep, however, D&B fans seem to form a large percentage of Dubstep fans and there’s occasionally a Dubstep room at D&B raves. I’m guessing a dark, dirty bassline is a common theme here as well as the raw, young, dingy club nights which allow for drinking, smoking, dancing, jumping (and all the other elements that constitute a good night out!) along with a dirty bassline giving the sound system a good workout.

I’m still not sure why such a partnership with D&B has come about…It could be that this slower tempo sound complements the faster-paced D&B so makes a good ‘back room’ sound – where clubbers would be more inclined to roll a spliff than drop an E.

A more obvious associate though is Grime, which seems to be more MC-focused than Dubstep – Both Grime and Dubstep have spurred from UK Garage. Rinse FM is the radio station mainly responsible for bringing together the more MC-based grime together with Dubstep. DJ Tubby is just one example of the station’s many selectors that have played down at FWD a couple of times. His Tiger Style track, along with Geeneus’ Dumpvalve releases, is a good example of the Grime/Dubstep close connection. Also worth a mention here is former Rinse DJ and current FWD resident, DJ Plastician/Plasticman. This guy is outspoken in his love of grime, but is also known for his instrumental productions that are well received in both the Dubstep camp and the grime camp.

Broken beat and Dubstep both hail from London. Fact. Why has London given birth to these two niche music genres; what is it about this particular city that has shaped these crazy sounds? The rawness, creativity, and multiculturalism of the city has clearly played a role here.

A few more factors to consider; what relevance (if any) do these factors have on the scenes?
 
· The age of the crowd. I can’t really see how the Dubstep sound is more accessible than the broken beat sound – in fact, I would have expected the more soul-infused Broken Beat ish to be more accessible… I think maybe the embracing of Dubstep by the D&B scene has been partly responsible for the popularity of this style of music with today’s yout’. I recently read something which came across as suspiciously anti-jazz on the Dubstep forum recently, perhaps this has some significance here? Broken beat does have more sophisticated connotations and can be seen as a more modern-day Jazz – certainly many of the sound’s key influences are Jazz. The ‘less jazzier’ Dubstep sound may appeal more to those people not interested in underlying influences/themes which they feel ‘water-down’ the rawness of the sound. This whole ‘anti-jazz’ stance could be down to people witnessing the ‘detrimental’ effect of the more jazzy sounds grafted onto the jungle scene back in the day which resulted in a not-so-edgy Drum & Bass sound.

· The epicentres of the scene. So Dubstep is perceived as a South London ting, Broken Beat is a West London ting and Grime seems to be an East London ting… Saying that, Dubstep-pioneering radio station, Rinse FM is based in East London and Plastic People (home to both FWD and the Co-Op) is East side too… I’m not sure what the relevance of location is really but at a guess I’d suggest that just one link in the area is enough to spur an affiliation/bonding to that particular ‘burb? Or perhaps, just perhaps… the media is responsible for this sound-suburb association.

· Each scene’s attitude to MCs. Go to Co-Op and you’re sure to hear at least one person on the mic – not necessarily in the ‘rapping’ style of MCing, but more of a ‘host’ to motivate and work the crowd whenever needed. And the same goes for Dubstep- limited MCing with a focus on the music… This style is a stark contrast to the grime scene, for example, where the MC’s almost rule the roost. I’m not sure what the reasoning is here; maybe this is just how tings run…

Anyway let’s get back to the music and talk roots…

Where the roots of Broken Beat lie is Jazz and Soul music along with aspects of Techno, House and Drum & Bass. You could go back to Herbie Hancock and Roy Ayers and listen for many a ‘broken beat’ sound; this definitely forms the roots of today’s ‘broken beat’ music. Then, some years later, we had Masters At Works’ Nervous Track - complex drum pattern, soul and rhythm. But early players in ‘broken beat’ as we know it today include IG Culture’s New Sector Movement, the BITA (Bugz) crew, 4Hero and Alex Attias. And then we have clubs: obviously, the key player here is the Co-Op which started life at the Velvet Rooms and now runs twice a month at Plastic People in Shoreditch.

Dubstep has evolved from 2-step/UK Garage – I think this is undeniable. But the way this sound/scene has grown is notable. Listening to tracks such as Roy Davis Junior’s ‘Gabriel’, compared to Groove Chronicles ‘Stone Cold’ and ‘1999’, I can spot the real ‘2-step’ sound coming through - where the bassline becomes almost overpowering – that’s not a complaint by the way, in fact this sounds more appealing to me than some of the ‘more accessible’ stuff.

Right, now, let’s talk drums… The drum patterns associated with this early UK garage sound - compared to the more intricate sound of Dubstep as we know it today  - seem to be more straightforward resulting in more of an emphasis on the melody, vocals or other elements. This all seems to have been happening around the time that artists like Phuturistix infiltrated the scene and flipped the script… A compilation, ‘The Roots of Dubstep’ compiled by Soulja & producer Blackdown, looks at the roots and influences of Dubstep as we know it today; tracing the roots back through Reggae, Techno and, of course, UK garage. It features productions from the likes of the influential Steve Gurley, EL-B, Horsepower Productions, Phuturistix and Digital Mystikz.

There isn’t really an equivalent compilation for Broken Beat - ie. ‘The Roots of Broken Beat’ and I think this could be down to several reasons:
· No one wanting to be responsible for filing artists under the ‘broken beat’ label
· Too many different genres have inspired Broken Beat as we know it today
· No apparent demand for such a compilation…

The fact it’s so easy to confuse Dubstep with Grime or UK garage – this isn’t surprising, Garage seems to have led to the creation of these two ‘sub-genres’… (I invite people to tweak my thoughts here as differentiating UK Garage, 2-step, Grime and Dubstep is not something I find easy to do!)
 
Mary Anne Hobbs’ show on BBC Radio 1 certainly contributed to the rise in prominence of Dubstep. From 2005/2006, interest in the scene had been building and in 2006, Mary Anne Hobbs gathered together a selection of the scene’s big dogs for a one-off show entitled Dubstep Warz. The show was triumphant in allowing the sound to be heard by a wider audience – its success even spurred on the release of some of the tracks aired on a compilation, Warrior Dubz…

Today’s broken beat sound is influenced by Jazz, Soul, Techno, Hip-Hop as well as many other influences. The rise of Broken Beat as we know it today has been greatly down to the role of Goya Music Distribution who has been fundamental in pushing the sound - initially with labels such as People and Bugz In the Attic’s label BitaSweet. And what role did Dollis Hill (home to 4Hero’s labels) play? The amount of artists that have been involved with their Reinforced Records label and are now deemed as the ‘pioneers’ of today’s Broken Beat movement is too great to be denied.

And this future sound of jazz has travelled the globe… artists and labels such as the Rednose Distrikt camp in the Netherlands, Moonstarr and his Public Transit Recordings label in Canada and numerous US artists including Titonton DuVante, Recloose and King Britt are great examples of Broken Beat reaching a global audience. Japan has been a market keen to praise this sound too.

What does the future hold for these two genres?

