Starkey – Stars ft. Anneka [Planet Mu]

Street Bass don Starkey drops another single from his forthcoming album ‘Ear Drums and Black Holes’ on Planet Mu. After the smooth R&B meets grime episode of ‘Ok Luv’ featuring the vocals of Badness comes another vocal cut but in an entirely different tip. This time it features the vocal stylings of Anneka, who you may recall from Starkey’s ‘Build a Beat’ session on Radio One the other month. They team up to show a laid back side to Starkey’s music before Slugabed soon tears down the notion of peace and quite, while Starkey perpetuates things further by making a couple of large ones for the b-side.

‘Stars’ comes in two forms here the original is a warm, mellow and cosmic journey, while Slugabed takes that template and explodes in a freak experiment that leans it more towards the dance floor. Anneka shines on both, either sweetly floating over the original’s deep space soul or being chopped into melodic accents on Slugabed’s. The remix isn’t as bat-shit as some Sluga, he just adds a nice bit of robo-boogie and keeps the vibe of the original in-between outbursts of smeared bass noise and clattering beats.

The two b-sides see Starkey back in the mode we’re most use to: on ‘Starting Gates’ he unleashes some of his evil bots, who I presume control the basslines as they’re pretty deviant. But as always Starkey’s melodic nature nestles the hype in twisted musical progressions. It’s the wide screen cinematic experience of ‘Millennia’ that really takes the biscuit on the flip, Starkey shows his Imax ambition with massive builds full of sweeping synths before launching into a hyper-melodic bass drop and flurry of snappy R&B beats.

It’s another solid selection from Starkey that shows depth and versatility, which bodes damn well for his forthcoming album ‘Ear Drums and Black Holes’. Starkey does street bass in space.

http://www.myspace.com/starkey

http://www.myspace.com/annekamusic

http://www.myspace.com/slugabedmusic

http://www.planet-mu.com/

Originally written for Sonic Router.

12”

Another episode in the sporadic series that goes by the name of: ‘Eight random platters from my record bag that I’m kind of addicted to right now’.

Baobinga – Ride It/Ride It (Untold remix) [Build]
Tough rhythmic house from Baobinga, the original bangs hard with a heavy broken, tribal feel that’s so chunky it’ll make the dance floor bumpy. Untold turns it into an evil bass pulse driven number that ups the pressure nicely.

D1 – Just Business/Pitcher [Dub Police]
Jungle infused dubstep from D1. Just Business comes out of the dark via a sample from The Wire, clattering drums and bass big enough to shake down Hamsterdam. Pitcher goes all bleepy with funky-esq drum patterns that are pretty infectious.

Starkey – Rain City/Beatingz [Rwina Records]
Street Bass Don, comes back with two slices of pure dance floor fire that combine his gutter music hyper-funk, party starting ideas with a gnarly bright and trancy set of riffs that are so melodic that they get lodged in your brain.

Harmonimix – A Milli/Bills Bills Bills [White]
Cheeky white label from the mysterious Harmonimix, if you know your bass heads you’ll easily pick up the clues on who’s behind this. Both tracks take the well-known numbers into twisted soul-funk/dubstep hybrid, with buckets of funk. The finale to ‘A Milli’ harmonizes Lil Wayne’s raps in a way you just don’t see coming.

Pangaea – Pangaea EP [Hessle Audio]
12” Double pack from a producer that always brings a subtle timeless vibe to his tracks that just oozes quality. Here we see him branch out his style a bit compared to recent material. ‘Why?’ uses quick jungle meets funky drums, a bumping bassline and emotion packed vocal sample to great effect. ‘Neurons’ takes on dubstep at its own game, a half-stepping deep as hell Headhunter meets Youngsta number. ‘Sunset Yellow’ takes subtle atmosphere; a deadly chord sequence and bumping electronic drums accented with tribal rolls and makes a really slow burner that gets under your skin. The rest slays as well…

A Made Up Sound – Sun Touch/Drain/Untitled (Original Shortcut) [A Made Up Sound]
2562 whips out his alter ego for some slower paced techno infused gems. ‘Sun Touch’ meets techno and garage halfway down a hall in a dark basement; the warm house stabs and gentle horror pads build the track with minimal ease. ‘Drain’ takes the pads further into warm, detuned bliss, fleshing out the dark sparse beats. The ‘Untitled’ track is an original from the Shortcuts album, which showed him working out sketches, this one turned into the fantastic ‘Love In Outer Space’.

