Fresh off some Twitter beef with Deadmau5, dubstep meistro Rusko recently released two volumes of unreleased material, for free and through Twitter. Perhaps inspired by Skream’s Freeizm EPs, The Lost Dubs contains some material that pre-dates even his earliest releases, with tracks from 2004 and 2005.
As the name suggests, these dubs are steeped in reggae and dancehall grooves, from the slinky guitar chords on “Gyal Dem Inna Codeine Style” to the wandering bassline on his remix of Skream’s “Dutch Flowers.” The tracks are an interesting look at Rusko’s early material: “Jump Up” sounds like an underdeveloped version of breakout single “Cockney Thug.”
While these dubplates trace the straight line between reggae and dubstep, they also show synergy between dubstep and hip-hop. “Get down low” mashes a pretty straight-forward rap with wobbly bass for a banger that presages Caspa’s “How Low Can You Go” remix.
Unfortunately, there are no hidden gems on these EPs; these are basically demo tapes. Still, the Lost Dubs are required listening for Rusko devotees. A third volume is to follow, which will continue to fill in the blanks of one of the biggest names in dubstep.
While DJs like Zinc have evolved beyond drum and bass, there is a counter-current of younger producers stoking a revival of the Goldie Years. Be it Zomby’s “Where Were You in ’92” or Skream’s big, ravey edits, nostalgia for early 90s dancefloor flavors – drum and bass, breakbeat, and jungle – is at an all-time high.
Camo UFOs, the LA-based duo of Thee Mike B and Nate Day, aim to fill the void. The two jungle fanatics are building a name for themselves with a string of remixes and mixtapes. I first heard of the pair on their R U SICK mix for the Fool’s Gold Foolcast. R U SICK is a high-energy hour of synth stabs and Amen breaks. During its finest moments, “Show Me Love” melts into tunes by the aforementioned Zinc; elsewhere, the UFOs pay tribute to ragga jungle (via early Rusko).
As remixers, the duo does a good job of identifying a song’s essential core before giving it the Camo UFO treatment; too often a remix loses the essence of the original. They remixed the biggest dance tracks of the last two years, “Mega” by the Count and Sinden and “Pon De Floor” by Major Lazer. Turning “Mega” from electro to jungle is an easy task; chopping up “Pon De Floor” is much more impressive.
A revival is only as good as its revivalists. Camo UFOs find the perfect balance between nostalgia and forward thinking, touching on genres and subgenres that haven’t sounded fresh in over a decade. Sometimes the best future grooves come from the past.
Welcome to The Verge: a column dedicated to music on the edge of a breakthrough. Last week, this space featured a French band that has mastered 70s yacht rock. Now it’s time for an artist whose influences go even farther back.
The most significant aspect of last weekend’s Mad Decent Block Party is the continued dominance of the zeitgeist by Diplo. The entire line-up was a tribute to Wes Gully’s commitment to popularizing regional sounds from around the country and the world. Club music (DJ Sega and the Brick Bandits), moombahton (Nadastrom), electro-mambo (Maluca), and dubstep (Flufftronix) were just a few of the genres on display, the type of eclectic exuberance that makes Mad Decent an underground phenomenon.
Also performing in Philly was one of the most recent signees to Mad Decent, Bosco Delrey, who, like his Mad Decent family, promises to break new ground. Bosco Delrey is a Memphis by way of Jersey singer-songwriter. His music is best described as rockabilly with a dancehall flair (hallbilly?). Like Jack White before him, Delrey looks and sounds like a relic of a place and time that never truly existed.
Delrey croons like Elvis while strumming wavy riffs over programmed beats and chirps of electronic noise. As a genre, rockabilly refuses to ever die, as there are always musicians and audiences that crave the sound and fury of proto rock and roll, that truly American relic. “Space Junky” is typical of his output (of which there are only five songs), with a throwback melody and modern dance elements.
The sinister sounding “Evil Lives” is fueled by chilling organ chords and a trap music beat. The refrain of “Devil’s gonna cut you up” is a flip on Johnny Cash’s “God’s gonna cut you down.” The song – and Delrey’s sound – owe much to the man in black. Plus, “Evil Lives” is an anagram for “Elvis Live.” Spooky.
Like all Mad Decent artists, Bosco Delrey has free reign to develop organically. Even if that means lo-fi reworking of Gucci Mane songs. Trust in Diplo, and trust in Bosco Delrey.
As a genre, dubstep has reached a precipice. With successive releases by Rusko and Skream, and the highly-anticipated released by Magnetic Man around the corner, the mainstreaming of dubstep appears to have begun. The beats are still aggressive, the bass is still wobbly, but the music is easier to digest, due in large part to trance-like diva vocals. Unlike the darker, groovier luvstep, this “popstep” is just that – suitable for larger audiences ready to dance. Here are a few of the songs (and videos) you need to know:
Rusko, with a little help from Dirty Projector Amber Coffman, broke the scene wide open with “Hold On.” And if the crowds in the video are any indication, he may be on to something. All of a sudden, his upcoming Britney Spears collaboration makes a lot more sense. Also of note: his remix of Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro.”