It will be interesting to see how the two sounds develop over the next 2 years/5 years/10 years. I mean, how far will these sounds spread? What parts of the globe will each sound touch? How will each sound evolve? At this stage, some more questions about the two scenes arise: Dubstep seems to be more limited to the UK - although there are small outposts in parts of the States including New York and San Francisco and a few European cities - whereas it’s certainly got a larger-scale following than Broken Beat – although it does appear that Broken Beat is doing better than Dubstep in terms of worldwide runnins…

Dubstep seems to be ‘larger’ than Broken Beat in many ways – or at least, has attracted more attention… There have already been documentaries on the BBC (online) and MTV as well as a weekly show on Kiss FM, and a DVD. Broken Beat seems to have been kept more underground. Not that this is a bad thing, of course… I can’t see either of these sounds going mainstream (and staying in the mainstream) – whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is a whole ‘nuther discussion…
                                                                        Article by Tasha TP

Not sure how long Merrick’s post languished in the comments section (it can be hard to retrieve messages at times), but now I’ve discovered it I’ve decided to let it loose on the site proper. Merrick lives in Austin, Texas, and DJ’s at his weekly Get Broke night in the city every Thursday. He can be reached at http://www.merrickbrown.net/ & http://www.myspace.com/merrickb

In response to your comment about Mala’s ‘Bury da Bwoy’ (Interesting Records of 2006, 19th of Feb post):

"But I have to say that I find it a bit depressing that what with the
relatively small size of the Dubstep scene this track will remain
unheard by many outsiders, when in truth it’s probably one of the most experimental tracks to come out of Dance music in years."

I am glad to see this record on your list, and would like to offer an
outsider’s perspective that may cheer you up a bit. I am a DJ/producer (of 12+ years) in Austin, Texas. Austin has one of the more established Dubstep scenes in the US at the moment, but is a city with a very different urban culture and musical heritage than London.

Not only have I seen ‘Bury da Bwoy" work its magic on Dubstep crowds here, but it has become an essential tune in my sets and at my club night (Get Broke!). I’m not a ‘Dubstep DJ’ however, and in fact am about as far from being a purist as you can get, and while i do think Dubstep is among the most exciting forms of music coming out today, I also enjoy playing other stuff, from Funk, Soul & Disco to Techno, Electro, Booty, Broken Beat, etc. I am honestly a bit baffled at the dubplate culture sometimes and wonder how anyone can devote themselve entirely to one style…!? But my point is…

Tracks such as ‘Bury the Bwoy’, ‘Left Leg Out’ (another Mala tune) and a handful of others are the kinds of tunes that can reach beyond the purist set, giving us multi-genre DJ’s a way to sneak in and out of
Dubstep, while standing on their own as examples of *quality music*
that–with the right environment and a hefty dose of BASS–can make just about anyone take note. I may be an exception, but I have seen a few other techno charts with a sprinkling of tunes from Mala and others.

I don’t know how the purists will feel about all this, but I hope the
artists continue making innovative music that gets the credit it
deserves!                                                  Article by Merrick Brown

It’s been a bit of a slow week for news so I’ll try and fob you off with a classic set that Hatcha & Crazy D did in the Summer of 2004. It’s been grabbed from an old tape so don’t expect the sound quality to be great. At times you have to imagine the bass rather than actually hear it. But the internet isn’t exactly choc a block with mixes from this era so it’s worth having a listen to at least.

It’s the special 2 hour show that the Rinse duo did for the Xtra Garage Weekend on 1Xtra. A show of this type was pretty unprecedented on national radio back then. It was broadcast on a Sunday morning at 7:00, so it was a case of setting the alarm clock every 45 minutes to turn the cassette over. Sadly the last tape got chewed up so I don’t have the final half hour of the show.

Whenever I hear this mix I mentally picture the two of them in a massive, dark and empty club. It was the first time I heard Crazy D after reading  about him in magazines, and it was the first live set I’d heard from Hatcha after the Dubstep Allstars CD. It features a fair amount of forgotten dubplates.

The Xtra Garage weekend had some good shows on it, it’s a shame they don’t feel Garage is strong enough to do another one, almost three years later. These are temporary links but I’ll upload the files again on request in the future when they’re down.

Hatcha & Crazy D on the Xtra Garage Weekend, 18th of July 04
Download Part 1 here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/i728s4

Mala- Conference (Soul Jazz)
Mala- Give Jah Glory (Tempa)
Loefah- Twis Up (DMZ)
Loefah- Indian Dub (Big Apple Records)
Mala- Pathways (remix) (orig on Big Apple Records)
Coki- The Edit
Benga- Skank 2004 (2003 mix on Big Apple Records)
Skream- Traitor (Ital Beats)
Break
Benga- Pulse
Skream- Bad Seed
Loefah- Bombay Squad (Grime 2 compo, Rephlex)
Coki- Jah Fire
Coki- Country Man (Grime 2 compo, Rephlex)

Download Part 2 here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/3h0h4m 

Benga- Star Wars (The Hatcha VIP) (Tempa)
Benga- Untitled
Benga- Mammoth (Plasticman remix)
Benga- Blood (remix)
Estate Productions- Marchin’
Skream- Get Em
Loefah- Horror Show (DMZ)
Coki- Lowdown
Benga- The Virus (Southside Dubstars 6)
Plasticman- Deep VIP
Skream- Hallowlerd (Southside Dubstars 7)
Benga- Dreams (Southside Dubstars 6)
Possibly Skream
Benga- The Visitor (Newstep CD, Benga Beats)
Unknown- Unknown
Unknown- Unknown
Benga- The Future (Newstep CD, Benga Beats)  

Seeming as Artwork’s old tune ‘The Soul’ was reviewed here 2 or 3 weeks ago, I thought it was fitting to put up the mix Menta did back 2 back with Hatcha on Kiss last Tuesday. You can download it here:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/qqcsit
The tracklisting features a fair amount of guesswork so don’t be surprised to see a few Unknown’s. Having said that, if a name’s given I’m 90% sure it’s correct.

Hatcha & Crazy D B2B Menta, 28th February

Skream- Supa Dupa Fly
Oris Jay ft MC Rankin- Biggin’ Up The Massive (Urban Underground UK)
Menta- Jacknife (Sounds of Da Future)
Artwork- Red (Big Apple)
Benga- Live Drumz (Big Apple)
Menta- Sounds of da Future (Sounds of da Future)
Benga- Electric
Menta- Havoc (Road)
Benga- Crunked Up (Tempa)
Artwork- Rank (Big Apple)
Digital Mystikz- Dun Stinky
Skream- Ambush
Brasstooth- Celebrate Life (E-B or Madd Flex remix) (Well Built)
Mala- Left Leg Out (DMZ)
Skream- Losing Control (Tempa)
Skream- Untitled
Mala- Neverland (DMZ)
Mala- Lean Fwd
Skream- Tech
Skream- Tron (remix)
Benga Vs Coki- Night
Menta- Rubba (Sounds of da Future 2)
——————————————————
And as I was digging through the music files I’ve taped off the radio I dusted off this set that Benga & Skream did for Mary Anne Hobbs in January. You might remember that Benga’s Invasion EP was reviewed in the first issue of Darkside Sophistication, which was meant to commemorate the anniversary of Dubstep Warz. In truth I was a week late, as this Radio1 special marked the real anniversary. You can download it here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/jncsb5 
The trackisting is as follows:

Benga & Skream on Mary Anne Hobbs, Radio 1 Friday the 5th of Jan

Interview 
Benga- Hotstepping (Benga Beats)
Skream- Kut Off (Tempa)

The Mix
Skream- Nemesis 
Skream- Lose Control (Tempa)
Mark Ashken- Roots Dyed Dark (Skream Mix) (White)
Benga- Crunked Up (Tempa)
Benga Vs Coki- World War 7 (vocal) (Benga Beats)
Skream- Chestboxing (Tempa)
Benga- Skunk Tip (Skream mix) (orig on Tempa)
Benga- The Germ
Benga- Electric
Skream- Lemon
Mala- Lean Fwd
Benga- Music Box (Warrior Dubz LP, Planet Mu)
Loefah- Natural Charge
Skream- Make Me (Tempa)
Skream- Assumptions (Remix) (Ringo)
Benga- Flame (Big Apple)
Magnetikman- Everything Cool
Hijak- Babylon Timewarp (Deep Medi)
Coki- Seek Knowledge
Skream- Acid
Mala- Bury Da Bwoy (DMZ)
Hijak- Tears 

Barefiles.com is back online at some point this month so you’ll be able to get the full 2 hour show there, I just thought I’d include the Dubstep bits only. And remember, if any of these download links don’t work give us a shout as I can upload them on the net again at the drop of a (slowly falling) hat.
 