Martyn – Hear Me (Zomby remix)/Seventy Four (Redshape remix) [3024]
Quality remixes of tracks from Martyn’s album last year: Zomby takes us into bumping house territory, with big dub basslines and psychedelic synth licks, it’s seriously addictive stuff. Redshape goes all dub-techno, low slung and cold, echoing Detroit as much as Berlin.

Sully – J Treole – The Loot (Sully remix)/In Some Pattern [Keysound]
Insanely addictive 12” from Sully, the garage swing king. His remix of ‘The Loot’ goes deep and jazzy with plenty of bump and bass, which really offsets the smooth jazz vibes perfectly. ‘In Some Pattern’ is a super slinky, low swung beast with twisted anthemic synth hooks that build and drop into bass fuelled oblivion.

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12”

The return of the semi regular, ‘randomly selected platters from my record bag that I’m really feeling right now’ blog post, maybe it needs a catchier name…

Joy Orbison – BRKLN CLLN/J.Doe [Doldrums]
Two 12”s, a few remixes and all the hype in the world. His first release on his own label, Doldrums, shows he deserves it too. BRKLN CLLN is the subtler cousin of Hyph Mngo, just as catchy and full of blissful energy. J.Doe takes the diva samples and throws it down old school house style.

Geiom & Shortstuff – No Hand Signals/Wardenclyffe [Planet Mu]
Tag team antics from two heavy weights, Geiom’s music is always special and Shorstuff makes some of the most exciting stuff around and together we get hyper coloured house variants built to move you. There is something grimy about Wardenclyffe, its like eski-acid house. No Hand Signals picks up the tempo but keeps the funky bump.

ASC – Porcelain/Focus Inwards [Nonplus+]
More Nonplus+ I can’t get enough… having missed the d’n’b boat entirely this is the first label that’s getting me excited about the sound. Super smooth half stepping d’n’b that’s so minimal it sounds like electro being fed through a wormhole. The flip takes in dubstep a tempo, big up the multi tempo 12” crews for pushing DJs to think and ride that pitch shifter!

Headhunter – Prototype (Modselektor remix)/Sex At The Prom [Tempa]
This 12” sounds massive: Modeselektor return the remix favour and make their own take on dubstep, which sounds like big room techno with a dark edge. Sex At The Prom goes deep with acid bubbles and hypnotic bass. It’s like Berlin and Bristol are tearing each other a new one on the same 12”.

Starkey Ft. Badness – Ok Luv/Ok Luv (instrumental)/Multidial [Planet Mu]
Taster of things to come from Starkey’s next album ‘Ear Drums and Black Holes’ due March 2010: super smooth hyper soul with grimy undertones and epic colourful melodies. Multidial, heads right to the dance floor with robo-bass and energy surges, killer.

V.I.V.E.K. – Kulture/Meditation Rock [Deep Medi]
Big room material from V.I.V.E.K., dub techno undertones pulled off in a very Deep Medi way, your soundsystem will shake. Things get ravey with Kulture,the filtered stabs re-live the hayday and make you want to loose it in a field outside the M25. But there is something else here too, an eerie blissful dub vibe... Which is where Meditation Rock picks up from.

Joker – City Hopper/Output 1-2 [Tectonic]
These tracks aren’t even the catchiest Joker tracks this year but I still can’t shift them from my head. He keeps it grimy and techy for Tectonic, Output 1-2 especially. City Hopper makes you want to roll around the city with your windows down, swaggering funk and irresistible melodies that somehow remind me of the circus.

Instra:mental/Skream – No Future (Skreamix)/Minimalistix [Nonplus+]
Minimalistix is THE one here: Skream takes it into tech infused stripped back and subtle roller territory while No Future tears the dance a new hole. It’s like the evil twin of his Zomby Float remix and will have to do until that drops fingers crossed…

Missing in Action

I’m in deep with the bass scene I just can’t get enough of the stuff, I write upfront reviews for the Sonic Router and even put some words up here, yet a lot of stuff still slips through the net one way or another. So as a vinyl collecting bass head I thought I would do a mini round up (when I remember) in bite-sized chunks of things from my collection that should without a doubt be talked about, especially while I’m down to one deck and can’t make a mix.

