Get Your Wonk On

Wonky? Wonk-Step? Dub-Wonk? Aquacrunk? That’s far to many ridicules questions to answer, what the hell am I on about. Well Wonky or what ever you fancy calling it is a variation on dubstep that’s getting some plays right now. I’m by no means a grime/dubstep expert but this new sound has grabbed my attention.

The main players seem to be the excellent Flying Lotus, who I have been aware of for quite some time with his remix of Mr Oizo and an album dropping soon on Warp. He makes some seriously funky off tempo high tech space funk electro dubstep A.K.A Wonky. He joined Kode 9 of Hyperdub fame in the Rinse FM studio for a back-to-back session that is blowing my mind right now. It’s out there and so wonderfully danceable and strange. Unfortunately I can’t find a track list anywhere to share with you.

Another Wonky main stay is Glasgow’s Rustie, of Wireblock records. He has just completed a mix that aired on Marry Anne Hobbes radio show the other week. The only things I recognise on the track list are the aforementioned Flying Lotus, the record labels Planet Mu, DMZ and Warp, grime/dubstep main stay Benga, another Warp new signing Pivot and a hell of a lot of Rustie.

Pitchfork describe the new style as follows:

‘As summer 2008 approaches, a theme-- not a genre-- has emerged across many existing styles of music: the mid-range is being hijacked by off-kilter, unstable synths. Crossing hip-hop, hyphy, grime, chip tunes, dubstep, crunk, and electro, one flavor unites a network of exciting sounds. What do you call it? Wonky.’

Enjoy, get your wonk on.

Kode 9 Vs. Flying Lotus Rinse FM session (Re-Up)

Rustie on Radio One Marry Anne Hobbes Show