Substratum EP Part 1 (Immerse Records 003 IME 003 Pt1)

Bristol’s Immerse label are best known in the Dubstep scene for their excellent debut release last Summer, Benga & Walsh’s ‘Spooksville’/ ‘Dreamscape 24’. However they also put out the nicely intricate D&B track ‘Otis Drumfunk’ by Andy Skopes that appeared on the Living Inside The Speaker DVD (see the 1st February post). This new two-part EP sees a return to the Dubstep side of things.

I didn’t know the second part was already available until a few days ago so I can’t comment on it, but it’s the work of Forsaken (prominent in the Bristol Dubstep docu) and a producer called Diem who’s new to my ears. This first edition has Grim Dubs badboy Atki2 & English ex-pats in Barcelona 23hz & Numaestro on production duties.

23hz & Nuemaestro- ‘Galleon Dub’

This duo, responsible for the internet radio show & club nights Corsario Riddim, have a surprisingly busy DJing schedule in Spain. Though it’s fresh to me, this cut has been floating around on Dubplate since 2005, popular with Joe Nice among others. Starting off with some cautious use of a wailing Bollywood starlet sample, Galleon leads you in gently with an intro made up mainly of reverse snares.

In the long build up things are pretty tranquil & cinematic. However the drums are very punchy, the reversed snares being the sole concession to any overt use of percussion special effects. The kicks in particular are rather meaty. Don’t be expecting anything too echoey here.

While the vocal sample is very distinct, there’s little hint at the start that this track is going to mash venues up. You could be forgiven for thinking the initially weak bass pulse is all you’re going to get, but when this tune drops for real it has some serious impact. Though far from being a wobbler, the intense but simplistic b-line reverberates with evil intent.

Adding to this set up in later parts is an oldskool esque sub bass that alternates well with the main hook. With the whole thing riding along an action packed drum pattern, this record gets strictly to the point in a nice way.

Atki2- ‘Douceur’

Strange though it may seem, Bristolian Atki2’s effort for this twelve has more of a Mediterranean air about it than that of Corsario Riddim’s, what with the acoustic guitar samples he uses sparingly. Though some of the instrumentation in the intro phase isn’t entirely to my taste (including some Sino type strings), there’s no denying the appeal of the main bassline.      

And unlike ‘Galleon Dub’, ‘Douceur’ does rely on warping LFO’s to achieve an elastic bass sound. But then that’s no bad thing in my book. The drum pattern has some nice little bits of ‘improvisation’ in it as well, which add to the general excitement of things. 

Having said that there’s little sign of some of the more off the wall elements that Atki2 played around with on his output for Werk Discs. But like Boxcutter’s releases, it comes as no surprise that this tune has been produced by someone whose musical career hasn’t been sheltered by the at times restrictive confines of Dubstep. 

‘Douceur’ may not be the most exciting track of the year, but it avoids many of the pitfalls of current Dubstep beats by injecting bits and pieces of imagination at several turns. And hats off to Immerse Records for refusing to go down the obvious route with all three of their releases.

Immerse Records: http://www.immerserecords.com & http://www.myspace.com/immerserecordsuk
Corsario Riddim: http://www.myspace.com/corsarioriddim  At the bottom of their page you can listen to some internet radio shows they’ve done in recent months
23hz also makes Drum & Bass: http://www.myspace.com/23hz
Atki2: http://www.myspace.com/atki2  Also check out his blog at http://atki2.blogspot.com
Werk Discs: http://www.werk-it.com
Check Rooted Records for copies of the Living Inside the Speaker DVD: http://www.rootedrecords.co.uk/catalog
Forsaken: http://www.myspace.com/forsakendubstep    
————————————————————-

Kromestar- Fantastic 3 Recordings EP (Fantastic 30010)

Fantastic 3 was an obscure sister label of Southside Recordings that had it’s last release in 2001. Now it’s been resurrected, perhaps for tracks that can’t fit on the Southside Dubstars stable, although that’s purely speculation on my part. By inviting Kromestar on board they’ve managed to bring the imprint back with panache.

A-side track ‘Ghostship’ is one of Iron’s best yet. With a name like that you’d expect some degree of spookiness, but it’s mainly limited to a section of high-pitched choral singing that appears now and then. Starting off with a simplistic version of the main bassline, the intro gradually fades into the weightiness you’ve learnt to expect from a Dubstep cut. You could achieve the same effect yourself by playing a tune with the bass cut out, and then slowly dropping it back in using the EQ’s.

This would all sound crude & overdramatic if it wasn’t for the force of the mammoth bassline when it hits home. Not one to prophesise false dawns, Kromestar delivers on form with one of the classiest wobblers I’ve heard in a while. With little else going on in the track, he focuses all of his attention on making the b-line variations as techy (and satisfying) as possible. It’s certainly a drop that’s capable of stealing ‘Surgery’s’ crown of glory.

On side 2 Kromestar goes for an entirely different flex. ‘Konflict’ is one of those musical Reggae tinged records that are fast becoming a style within themselves. Think about Konquest’s (AKA Quest) ‘Hard Food’, or Kromestar’s own (with Walsh) ‘Panik Room’ that came out on Hot Flush a few months back. But this one differs from the latter in that it’s in quite a low key, with the bass being much more central to the track.

One of the main hooks of the tune is a trumpet melody. While the bass is very strong, ‘Konflict’ isn’t in a dark vein, being more of a relaxed affair. It’s something nice & inoffensive you can invite home to meet your parents for a cup of tea. Until the noise abatement order comes through the post that is. However, it’s good to see that Kromestar is capable of producing more elaborate ‘fluffy’ tracks as well as dark club bangers.

‘Quicktime’ is a bit of an oddity compared to much of Dubstep. A four to the floor bouncy number with Grimey overtones, it retains the former track’s old skool Reggae vibe with a repeated stab. Of course Kromestar cut his teeth on 4x4 Garage a few years ago, so this offering shouldn’t be that much of a surprise. He even tooled a basic galloping kick drum type track, ‘Scribbler’ for the 100 Grime Instrumentals CD Pack.

Not that ‘Quicktime’ copies that trend, following a more traditional pattern. The use of snares and other hard drum sounds in unexpected places distinguishes this from the kind of singles that populate the 4/4 Garage landscape. But having said that this shouldn’t be lumped in the same boat as complex tunes like Mala’s ‘Anti War Dub’.

Unlike that track, Kromestar’s interpretation of the sound doesn’t manage to shake off the sense of being unnecessarily fast, but in truth to achieve otherwise is a hard trick to pull off at Dubstep tempo. The rubbery bass tone also adds to this sense of urgency. I would suspect that ‘Quicktime’ has the ability to cause a stir in both the 4 to the Floor & Grime scenes, though whether it gets enough exposure in those quarters to light the touch paper is another matter.

Kromestar: http://www.myspace.com/iron_soul_aka_kromestar
Conquest: http://www.myspace.com/conquestrecordings  
Walsh: http://www.myspace.com/walshydub
100 Grime Instrumentals 6 CD pack is available from Croydon’s Mixing Records: http://www.mixingrecords.com as is part 2. Kromestar/ Iron Soul features prominently on both, & Cotti & Cluekid have a few tracks on the 2nd. 

Big one hour special from the hot duo, on Hatcha & Crazy D’s show on the 14th of February.