Calibre – Dutty/Stolen Shadow [Deep Medi]
Deeply soulful 140bpm exploration from D’n’B head into acid tinged dubstep and garage with sublime results well worthy of the Deep Medi tag.

Slugabed – Gritsalt/Lets Go Swim [Ramp]
Off-kilter, Neon-Hip-Hop with 8-bit riddims that crunch & glow in all directions with a shit eating playful grin; like Wario on Rainbow Road.

Starkey – Miracles (Jamie Vex’d Remix)/Creature [Planet Mu]
J-Vex’d drop a euphoric sideways slanting high-pressure nuclear fallout version, as Starkey unleashes evil Creatures with a stampeding growl.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry vs. Kode 9 – Yellow Tongue [On U Sound]
Dubbed out variant on the Kode 9 funky sound, less smeary glow and a more spaced out hazy flow, devastating bass and skipping drums.

Untold – I Cant Stop This Feeling/Anaconda [Hessle Audio]
An energy rush of bleeped out minimalist future garage that you can’t stop! Backed with grime in clown shoes, eski played on toys and congas.

Kito – What If/Cold [Disfigured Dubz]
Deep & deadly dub styles with earth shattering bass and soulful vibes made for big rigs, strings and cut up vocals bring a melancholic edge.

I’ll try and keep these coming…

Kotchy & Shunda K (Yo Majesty) - Le Passion, Yo!

I was listening to Starkey's radio show on Sub FM the other night and he pointed us towards this blog post on his myspace:

my main main (and seclusiasis signee) Kotchy dropped this FREE ep with Shunda K from Yo Majesty recently. It's called "Le Passion, Yo!" .....and it is straight FIRE. If you've listened to any of the radio shows lately, you know this guy is THE GUY to watch in 2009. We've got an EP dropping (Seclusiasis / Civil Music) in the very near future, followed by his debut full length, "89".



There's a 12" and 7" out now.... his 1st singles.... which you should pick up if you haven't already.



Anyways.... here's a link to the free ep --->>>>



Download: Kotchy & Shunda K - Le Passion. Yo! EP



It's sick so grab it and get excited about Kotchy's debut album later this year.

Starkey - Ephemeral Exhibits (3barfire Review & Interview)

More 3bar business today in the form of my review of Starkey's excelent debut album Epemeral Exhibits right here, go on click it!

Then just as a little reminder if you didn't catch it the first few times I posted about it. My interveiw with the man himself Stark Bot AKA PJ. Click me!

Starkey – Ephemeral Exhibits

Starkey the Philly based street bass badman is only going to drop his debut album on the excellent electronica label Planet Mu imagine that. If you’re not familiar with Starkey yet pick up your ears and take them over to the dance floor. He makes street bass, which is a kind of mish-mash of all things a little bit dirty and full of bass. It could range from Grime, Dubstep, Bassline, Electro, Hip-Hop and god knows what else in-between. He also likes to make it all sound a bit wonky and Sci-Fi in a kind of B-Movie style.

Ephemeral Exhibits takes us on a journey through space via the gutter, Starkey manages to pull off beautiful melodies and dirty skanked out dance floor hype all at once. The guy has an ear for music, this may be something to do with his classical music training; he has been playing piano since he was about five and has done classical scores. He is defiantly in love with the dirty end of the dance floor spectrum though as this album suggests in bucket loads.

Gutter Music kicks off the album in fine style, it sets the tone perfectly with wonky, growling, wobble bass and punching drum patterns designed to move you. Check out the forthcoming Gutter Music EP on Keysound for some tasty vocal action from renegade Grime don Durty Goodz on this one. The album just features the original instrumental though, but good god its pure hype.

Starkey doesn’t just go for all out dance floor bombs though he also has a mellow side that comes out every now and again in the form of a emotional dance floor weeper, like Marsh. With its hushed pipe blows and half step, dirty south Hip-Hop drums; it has a sad kind of vibe with a spooky edge, Yoda might skank to this on his marshy little planet all on his own in Star Wars. If you listen carefully you can even hear him moaning with an alien pitch bend. More mellow vibes come from the classical string led Time Traveller.

Other highlights on the album are the aggravated bass shakers of Pictures, Dark Ally, Pressure and the hypnotic music box banger Striking Distance; they all have the hyped energy of a madman Stark Bot on a rampage with a digital chain saw with lasers in his eyes.

