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    
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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.