Go to this link: http://www.sendspace.com/file/cbnddk and click on the ‘Download Link: Cluekid.mp3′ that’s below the adverts. You may be able to stream it off the internet as well, I haven’t tried yet. It’s a one hour show so it won’t take long to download on broadband.

The following tracklisting shouldn’t be took as pure gospel but I reckon every track that has a name on it is the correct one.

Hatcha & Crazy D on Kiss100, 14th Feb 07, with guests Cotti & Cluekid

1.Slaughter Mob- Splirt (Skream remix) (Halo Beats)
2.Unknown- Unknown
3.Digital Mystikz- Dun Stinky
4.Cotti & Cluekid- Sensi Dub (white label)
5.Cotti & Cluekid- The Search (-30) 
6.Cotti &/or Cluekid- Hovercraft (-30)
7.Cotti & Cluekid- Sand Snake (-30)
8.Benga- Music Box (Warrior Dubz LP, Planet Mu)
9.Benga- Electric
10.Cotti- I Don’t Give a Damn
11.Unknown- Unknown
12.Loefah- Ruffage (Cotti &/or Cluekid remix)
13.Cluekid ft Arorah- Murky Waters (-30)
14.Unknown- Unknown
15.Unknown- Unknown
16.Cotti & Cluekid- Feel My Wrath
17.Cotti &/or Cluekid- Unknown
18.Cluekid- Unknown
19.Cluekid- The Odessy (-30)
20.Unknown- Unknown
21.Benga Vs Coki- Night
22.Unknown- Unknown
23.Cotti & Cluekid- Sensi Dub (remix)
24.Cotti &/or Cluekid- Unknown
25.Unknown- Unknown
26.Skream- Lose Control (Tempa)
27.Skream- Tech (Remix)

Not sure how long the link will last (weeks or months) so if it dies at some point just contact me and I’ll put it back on the net.
Also look out for Cotti & Cluekid’s appearance on Dubstep internet radio show http://www.Streamizm.com on Tuesday the 13th of March. The show starts at 8pm and goes on late into the night. You’ll be able to see their ugly boat races on the live video stream as well! The set can now be played again, they’re pretty quick at getting their shows archived on the site. (it’s a nice long show, made up of mainly of their own productions. Well worth the download time)

Earlier this month I met Cotti & Cluekid in their Norwood studio. It was pretty impressive, built from a converted roof space by Cotti’s carpenter dad at a good price. The room was fully soundproofed with carpet tiles, and had an enclosed vocal booth on one side.

Despite their limited discography (including Cluekid’s ‘Halogen’, reviewed on this site on the 23rd of January), Cotti & Cluekid have been churning out loads of dubplates of late. They’re now starting to be recognised in the Dubstep scene for their quality productions, and they’ve played at DMZ twice. This year will see them releasing a lot more tunes, with their new label –30 in the works, on which they’re finalising a distribution deal for.

When I came to the studio they had onetime DJ Chef collaborator MC Beezy laying down lyrics for some new Kromestar beats. Cluekid admits it’s the first Grime track they’ve worked on for a while. In the past him and Cotti used to MC in the 4N Format collective. Some of the group’s tunes like ‘Gritty Gritty’ and ‘Numbstruck’ featured Beezy. Both Cotti & Cluekid have produced tracks for his recent free Internet download mixtape, ‘My Construction Site’. 

Vocalist Arorah (like the Northern Lights) was also in attendance. She’s done a few tunes with the duo, including ‘Murky Waters’: “I’ve vocalled some of Cluekid’s tunes, not full vocals, more like choruses and bits & pieces because its dance music. I’ve done a couple of Cotti’s tunes as well. But I’m not as constant as these two; I’m not up here every day. I’ve recently done a full vocal tune, [and] a couple of R&B tracks as well. Proper vocals where you can actually let go [and] you’re not restricted. Dubstep can be quite restrictive [for vocals] sometimes. And I hope to work with some other producers as well, but mainly I’m staying with Cotti & Cluekid.”

Later on Cotti & Cluekid’s mate Jack turns up. All in all it was a busy studio environment, though it’s not surprising that they have a high work rate considering the amount of tunes they’ve put their hands to.