Magnetic Man, the dubstep supergroup formed by Brits Skream, Benga and Artwork, has scored a top ten hit in the UK with “I Need Air.” The trio destroyed the crowd at Hard NYC, a performance that certainly converted non-believers.
The next single off Magnetic Man’s October 4 debut is the shifty “Perfect Stranger,” featuring UK funky chanteuse Katy B. The song alternates between downtempo verses and a breakbeating chorus, and it closes out Magnetic Man’s recent Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1.
No mention of Katy B can be made without also dropping her solo single (over a Benga track), the addictive “Katy B on a Mission.”
For fans of electronic music who want to see the scene grow while also maintaining some sense of musical integrity, popstep is a way forward. While it may be anathema to dubstep purists, wouldn’t you rather see the likes of Rusko and Skream headlining three nights at the 9:30 Club?
Paradoxically, Freddie Gibbs is the future of hip hop because he is its finest throwback. Hip hop is full of backpackers in rose-colored glasses looking for “Golden Age” rappers. Instead, Gibbs’ finds in gangsta rap something resonant to a 28-year-old from Gary, Indiana who has literally fought for all he has. With last week’s release of the Str8 Killa No Filla mixtape and an EP of the same name tomorrow, Gibbs continues to demonstrate why he’s the valedictorian of XXL’s Freshman Class.
The mixtape features unreleased cuts and new heat from the EP. Tracks like “Face Down” and “In My Hood” are unrelenting trap music with Gibbs’ trademark style. On the 90s g-funk of “The Coldest,” B.J. the Chicago Kid plays Nate Dogg to Gibbs’ Dre; on “Best Friend,” Gibbs mans the chorus himself. The tape closes out with “Slangin’ Rocks,” where he goes even deeper into rap history.
The lead single on the EP, “National Anthem,” finds Gibbs in full Tupac mode, even going as far as including a “fuck the world” chorus. He switches between a syrupy flow and a staccato double-time, and as usual, he’s deft at both. To Gibbs, thug life isn’t a choice, it’s a fact of life. Being good in the game – dealing, pimping, killing – is something you do because you have to stay alive. He’s a realist and a pragmatist, and like Tupac before him, he isn’t afraid to get political. A perfect example is the clip for “National Anthem,” where the question is, 250 years later, has anything changed in America?
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Has it really been two years since Ron Browz, Jim Jones and Juelz Santana asked us to “pop champagne?” Time flies when you’re living large, like the rappers on this mix by The Rub’s Cosmo Baker. Baker continues his History of Hip Hop series with a look at 2008, when Weezy was pushing a million units in one week instead of a DOC mop.
2008 was a fun (if frivolous) year for hip hop. Baker expertly mixes the highlights for over 100 minutes of pure bang. No one has swagga like Cosmo, so don’t miss him at U Hall this week for Red Friday.
It’s customary to receive gifts on your birthday. On his cumpleaños, moombahton pioneer Munchi flipped the script, releasing Summer of Moombahton, a compilation of the greatest hits of a genre still in it’s infancy.
The comp is split into two discs: “Past” and “Future,” a concept that is a little preposterous for a style that is less than a year old. However, with the fervor that moombahton has captured the zeitgeist of the electronic music scene, it’s not totally inappropriate. We’re already seeing the sound evolve, with producers introducing elements of cumbia, Baltimore club, and hardcore.
Summer of Moombahton hits the touchstones of the genre, and its perfect for newbies and completists alike. Most of these songs are available elsewhere, but it’s great to see all of these DJs working on a free project and coalescing the movement. TGRIOnline declared this the summer of moombahton, and this mix only confirms it.
DJ Zinc, aka Londer East Ender Benjamin Pettit, has been a force in the electronic music scene since 1995’s “Super Sharp Shooter.” By 2007, however, he found the drum and bass scene stagnant and decided to forge a new path for himself. Zinc’s output since has been a bass-heavy blend of fidget, house, funky and dubstep that he provocatively calls crack house.
The finest example of his current style is the party starter “Wile Out,” a track that guarantees that a crowd will do just that. Between the funky riddim, oscillating bassline, and Ms. Dynamite’s singing/toasting, “Wile Out” is a big track. In a similar vein, Zinc teams up with Benga and Ms. Dynamite on the wobbly “My DJ.”
Zinc has released two volumes entitled Crack House, with the latest dropping last week. Volume 2 contains nine peak hour massives. The hypnotic bass of “Nexx” was harnessed by DJ Benzi on Donnis’ “Shawwty” on his latest Get Right Radio mixtape. “Old Flame” proves that old habits die hard, as Zinc gives the track a very early-90s rave feel.
The track to listen for in U Hall and on dancefloors across the country, however, is “Gimme the Camera,” which features Angela Hunte (of Magnetic Man’s “I Need Air”). The bass is a little too saw-toothed and wobbly for the song to be electro, even if the “gimme the camera and let me videotape ya” hook is right out of the electro-house playbook.
Zinc may be done with drum and bass, but he’s just getting started with crack house. And this sound is addictive.