The final two tracks are kind of special as well: Bang Bang the Witch is Dead, which featured on the Angel EP earlier in the year on Creative Space and the epic closer Spacewalk. Bang Bang… is a wonky bubbler that sounds a little like you are falling over and dancing all at once, which lets face it we have all done at some point. Spacewalk is a classic last track, it has everything you want: happy and euphoric vibes and a bouncy up-tempo rhythm mixed with huge bass and beats, plus that melancholic end of night kind of sound.

Starkey’s Ephemeral Exhibits: Robo Street Bass From Out Of Space.

Starkey - Trouble in Space (3barfire Interview)

I got the opertunity to shoot some questions to the Street Bass producer for 3barfire (originaly posted here) and this is what happened.

Starkey, known to has family, friends and publishing company as PJ, has been dominating the airwaves recently with an instantly recognisable brand of synthesized mayhem. His beats are expressive saws off sound that splinter and chip away at your eardrums just as much as they slap them.

Fresh from running his labels Seclusiasis and Slit Jockey and pioneering the gritty grime sound of the UK capital in his native Pennsylvanian home town, Starkey took a few moments to explain his love for the sound and introduce to his Planet Mu signed full length album 'Ephemeral Exhibits' to James Balf.

James Balf: I love the term Street Bass you use as a catchall phrase for what you play and make. What first got you into the underground urban dance sounds?

Starkey: It had to be, first and foremost, trip hop. Tricky, Portishead, Alpha... downtempo, hiphop influenced electronic music. Also, Bjork around the same time I think. I was also into some of the random tunes I would hear.... like from DJ Wally and such. Still to this day that era of music is still my favorite. But when I started college, I quickly got into the Warp and Planet Mu stuff.... Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Boards of Canada, Venetian Snares, Shitmat. I was going to school for music production and started producing my own tunes, basically to practice what I was learning in class and trying to have another output for creativity (besides playing in the band I was in).

JB: Can you tell me a little about your native Philadelphia and how it’s shaped your music?

S: Philly is a hip hop town... plain and simple. That definitely comes through in my music - a bit. Even if you aren't too into hip hop, you're surrounded by it every day. It definitely influences many aspects of the city... from how people act and talk, to how they interact with each other.

JB: The dubstep scene has embraced you over here in the UK and it’s wicked to see the age old US, UK dance music exchange isn’t dead. Since house and techno and even before that, the US and UK has been feeding off each other and bringing different influences to the table. When did you first hear about this stuff we call grime and dubstep and think, wow we could add this to what we have going on here?

S: For me... I was living in London in 2001, going to school, when I first discovered garage. So Solid's album was dropping and all that. I also heard ‘Has It Come To This’ by The Streets and instantly fell in love with it. It was just so different from the stuff I was listening to at the time. So after I came back to Philly.... I tried to stay in touch with what was going on with the sound. I remember hearing Wiley & Dizzee for the 1st time back in the states and was like "WTF?"... that was the most exciting thing I'd ever heard, It had such a raw energy to it.

JB: You flew all the way from the USA to come and spin a 10 minute set for Generation Bass - I have to big you up for your level of dedication to the Street Bass cause... How did it make you feel when Vex’d picked you and who would you pick if you were in their shoes?

S: Well of course it was something I wanted to be a part of. I was really honored when Vex'd asked me. They were a lot of people's first introduction to what is now dubstep in this country.... particularly with the Planet Mu link. They are amazing producers and such good guys. I couldn't believe they asked me to do it. I was flattered to be honest.

If I had to pick someone.... I don't want to say.... if there is a Generation Bass 2009, I may have to do just that.

But it will be difficult.

Starkey on Generation Bass

JB: Can you shed some light on yours and Dev79’s Seclusiasis Crew and the Sub FM show...? How did you hook up and what’s your plans for the label?

S: Dev79 and I met back in 2004. When we started talking about music, he asked me what I was into and I said, "well I'm really feeling this music out of London called grime." And he was like, "no way... I thought I was the only person in Philly who knew what that was." So… the rest is history really. That year we started the first party in Philly to play grime... seasoned with hip hop, dancehall and such. Seclusiasis was already a crew, throwing parties around Philly and such... but we kind of pushed the brand into a different place.

The radio show had been going on in some form since 2002.... a couple of years before I became involved with Seclusiasis. When we decided that I would take over the hosting of the show at the end of last year, I hit up the SubFM people to see if they would be interested in hosting the show because I really wanted to get back into the interactive aspect of doing a live show... and the chat room helps to achieve that. It's been great on SubFM.