Owen: I might as well ask you about your background, and yours in particular Cluekid, cos judging from your Myspace blurb you came into the scene from a slightly different angle than a lot of people have. You sort of came from a rock background didn’t you?
Cluekid: Yeah, originally when I was little, I used to play drums. Listened to lot of Rock from the ‘70’s. Even when I was little my aunt used to be banging loads of Jungle, and I’d be dancing in her room and all that. And I sort of got into Grime when it came about. I got into Grime, hooked up with Cotti and then we used to run on pirate stations. On Top FM, that was Mondays innit?
Cotti: Yeah.
Owen: Is On Top a local one then?
Cluekid: Yeah, it’s quite local. It was just around South London.
Owen: What about yourself Cotti? How did you get into the whole Dubstep scene? Actually, how did you get into the whole music thing in general?
Cotti: Well I’ve been doing music since probably about 1998. I started writing some lyrics to Jungle and Garage and that, So Solid days, and a couple of months after writing lyrics a friend of mine told me that I could make tunes as well. There was a program on the computer you can use, so I got on that & started making tunes since around ‘99. I just got into it from the Garage side of things, buying a couple of records and that. Then I joined a garage group, MCing. We had a singer and a producer. We done a couple of things there, and nothing really came of it. Played in a couple of clubs in Kent and all that, come back to London, and then Grime was kind of kicking off, that was about 2001/2002. But then I got Cubase and started to make some Grime beats myself. And I was trying to get a radio slot. Waited for ages! And then eventually, like Clue said we got a show on On Top FM. [On Top is] still going now, still, and when the station started we was like one of the first ones to be on there as well.
Cluekid: It was Chef that showed us the Dubstep still I think.
Cotti: Yeah that’s how we got into Grime basically, that’s how we got into music. Actually on it every week, Grime radio, making tunes.
Owen: You make that point about starting of as an MC. When you actually think about it quite a few producers have went down that route. Have you got any thoughts about that?
Cluekid: When you are MCing, there are certain tunes that you like, so if you can write beats and write tunes…
Cotti: You don’t have to wait for someone else to hijack. That’s what happened with me as well. When I was in that group back in Kent and that in 2001, I was an MC. I’d fiddled around with producing, like I said from ‘99. And then after I left them I thought I might as well just do it myself. D’ya know what a mean? I can make the beats, I don’t need to wait for them, and I can make what beat I like! And that was it man.
Owen: And how did the progression into Dubstep come about then?
Cotti: I met Chef innit, down Mixing Records, formally Big Apple Records. Yeah, when it first opened everyone used to hang out there basically, and I met Chef down there.
Cluekid: It was all Dubstep innit, now it’s just Grime.
Cotti: Yeah, that was when it was Big Apple, there was a lot of Dubstep.
Owen: I went down there once when it was Hatcha behind the counter. Chef got you into Dubstep…
Cotti: Well he introduced us to the sound. About the beginning of 2006 I think.
Cluekid: Loefah was living at my Aunties, and that’s just how I linked with him.
Owen: Just by coincidence?
Cotti: Just by coincidence Loefah was living at his aunties. We didn’t even know who Loefah was back then, we didn’t have a clue.
Cluekid: He showed us some of his tunes. He showed me a lot of about how to make basses and that, production tips kind of thing. That’s basically I suppose our introduction into it.
Cotti: But we’ve got to point out yeah, before we met Chef as well, a lot of our tunes and that, were actually kind of Dubstep without us even knowing. That’s what draw Chef to us, cos I was in J Sweet’s shop (Mixing Records) and I was playing one tune with a bassline, all that mid bass. And Chef was like “is that your tune?” And I didn’t know him. So he just introduced himself on the spot: “is that your tune?” And I was like, “yeah man”. He was saying, “I’m a DJ on Rinse bruv, I’ll play that on my show.” I was like “yeah? Take the CD, take that now!” I took his number and everything
Cluekid: Me and Cotti were sort of making Dubstep from before, we just wanted bassline Grime.
Owen: And you two were on Rinse at some time?
Cotti: Yeah, we were on On Top first. We were on there for nearly two years, doing Grime and that. That was when we were starting to get into Dubstep. Then we had a guest show on BBC 1Xtra, DJ Cameo. Yeah, that kind of helped us a lot as well. We were still doing Grime but we was kind of getting into Dubstep. We’d met Chef, he was showing us Dubstep, we was kind of making a couple of tunes but not really, d’ya know what I mean. Cos we were still pushing the Grime. Then about two or three months after that Chef was around and I was like “can you get us a slot on Rinse?” And he was like, “yeah man I’ll sort that out man I’ll talk to Geeneus, I’ll talk to them lot.” But it actually took about 9 months all in all from when I first asked him, but eventually it came through and we got a show on Rinse doing Friday’s 3-5, late night bizness. Myself & Cluekid.
Cluekid: (interjects) We started mixing a bit.
Cotti: We weren’t even really mixing then
Cluekid: We were Just starting off though innit.
Cotti: On the CD decks.
Owen: For me, I first heard about Cotti & Cluekid about the first half of 2006. I heard Kode9 playing a Cotti tune back when Crazy D didn’t actually have the fulltime show on Kiss, him and Hatcha had around 4 practice runs, and one week they had Kode 9 as one of the guest DJ’s. I then found out that that the two of you had a show on Rinse. But for me, it became pretty clear that you were making it in the Dubstep world when I heard of you playing out at DMZ. How many times have you done that?
Cluekid: Twice
Owen: That’s a pretty good look in.
Cotti: We were fortunate though; we had only really been DJing for 6 months! That’s not the fact though. I’ve been making beats for 7 years. He’s been making beats for 2 ½ years. That’s what it is; it’s nothing to even do with the DJing. People like Chef & Loefah would say stuff to us. If you lot actually DJed you would go a lot further. We thought, we’ll try, d’ya know what I mean. And it fucking paid off!
Cluekid: The first one we done we was covering Plastician, who wasn’t there. They [DMZ] had heard us in our first booking in Jamm, it’s like a bar innit? (on Brixton Road)
Jack: It’s kind of like the backroom in the middle of a wasteland.
Cluekid: With some big speakers.
Cotti: That was our first booking.
Cluekid: And all that lot came down, Loefah, Poaks, Mala, and Skream. We were just playing all our own beats. And they were proper feeling it. Had a talk with them. And after that that was the one that Loefah rang us and asked, “can you do DMZ”, and we were just on it. Yeah, that was September.
Cotti: Second time was January just gone. 6th of January [2007].
Cluekid: We were put on the flyer and all that.
Owen: So whenever you were playing at DMZ, were you mostly playing your own tunes?
Cotti: 100%, every single tune that you heard at DMZ was our tunes.
Cluekid: That’s how we run it though, we only play our beats. Maybe we dropped one tune or something.
Cotti: We’re just starting out, we need to promote ourselves. We aint trying to be DJ’s, why we playing out other people’s beats.
Cluekid: We’re showcasing our beats.
Cotti: We have to DJ to do that. And I mean, I got myself back on Rinse, cos we had a madness on Rinse and we got chucked off.
Cluekid: And if it weren’t for me… (Both laugh)
Cotti: But I’ve got the show back, and I’ll play other peoples stuff on the show cos it’s a two hour show, every week and that.
Cluekid: Radio’s different from playing out.
Cotti: Yeah, when we play out we got to play out our own stuff, man, strictly.
Owen: So, tell us a bit about the whole studio thing. You’ve just had Beezy through the doors. 
Cluekid: Yeah, this is just where we build the tunes. I spend most of my time up here. I spend all my time up here innit, never really see daylight too much! I work a lot with Beezy, him vocaling and that.
Cotti: When we was hard on the Grime and that, that’s how we knew him.
Cluekid: I don’t know, vocal wise it’s changed a bit since we started doing Dubstep. We haven’t done vocals at all.
Cotti: We’ve given up. We don’t do lyrics for nothing no more.
Owen: I didn’t know you MCed in the first place…
Cotti: Yeah! We can show you, we got mix CDs on there (gestures at PC). Grime mix CD’s with us spitting vocals and everything, both of us.
Cluekid: We just gave it up though to make beats.
Cotti: His heart’s not in it no more.
Owen: Well… who can remember what Mala & Coki sounded like [as MC’s] nowadays?
Cluekid: I’m just pissed off with the whole Grime thing.
Cotti: Yeah but we were still spitting last year, July. And we were DJing are tunes as well, at the same time as we were spitting. Cos we had started making Dubstep, so we would be on Rinse and that, me and him would jump on the CD decks, and by the end of the show we’d be MCing to a Grime tune.
Owen: So what about you boys for releases then. We’ve had one on Earwax. Any more plans? Especially Cotti, step up to the table and put something out rather than cut a dubplate!
Cotti: Nah Do you know what yeah, basically we’ve set up the label. We’re just waiting to get some funds to push out something, cos we’ve set up our own little label, -30 Recordings.
Owen: -30 Recordings, that’s one to look out for.
Cotti: That’s set up basically.
Cluekid: That’s going to be our beats as well.
Cotti: Yeah that’ll be strictly for our tunes.
Owen: What was the set up for 4N Format EP then?
Cluekid: White label.
Owen: White label with a sticker though! What about that ‘Sensi Dub’ that you have on the Myspace then, that one’s good. We’ve had the ‘Under My Sleng Teng’ bassline on Kromestar’s ‘Ghost Town’, now you’ve made a Dubstep version of the vocal.
Cluekid: That ones been mashing up a few raves. (He wasn’t boasting, it went down well a few days later at FWD)