Welcome to The Verge: a column dedicated to music on the edge of a breakthrough. While this column frequently focuses on musicians from England, how about a band from the other side of the Chunnel?
Here’s a little SAT analogy for you: Daft Punk is to Justice as Phoenix is to… who? Judging by their impressive pedigree and upcoming debut, the answer appears to be Paris duo Jamaica.
Jamaica is Antoine Hilaire and Flo Lyonnet, and was formerly known as Poney Poney. No Problem, out in August, is produced by Xavier de Rosnay of Justice and Peter Franco, an engineer who has worked with Daft Punk. In the same way that Justice built on the French house of Daft Punk, Jamaica takes Phoenix’s electro-tinged indie rock to the next logical step.
From their locale-based name to their bouncy melodies and shrieking guitar solos, Jamaica is 2010’s answer to yacht rock, that ubiquitous brand of 70s and 80s soft rock parodied to great effect in the web series of the same name. Their presentation might be tongue-in-cheek, but the hooks are real. Case in point: the hilarious video for lead single “I Think I U 2,” which presents a fictional rise and fall of the band, complete with stock footage and neon guitars.
No Problem is eleven tracks packed full of jagged guitar riffs and four-on-the-floor beats that all but guarantee an energetic live performance. Even metalheads like it – at least according to the performance video for “Short and Entertaining.”
The album starts with a squeal on “Cross the Fader” and doesn’t stop until the jaunty “smooth music” of “When Do You Wanna Stop Working.” Let’s hope Jamaica doesn’t stop working anytime soon.
STS (formerly Sugar Tongue Slim) is an up-and-coming rapper from Philly by way of Atlanta. After appearing on the Roots’ How I Got Over (contributing a verse on the Joanna Newsome feature “Right On”), STS is poised for big things this year. Today, in conjunction for Honey Magazine, he releases the free Sole Music EP, six tracks about his twin fixations, sneakers and strange.
Owing to his background, STS’ style is equal parts street-wise Philadelphian and Hotlanta flow. Both sides of the coin show up on Sole Music.
The title track sounds like American Gangster-era Jay Z. It’s a midtempo ballad dedicated to a sneakerhead relationship. I’m torn on the stylized (and possibly dated) hook, but it is catchy: “Spiz’ikes to Flizights, thank God for Nizikes / Used to rock the shelltoes with three strizipes / Air Force 1’s, got Adidas Prototizypes / Pair of Chuck Taylors or maybe the A-Lizzife.”
STS isn’t content to just walk in Wale’s Nike Boots, though, dedicating “Take Me to Hadley St” to Mr. Folarin’s rumored-girlfriend Solange Knowles. The funky track is pure Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. “Onionmania” and “Brown Babies” are smooth and soulful, too, and STS’ flow has a piercing, nasal quality that keeps you on your toes.
Sole Music is a short but sweet record to spin as STS works on his debut The Illustrious down in the ATL. If you like what you hear, pick up STS’ Demand More mixtape series; Demand More 2 features “In for the Kill,” a Drake-esque rap over a sample of Skream’s groundbreaking remix of the La Roux song of the same name.
Dubstep is at the fork in the road that every genre eventually reaches: the point where artists either attempt to crossover, or forgo mainstream success and go further underground. Like Rusko before him, dubstep pioneer Skream has opted for the former with his latest album, Outside the Box (dropping in early August). Unfortunately, a number of half-measures finds Skream uneasily positioned between the two paths.
Outside the Box features many of Skream’s trademarks: stuttering two-step beats, sparse compositions, and robust bass. It suffers, however, by not putting its best foot forward. After the echo-filled atmospherics of “Perforated,” the album slips into the lame chiptune of “8-bit” (unaided by the milquetoast rapping by Murs) and then “CPU,” which highlights the regrettable vocoded lyric “I am your computer” ad nauseum.
The album picks up from there, with some strong vocal-led tracks (the diva R&B of “I Love the Way” being the strongest) and “Fields of Emotion,” the song most reminiscent of Skream’s breakthrough hit “Midnight Request Line.” Lead single “Listenin’ To the Records On My Wall” is all rave nostalgia, the titular records some combination of jungle and drum & bass. The video for “Listenin’…” is an ambitious take on creation, a theme that fits the nature of the song.
“Wibbler” attacks like old-school Skream with its unrelenting, headbanging wobble; it’s the lone aggro track on the record. The rest of Outside the Box combines warm synths and relatively straight-forward beats. “The Epic Last Song” tries to live up to its grandiose title with a jungle backbeat and colliding synthlines.
Skream teams up with La Roux on “Finally,” but can’t quite capture the magic of his “In for the Kill” remix; the build to the chorus relies too much on the thin voice of La Roux’s Eleanor Jackson. The track will probably be the album’s second single, which speaks to the overall quality of the album as a crossover attempt.
In crafting dubstep palatable to a mainstream audience, Skream removes too many of its hard edges. The mellow tracks aren’t minimal, they’re just boring. The problem is reinforced by the weakness of the album openers. Despite a few highlights, not living up to the high standards he has set makes the album a disappointment. Contrary to the title, Skream doesn’t move Outside the Box, he just chips away until there isn’t much left of it.
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