Regarding the label side of things... I've been really pushing to make moves with things this past year. We started releasing Seclusiasis and Slit Jockey 12”s this year... with a bunch of releases planned for the coming months, including an EP from Raffertie, an album from Kotchy and a Dev79 single. We're also dropping a lot of digital releases with people from all over, including Small Professor, a Philly hip hop producer.

JB: I heard you drop some tunes on your radio show from a forthcoming mix CD for LoDubs, it sounds big! What’s some of the hottest tracks going to be for that?

S: Yeah... going to be mixing that very, very soon. Got all the tracks in now. A ton of great tunes on there... Zomby, Joker, a Raffertie remix of Food For Animals, O-Dessa, Dev79, BD1982, a Blackdown remix, Toast, DZ, Bombaman, Dubsworth, Cardopusher + more.

JB: What are your top dubplates right now and what do you have to keep wheeling back at gigs?

S: Every Raffertie tune... haha. There's also this guy called Stagga from the UK who makes crazy drops; everyone goes mental for them. Bombaman makes some stupid drops as well.

I'm not the type of person who wheels up tunes just because people are calling for it.... it needs to be completely warranted.

JB : Apparently ‘The Message is Love’ was voted the sexiest breakdown in grime history (this may or may not be true) and the other night I heard Blackdown play your remix of it on Rinse FM. Did you give it a good work over to see if any of that good lovin’ advice would rub off on you or do you think you were the only person qualified for such a task?

S: This was in the same week that Boomkat was talking about touching me with a big massive stick... hahaha. I guess it's a sexy breakdown... but it contradicts some of the other lyrics in the tune, obviously.

Silverlink ft. Badness & Jammer - The Mesaage Is Love

That tune is just wild. I remember running into Robin who runs No Hats No Hoods on the corner of Bethnal Green Road and Brick Lane earlier this year. He was like... “I got this new tune and I don't know what's up, it's just wild. I'll send it to you”. I was like, “cool... I'm playing fabric tonight so I'll drop it”. So I think I was one of the 1st people to drop that tune - ever. It's crazy... plain and simple. I slowed it down a bit for the remix to 140, so it would mix better with my typical sets.

JB: I hear you’re a classically trained musician, have you got any non Street Bass endeavors on the table at the moment or are you concentrating on ripping up the dance?

S: Nah... not right now. The concert music is on hold. I mean, if I got commissioned to work on a piece, I'd be all about it. But, the last piece I did, ‘Bending Light’, took a year and a half to complete. It's really all about the Starkey stuff right now.

JB: What’s you studio like now compared to the set up you started on?

S: When I started producing music as Aunt Jessica (which subsequently became a group of mine)... I was using a Gateway PC w/ Acid Pro 1, Fruity Loops 1 and the Hammerhead drum machine. I had a Sound Blaster soundcard which was fed by a Behringer mixer and my Korg N1 keyboard. I was mixing on the speakers that came with my computer.

Now I have a couple of Mac laptops.... and still use the Korg N1 (but mostly as a MIDI controller for the fully weighted, 88 key keyboard). I mostly use a Motu 896 interface w/ Logic 8, Reason 4, Ableton Live 7, Kontakt 2, Melodyne plug-in and a few other plug-ins here and there. I'm all about re-wiring. I'm not a hardware junkie at all... but I do have a Juno60 and the Moog Satellite Synth along with a 1/2" 8tk machine.

JB: What else inspires you outside of music?

S: Sci-Fi movies are a big one.... definitely. I'm all about outer space and thinking about the future of the world. Also, been getting back into comics a bit lately…

Zomby - Spliff Dub (Stareky Remix)

JB: Your hooking up with Blackdown’s label Keysounds to release ‘Gutter Music’ on 12”, I heard him describe it as being, “like a mutant Daft Punk/grime jam”, which isn’t far off at all. You two are kind of pushing a nice grimey, off kilter, urban bass thing as well as the deep meditational stuff. What was it like hooking up with Blackdown and what treats can we expect on the flip side to the 12”?