Owen: So what do you think of interaction between the Grime scene and Dubstep.
Cotti: How they work together?
Cluekid: Cos it’s similar tempos innit.
Owen: More in terms of, do you think there’ll be more co-operation between the two scenes or do you think that it will tail off a bit.
Cluekid: I don’t think that they are going to properly interact. Dubstep is going one way; Grime is at the moment kind of standing still. I don’t know really. It’s not serious enough, there’s too many people doing the same thing with Grime. The beats aren’t up to scratch, I can’t see them proper combining. I can see Grime MC’s coming onto Dubstep tunes, that kind of thing.
Cotti: But not to the extent where it’s going to spoil it, d’ya know what I mean, it’s going to be once in a blue moon kind of thing.
Owen: Come to think of it I forgot to ask you properly about the 4N Format days.
Cotti: Yeah, it’s a crew. You got myself, Cluekid, DJ Goliath, DJ Gumma. You got Mr Slickman Party, an MC who’s my cousin (and on his new Rinse Show), we’ve got Ashman. And we’re kind of out of action at the moment cos we’re not on radio or anything.
Cluekid: We’ve almost given up on the Grime though.
Cotti: And as a crew we’re not as tight as we were before. When we was On Top and doing the Grime and that…
Cluekid: We was together every week. But we spend a lot of time in the studio now.
Cotti: Since we’ve been doing the Dubstep kind of thing, it’s been kind of different.
Cluekid: It’s not focused on MC’s.
Cotti: But saying that, Slickman, myself, and Ashman, we’re working on a Grime mix CD. It’s going to be mostly Cotti & Cluekid productions. And we’re going get a few guests on there like Skepta, JME, and some south heads on there.
Owen: Are you thinking of playing out more as an MC collective.
Cotti: Grime doesn’t really get the bookings anymore. I’ve accepted that. You can probably sell a few records. That’s about it.
Owen: Purely a radio thing nowadays, apart from the odd gig?
Cotti: Yeah. Well I see a lot more potential in Dubstep, financially to be honest, d’ya know what I mean. I’m 26 years old; it’s not just about the fun it’s about making money!
Cluekid: I just think it’s better in general than Grime. That’s my opinion. Dubstep people support the scene more, by buying tunes and that.
Owen: I suppose the funny thing with Grime is that because it’s vocal based, there’s more opportunity for music videos and the likes, you would think that that would translate into real sales. Dubstep doesn’t really have that outlet but it still seems to be doing better.
Cluekid: You could do a Dubstep video I suppose.
Owen: Kode 9’s done one.
Cotti: I’ll do one. If I had the money I’d do one!
Owen: It seems that Dubstep is doing better than Grime internationally simply because it generally is instrumental
Cluekid: More people can relate to it. You haven’t got some lyric telling you what the tune is about; it can mean anything to you.
Owen: I suppose there’s no language barrier with Dubstep.
Cluekid: It’s definitely got more potential on a global scale. Appealing to a wider audience.
Owen: Perhaps that’s because Dubstep is more similar to the rest of Dance music.
Cluekid: Grime’s got a younger crowd as well.
Cotti: Who don’t really support the scene. It’s not like that in Dubstep. Whether it’s just a bedroom DJ, they might not even have decks but they’ll still buy records.
Cluekid: One turntable, or just play tunes at their mates house or something.
Owen: How did the Earwax release come about then?
Cluekid: I’d spoken to Pinch for a while. Loefah had a couple of my tunes on dub. I think he just played them to him. He was feeling the tunes. Then I spoke to him, sent a CD off. It took a little while before it got put out there, but it done quite good. It got to number 6 in the RWD Magazine chart. Yeah, I’m happy about that. Just seeing my name on a proper label!
Owen: Well, we’re here in Norwood, the DMZ golden triangle (laughs). What is it about South London? Or in particular what is it about suburban South London for Dubstep? It just seems strange that there are so many producers in the area. That is the 64 million dollar question for me!
Cotti: All right then, look at Grime. When it first started, for the first 2 or 3 years it was all based in East. Anyone from South, they didn’t care. But I don’t think Dubstep is going to be like that, they’re not going to block out people from another area.
Owen: Do you think Grime does?
Cotti: It did, not anymore.
Jack: But it’s all about where people come from. The Grime MC’s all seem to talk about their ends, they’re all quite protective about it. It can be a bit hostile to everyone else, which can be hard for people to get into because if you don’t come from that area, basically they’re telling you to fuck off. I don’t know really, maybe South London is a bit more relaxed.
Cotti: Well you know what it is; Dubstep isn’t based around the vocals so you’re not going to really get that kind of attitude with straight up instrumental producers. D’ya know what I mean. Whereas with Grime with a crew its sort of like a gang thing. But basically, it’s just as simple as this; the people who were really into Dubstep from the beginning were from South London. And then you had a place like Big Apple which was in Croydon, and that’s where everyone seemed to meet up.
Owen: Was it a case of people who lived in South, it was easier for them to get a train to Croydon that it was to the West End to go shopping?
Cotti: Well do you know what, people just lived locally kind of thing, they’d go there and chill out for the day, and people would be bringing tunes down and that, and they just set up a label. I mean, Hatcha was round here yesterday, telling us about the label, him getting it back up and running. Even though Big Apple’s closed and that. When Mixing Records opened, most of the Dubstep people still went back to the shop.
Cluekid: It’s in the same shop, but it’s mainly about Grime now.
Cotti: So everyone started to kind of fade away. As soon as it opened I used to go there, and I used to see Skream every fucking day there and Chef. You’d see loads of people down there. But they kind of faded away cos I think J Sweet’s not really interested in Dubstep, he’s more into Grime so the shop wasn’t the same as it was before.
Owen: Did Big Apple one day have a For Sale sign on it and J Sweet thought, there’s a shop going here, I can branch out on my own.
Cotti: Yeah.
Owen: There might not be people in Dubstep saying, as you said, “this is my gang, this is my area”. But there is a certain amount of South London pride in the scene. Obviously the media have took this theme and ran away with it but even still…
Cluekid: I think with the producers there is a bit of that.
Cotti: Yeah, but most people are proud of where they come from, there’s nothing wrong with that. When you start being horrible with it, like not playing people’s tunes and that, you can start to complain. That’s how I see it basically. I’m proud to be from South. (laughs)
Owen: Well, I have to be brutally honest; I’ve more or less ran out of questions here. So if you two have more to say, now’s the time to say it. Except big ups, they’re too much of a cliché (laughs). No bigging up my Na Na and all that kind of stuff!
Cluekid: Big up my dog.
Owen: Hold tight the blue rinse crew.
Cotti: All right then. Look out for some friends of ours, some producers we’re going to be working with; they go by the name of King Soly & Dub Rogers. Also, we’re probably some time this year gonna set up another label.
Cluekid: For other peoples tunes.
Cotti: Yeah, Try to put out others peoples tunes cos we really want to get into the business side of the music as well. So eventually by the end of the year we’ll have two labels set up. And also, we’ve been talking to the guy who runs Deep medi for a couple of months now. He wants to put out a succession of releases, so that’ll be something to look out for as well.
Cluekid: We’re trying to play out more as well; we’ve been cutting dubs.
Owen: I take it you’ve got a few on the circuit then
Cotti: Yeah, we had Hatcha round last night, he got a CD.
Cluekid: Kode 9 got a few last week. Skream got some bits the other day. We done a couple of tunes with Skream a while ago.
Owen: That sounds big.
Cotti: We done a good fucking tune mate! More than that, it will come out at some point as well
Cluekid: It’s got like a Jungle vibe as well. I liked working with Skream as well, he got things done quickly, the beat didn’t take long to do or nothing. I don’t know, man; we’ve just been cutting dubs.
Cotti: I done a tune with Kromestar as well, Mozart 3000 remix. I don’t know if that’s going to get a release. Maybe a white label. But yeah, that ones getting a good response.
Cluekid: Yeah that one’s weighty. Kode 9 was saying it’s got a kind of Hip Hop subbyness to it. Yeah, we’re looking to do an album as well.
Cotti: A co-production one, and we’re going to make an album with a difference- every tune a co-production between ourselves. Maybe featuring some other people as well. 
Cluekid: We’ve got Kromestar, maybe Skream or someone like that.
Owen: What do you think about all these Dubstep albums coming out? Do you think that’s a good development?
Cotti: Of course.
Cluekid: Yeah definitely, people expressing themselves properly, doing there own thing. I’m feeling Skream’s album, there’s some proper bangers on there.
Cotti: It’s a good thing man cos its paving the way for us. And I just think it’s about trying to get the music out there to other people, and not just trying to keep it in the Dubstep scene and keeping it closed. You should try to spread it out as far as possible.
Cluekid: It’s important that the music changes, it doesn’t just stay one sound, cos if it stays one sound it’ll eventually get boring. It needs to keep doing what it’s doing basically, keep progressing with new sounds coming in, new producers. You’ve got a lot of different angles. You’ve got the jump up, half-step, dubby tunes, minimal…
Cotti: Can I say something as well? We’re 90% sure the first release on –30 recordings is going to be [Arorah’s] ‘Murky Waters’.
Owen: What does -30 actually mean?
Cotti: We’re just cold man!

———————————————————————-

Cluekid’s ‘Halogen’/ ‘Down and Dirty’ release for Earwax Records is still available in some shops.

4N Format’s ‘4N Exchange’ EP (with 4 Grime instrumentals from Cotti & Cluekid) is available in Mixing Records (http://www.mixingrecords.com/) as is the 4N Format Mix CD from 2006.

Cotti & Cluekid’s ‘Sensi Dub’ will emerge on White Label in March or early April. I’ll put a post up when it touches down.

Catch Cotti every Monday night/ Tuesday Morning, 3-5 on http://rinse.fm

-30 Records: http://www.myspace.com/minus30dubstep
Cotti: www.myspace.com/cot4n
Cluekid: www.myspace.com/cluekid
Arorah: http://www.myspace.com/arorahvocals  &  http://www.arorah.funtigo.com/?cr=1&rfm=y
Beezy: http://www.myspace.com/beezymc Beezy features in Martin Clark/ Blackdown’s February Pitchfork article: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com He also did an interview with DJ Darkside on Rinse FM. It’s on the http://getdarker.com site.
4N Format: http://www.myspace.com/foreignformat
Slickman AKA Mr Party: http://www.myspace.com/slickmanparty
Ashman: http://www.myspace.com/lilashman
King Soly: http://www.myspace.com/kingsoly1
Dub Rogers: http://www.myspace.com/dubrogerzz

While Dubstep is often portrayed in the media as being very slow, even the most relaxed tunes have an energetic drive to them that belittles their low bpm count. Years before the emergence of half-step, people were quick to see the new non- 4 to the floor sound in Garage as being pretty sluggish, despite the fact that most 2-step tunes were either the same speed as the House flavoured stuff or faster. It seems that when a scene switches up the kick drums to make them less constant it can leave people scratching their heads. 

But on a few occasions I’ve come across recent tracks that actually are slower than what Dubstep is typically used to. Some of these tunes are near impossible to mix in with the current crop, which begs the question- what is their purpose? While the scene is fairly open to DJ’s playing sets with clear starts and stops, it’s debateable whether an audience would appreciate the tempo to be slowed down for several tracks in a row. And not all of these records make for suitable warm up fodder either. For something more ‘fluffy’ a DJ could just as easily draw for a Broken Beat tune or (like Mala and some others) an old Dub Reggae cut.    

The first slow tune I can find is an untitled Uberdog track from the 2nd release in the Grim Dubs series. Released in 2005 before the Dubstep boom, the five Grim Dubs 12’s were basically Electronica producers messing around in the studio. As such they probably didn’t have the same yearning to conform that people more involved in the Dubstep scene would.

Most of the Grim Dubs stuff was too extreme for repeated listening, but the 120bpm (or thereabouts) Uberdog cut was a lot more accessible. Fleshed out with some seriously dirty bass and some Hip Hop style vocal snippets, it had the potential to be a hit in the Dubstep scene. But it didn’t really go anywhere, and I think that when a tune is this slow it can be hard to get away with something really minimal.

In mid ‘06 Andy Stott released ‘For the Love’ on the Modern Love label. By day he was a respected Techno producer, but for this limited 10” he went in more of a Dubstep direction. Like some of the Burial tracks, this has quite a creative drum pattern. And yet on the flipside track ‘Choke’ he explores how half-step would sound in slow motion. Although being of a similar speed to ‘For the Love’, without the additional drum sounds ‘Choke’ sounds like 45 rpm played at 33 (I’ll admit that I played it at the wrong speed for weeks).

Stott seems to be comfortable with doing leisurely tunes anyway. He might not reach the lazy lows of Detroit artist Theo Parrish, but he is capable of building some very measured tracks. The reason why ‘For the Love’ and ‘Choke’ were so shocking was that breakbeat styles sound that little bit stranger at slow speeds than four to the flour does. My guess is that the producer had heard a little Dubstep and was interested in the scene enough to make something similar. But he clearly didn’t see the necessity to change his production technique to match the requirements of the Dubstep market.

On to more familiar territory, BOKA Record’s Soundproof Productions collective produced a 120bpm remix for their Ruggard EP. I haven’t heard the original version of ‘Beyond the Milkyway’, but this one is everything you would expect from a slow tune. The bassline is recognisably Dubstep, although the drums are not quite what we are used to, sounding a bit like an underground Hip Hop beat.

Indeed, the vocals and laid-back sonics of ‘Beyond the Milkyway’ bring to mind the mid ‘90’s Trip Hop scene. It’s not a genre that is often associated with the Garage styles, but perhaps with this slow track the producers were aiming to emulate the more or less dead sound.

Another track that has a similar vibe is ‘Isolate’, the work of Brighton born but Philly residing Skynet. This tune is an instrumental with the ever-present half-step drum template, but the bassline goes for more of a melodic feel rather than out and out tear out. The Trip Hop comparisons are supported by the relative slowness of the record, which has to be played at about plus five to be in synch with most Dubstep tracks.

The flipside track ‘Swamp’ is at a familiar Dubstep tempo, so you can probably deduce that ‘Isolate’ is an experimental track shoehorned onto the B-side where no one is looking. But it seems a bit odd that someone more known for Drum & Bass would turn their hands to something as slow as ‘Isolate’. Not that I’m complaining though, as I don’t know if this track would sound as unique if it was at 140bpm.

Another stateside producer, Albert Joseph in San Francisco, has flirted with downtempo Dubstep. Not surprising seeming as he specialises in the slower end of things anyway. And some of his drum patterns do have a hip hop feel to them, but the basslines that feature in the tracks are clearly too sub low for that genre. However for his forthcoming Afterourz album Joseph will reprogram his tunes at 140bpm to satisfy his Dubstep fan base.

One producer who didn’t compromise when it came to slow tempos was Bass Clef, whose album ‘A Smile is a Curve That Straightens Most Things’ featured several slow tracks. However he never went out of his way to claim that his long player was out and out Dubstep from start to finish. As such he could get away with anything he liked. Albert Joseph is in a similar boat to Bass Clef in that he isn’t going solely after the Dubstep dollar, but it seems that he is reluctant to alienate this market with too many sub 130pbm beats.

In a way it’s sad that producers should have to do this. But what with shrinking record sales it’s not surprising that labels are finding it harder to make a buck. With an album you would expect that most of the customers wouldn’t be DJ’s (Afterourz will be sold mainly through MP3 websites, not the most DJ friendly of formats in the Dubstep world) and so would be less pernickety about tempos that admittedly don’t stray all that far from the norm. But even for those who don’t DJ, if a track is recognisably slower (like the stuttered snare of ‘Isolate’) it can be a little unsettling to some.

It seems that downtempo Dubstep’s days may be numbered. Perhaps until a tune is so unbelievably good that it’s sluggish speed becomes irrelevant the style will always be considered as a charming oddity at best, or at worst an irrelevancy. But clearly some beat makers are interested in the idea otherwise the sound wouldn’t exist. In my opinion it’s interesting that people are doing something different full stop.