S: Blackdown hit me up because he had heard some stuff of mine that he was feeling, and he wanted to write about me in his Pitchfork column. It was really great to hear that he was interested in what I was doing. So I sent him a bunch of tunes, ‘Gutter Music’ being one of them. He hit me back saying that both he and Dusk loved the track and would be interested in putting it out on Keysound. Mike at Planet Mu subsequently wanted to put it on the album as well... so that's why it's only on the CD version of the album, and not the vinyl, because I had already promised it to Keysound. The 12" will be all gutter.... with a vocal and a VIP mix.

Can't tell you who will be on the vocal yet... but believe me, it will be good.

JB: Your debut album 'Ephemeral Exhibits' drops soon Planet Mu, what can we expect from that beast?

S: To be totally honest, I'm really happy with how this album turned out. You know sometimes after something is finished you look back and say there's things you want to change or would do differently, and I really truly feel as though this album is a snapshot of where I am right now. That's where the title comes from. It wasn't written per se as an album, but it really flows well. Mike has a great ear for picking out tracklists and running orders.

The music is basically a culmination of everything I've been doing for the last year or so. It's got the vocal cutups, the grime-influenced stuff as well as tunes that are more dubstep or hip hop influenced. There's even some sci-fi / electronic stuff on there. But it really does feel like a complete album when you listen to it from start to finish. I'm more a producer that wants to write songs, not just drops. If something doesn't keep your attention for 4 minutes... then it shouldn't be 4 minutes.

Also, Love the Chaos did the artwork and it's completely gorgeous....the CD especially. I can't wait to see the finished, printed version.

JB: And finally... are you planning on coming back over soon to play some more hype sets in the UK?

S: Yeah... I'm looking at January 2009. Another Europe mini tour with hopefully some dates in the UK…

Words: James Balf

For more info on Starkey go here: www.myspace.com/starkey

Starkey's album 'Ephermeral Exhibits' is out on 24th Nov on Planet Mu Recordings

You can download a pre album mix from Starkey at the Electronic Explorations website - Week 43: http://electronicexplorations.org/the-show/week-043-starkey/

With thanks to PJ.

Rustie – Zig Zag (Wireblock) 12”

This is a super limited slab of one-sided laser etched future funk bass hype music. There are only 1000 12”s of this around at the moment so if you want it you will have to grab it quick or forever be looking for it on ebay for ridicules prices. This track is like a sugar rush and maybe one of Rustie’s best so far, which is saying something with his track record. Zig Zag is all over the place its so wonky it hurts, you feel like you are being taken in so many different directions as you can hear different tempos and pitch shifts at once. This is wonky wild pitch if ever I heard it. The sounds he uses are like some kind of freaked out mix of hip-hop and trance with a blast of electro for good measure. It’s like he gave Blaze a sugar injection and set him loose in the studio with sonic the hedgehog some extra hairdo to top up with e numbers and made him get his wobble on. Right now Rustie is making some exciting music as are people like: Joker (who has an up and coming 12” on Kapsize with Rustie), Starkey, Zomby… They all get their urban bass music going in some strange off-kilter future style.

Buy it here: Wireblock

Rustie Myspace

Wireblock Myspace

Generation Bass on Marry Anne Hobbs Experimental Show on Radio One 20th August 2008

Live and rolling review...

M.A.H. kicks off the Experimental with that brilliant little intro and introduces all the heads and the host MC Sgt. Pokes.

Silkie & Quest are up first, they are Mala’s choice. They are the Deep Medi, Anti Social posse and they bring some serious heavy weight bass. The first tune is seriously spooky and the next is a funky freak of a tune that I have on pre-order: Silkie’s Dam 4. The tracks come think and fast as each artist only gets about 15 minuets, next up is some dub reggae influenced vibes with a killer soulful piano. This is some space age soul music right here, its like the most swingin’ techno infused future soul going and the bass is indeed next generation. I’m a little bit taken back by how good it is and we have only just started. I can’t wait to get a track list for this…

Kulture is up next and Skreams choice; this guy intrigues me as I have found little about him. He starts with some spooky sci-fi vibes, like something out of Bladerunner if it was set in London via Jamaca, there is also a huge bouncy bass drop, which is followed by some head nodding reggae business and growling bass. This set isn’t quite smashing it as much as Quest & Silkie, but you know each to their own. Ah it just picked up again, with some pure rolling garage bongos and warm little twinkles of dub synth. More deep stuff follows and I’m happy as hell, this little echo drenched techno soul vibe tune is THE SHIT. Some female vocals mix out of that into some sexy dance floor stuff and a rap track that is hyper as hell and mixed into some down tempo laid back stuff, which reminds me of my own heartbeat.