PS: I have no intention for the words ‘Downtempo Dubstep’ to be recognised as a sub genre in itself; that would be ridiculous given how few tunes like this have been released. If I wanted to go down that route I would have called the article ‘Slowstep Vs Thugstep’!
                                                                  Article by Owen Griffiths

Hyperlinks:

Mala: http://www.myspace.com/malamystikz
Grim Dubs were released on the Werk Discs label:
http://www.werk-it.com
Andy Stott: http://www.myspace.com/andystott_modernlove
Burial: http://www.myspace.com/burialuk
Theo Parrish: http://www.myspace.com/soundsignature
Boka Records: http://www.bokarecords.co.uk
Skynet: http://www.myspace.com/skynet   Swamp/Isolate is released on Argon Records: http://www.argonrecords.com/   Both Matty G & Nick Argon will be DJing at Camberwell’s Redstar (check www.dubstepforum.com for up to date listings) on the 8th of March. http://www.myspace.com/mattygbeatz
Albert Joseph: http://www.myspace.com/therealalbertjoseph & http://www.bouncereflex.com/albertjoseph/minimassivewebsite/index.html Bass Clef: http://www.bass-clef.blogspot.com

Instead of doing a list of the big tunes of the year I’ve decided to concentrate on the music that was the most adventurous and forward thinking. Some of these tracks went on to sell well, so it’s good to see that the scene is embracing the less obvious sounds. From looking around the forums I’ve seen a lot of people criticising what they perceive to be the dumbing down of Dubstep. While some of this talk is a bit too doom & gloom (2006 was a great year for the genre after all) there is some truth to the claim that certain producers are becoming too formulaic in their quest to outdo each other by creating obvious dancefloor killers. But at the end of the day there’s been a lot of good stuff on the record racks, and if you go the extra mile you’ll find inspiring tracks aplenty.

Note: I’ve been liberal with my definition of 2006. Some of these tunes aren’t out yet, but were big on dubplate; others were released last year but were reasonably old by the time they reached the cutting house. It’s best not to get too anal about these things.

Mala- ‘Bury da Bwoy’ (DMZ 011)
No surprise that this makes an appearance, one of the defining tunes of the year in many people’s eyes. Only released last month, I’m going to let this one off as it built up a buzz around it throughout the second half of ’06. Before this you could have probably counted all the four to the floor Dubstep tunes on one hand (all I can think of off the top of my head is High Plains Drifter’s ‘Somewhere’), but Mala came up with a twist on the sound with his unique galloping kick drums.

Not particularly bass heavy, ‘Bury da Bwoy’ seems to break all the rules, but if anything this is probably the reason why it got such a positive reaction. But I have to say that I find it a bit depressing that what with the relatively small size of the Dubstep scene this track will remain unheard by many outsiders, when in truth it’s probably one of the most experimental tracks to come out of Dance music in years.

Shackleton- ‘Hamas Rule’ (Skull Disco 005)
Middle Eastern sounds have always been a bit of a Dubstep cliché, but with ‘Hamas Rule’ Shackleton takes the style to the next level with some of the most intricate drum programming the genre has seen yet. I wonder what World Music experts would make of this. Perhaps the big bassline would scare them off. Also of note is Appleblim’s A-side ‘Fear’, which is startling for it’s minimalism (and refreshing too).

The Bug ft Flowdan- ‘Jah War’ (Off the Warrior Dubz LP, Planet Mu)
Definitely one of the more standout cuts on what was all in all a pretty good album. I’m not really sure if this is straight up Dubstep, but if it’s not that then what other banner could it fall under? The stop start nature of the drums is reminiscent of Naughty’s- ‘Pussy Trak’ (DJ Hype remix) from a few years back. But it’s the Ragga chat that makes this one special. There’s not enough exciting vocals in the scene.

Mala– ‘Conference’ (Soul Jazz)
At least 2 years old by the time of release, this was rescued from the Digital Mystikz vaults by Soul Jazz. Funnily enough a few weeks prior to Digital Mystikz’s signing with the label Mala appeared on the Plastician’s first Radio1 show in a short telephone conversation. He expressed surprise when the DJ drew for this old dubplate and not a newer one. But the appeal of ‘Conference’ is timeless, as was proven when it went on to become a bestseller. 

Pinch- ‘Qawwali’ (Planet Mu)
While Shackleton came up with some energetic drums for his Middle Eastern epic, Bristol’s Pinch takes us on a more relaxed journey. But Qawwali is punctuated throughout by a strangely loud set of sub sounds, with the kicks fading into the background and the snare used more judiciously than in most tracks. While not an overtly dancefloor friendly tune, Qawwali was a fitting debut for Pinch on the Planet Mu label. 

DJ Tubby Vs Footsie- ‘Tiger Style’ (Braindead 007)
With the kind of pitch changes that sound a bit like a DJ inexpertly brushing a record with their fingers, this one is an acquired taste, but once you develop a liking for it… you’re hooked. The bassline manages to sound pretty different from your average Dubstep fare as well. Also look out for the excellent remixes on the flipside.

Kode 9 & the Spaceape- ‘Backwards’ (Hyperdub 004)
When you think about it Kode 9 & the Spaceape did a lot to push the vocal sound in 2006. You know a tune’s got a lot of balls when it starts with barely any intro at all. But the duo have a right to feel confident when they’ve created a track as well balanced as this. You didn’t really know Dubstep needed some recognisable vocal hooks until you heard ‘Backwards’.

Marc Ashken- ‘Roots Dyed Dark’ (Skream remix)
With clever production methods Skream discovered how to make 4x4 appealing at 140BPM, no small feat considering that Hard Dance have been falling over this hurdle for years now. This dubplate has little in common with the techno original, so it’s clear that Skream has put a lot of work into this mix.

Moldy- ‘Black Forest’ (part one) (Heavy Pressure 001)
Not much more to say about this one, it was reviewed 2 weeks ago. A great Dubstep debut from the American producer.

Geiom- ‘Overnight Biscuits’ (Berkane Sol 001)
Definitely a lot more musical than your average Dubstep track, ‘Overnight Biscuits’ worked just as well with the bassline EQ’ued out than it did with the sub intact. A slow builder, it’s hard to tell whether the instrumentation used in the tune is an original creation or a sample. But whatever their source they are very welcome in a genre starved of melodic sounds (though admittedly Skream did a lot to change this in ’06).

Timeblind- ‘Ontological Ground Of Being’ (Soot 010)
Like the one above this had an oriental vibe to it. In terms of drum pattern ‘Ontological’ was pretty experimental, having no snare and riding along a set groove with barely a solid kick drum about the place. The bassline was out of the ordinary too, quite hard to distinguish from the other elements of the track. A look of ontological in an encyclopaedia shows that the word refers to ontology, an ancient Greek study of ‘being or existence’. Indeed. The two B-side tracks on this EP (called Ghostification) are also worth a look, especially the accessible Electronica of ‘Copy Copy’

Caspa- ‘Rubber Chicken’ (Tempa 019)
In theory there are only so many bassline melodies that can be created, which is probably why producers are constantly looking for new ways to alter their drops using LFO’s and the like. Caspa dares to keep things really simplistic, with the main part of the bassline being just a single key quickly tapped 10 times in succession. It’s refreshingly basic, but it’s the kind of thing that could attract criticism of Dubstep being a poorly produced style of music.

But just when you start to appreciate the bassline for it’s boldness, it goes through a sequence where it changes speed constantly in the space of 16 bars. From ludicrously fast to very slow, it’s quite an elaborate workout to dance to it. This section is short lived though and it soon returns to the original bassline. For me ‘Rubber Chicken’ is adventurous simply because it’s crude, in a similar way to how ‘Pulse X’ or ‘Eskimo’ flipped the script a few years ago. But unlike those 2 tracks it doesn’t look like Caspa’s effort has inspired a legion of copycats. 

Skream- ‘Summer Dreams’ (on the Skream! album, Tempa)
This came in for a bit of stick on the internet due to it’s unashamedly 2-step Garage flex. Not unlike a Phuturistix or Maddslinky track from a few years ago, ‘Summer Dreams’ was perhaps too jazzy for today’s Dubstep market, which praises darkness above all else. But if anything it’s good to see the likes of this and various Burial tracks reviving (for want of a better word) the more ‘girly’ sound. Vintage 2-step always had a problem with holding back the cheese, so perhaps it’s going to take the work of respected Dubstep producers to provide us with more credible interpretations on the old style.     
                                                                 Article by Owen Griffiths