Joker takes his place on the ones and twos next with his MC Nomad, he is Kode 9’s choice and what a choice he is. This guy is exciting me right now, not only in the dubstep circles but also in music in general. He is making some futuristic sci-fi grime infused bass beats that are pretty much the next wave of urban R&B sounds. He doesn’t disappoint by opening with what sounds like some twisted G-Funk that not even Dre could make. The next tune is another 8-bit synth freak out which samples Busta Rhymes as far as I can tell. Nomad spat some nice bars over some seriously squelch acid bass. This is some futuristic sounds, its like an alien just landed and decided to create some sounds that he thought would make us dance, and you know what the fucker got it right. And then he drops 80’s one of my all time favourite tracks right now, and into the flip to that 12” Gully Brook Lane / what ever that other one is called. This is from and I quote, ‘Next solar system’. Pitched bent synth lines and out there hooks fade into the huge Snake Eater, I think some sub systems just got kicked over… So far Joker is the winner if we have to choose, Quest & Silkie came so close but hell, Joker is not from this world.

American Starkey is up to the plate, Vex’d choice won’t disappoint. He makes some beautiful soulful stuff along with in your face industrial beasts. Its full of vibes and colour, I love his new EP Angel and he has an album dropping soon on Planet Mu. It’s a cross between grime and dubstep but with a really warm soulful edge. Gutter Music opens the set in true style, then into some growling future funk. He slows it down with some half stepping and rap vibes over the top or some bubble bass beats. These synths are pretty damn twisted to say the least. And it just gets more wonky in the bass section as some deep stabs flow on top the madness. Starkey is taking it into pumping techno territory almost before dropping some more twisted soul music from the heart. This is deep and emotional stuff; he is showing some range in his selection. As he proves by dropping some rap track with a mad growling grime style. Starkey is showing that this is truly a global thing…

Chef, Hatcha’s choice steps up. The Corydon rising star brings the heavy weight vinyl to all three decks. The bass is pretty ridicules on his opener, it sounds like the hardest garage you could make while still keeping the sexy soul swing. The beats are huge and rolling, he drops the anthem Reminiscin’ with tailor made vocals that say, ‘I’m Reminiscin’ Chef’. Man I love this tune; I play it any time I get chance. This is almost into D’n’B territory in places; I guess that’s because of the three deck beat action. He is the first guy to whip out some silence and make the build and drop huge to one of his tracks. Chef is good an all that, but others still have an edge over him in my eyes. It’s a tough line up though and he is holding his own. Chef drops a dirty junglest bassline number with reggae samples, then into some hard stuff again.

Oneman the DJ that spins pretty much anything awesome from old skool 2-step to what ever is hot right now, he’s up next and is Loefah’s choice. He doesn’t produce so he is likely to drop something special to keep it rolling and maybe even give us a history lesson. He starts his set with some pure rolling garage beats and twisted synths. The bass is huge and the vibe strong, he brings so many different styles to the table; he is a true DJ Selecta. He goes from the deep rolling style into some dirty as hell bangers with such ease. Oneman I salute you… This is the most on form I have heard him, I am a bit speechless, the slow rolling synth numbers that echo the 2-step scene as much as the dubstep are killing me. As is this piano riff creeping in, that drops into an eyes down dirty skanker, Forgive by Mala as Uprooted crew member Rudetone from York just informed me, big up to them. More 2-step soul to move your feet is up next in the mix. Onemans set was special…

Cyrus is the final choice and he was picked by Distance the metal monster of the scene. This is some seriously heavy beats again, and he starts with some Random Trio action, a deep bass growler. This is some dark, dark and dirty, sick stuff; someone should check this guy out he is ill. Cyrus has some metallic tones just like the guy who picked him Distance. Some of it’s not really my thing but the guy is still killin’ it, I’m nodding my head fo’ sho’. He is dark, deep and proper hardcore the bass weight is immense. He brings a little bit of light and soul into the set with a lazy swaggering number.

Generation Bass killed it and showcased some of the scenes amazing talent; they took their 15 minuets each and ran amuck. Joker brought the hyper energy of a madman badman and was maybe my favourite of the night. Starkey follows him for me, but only just, I mean hell I’m going to have to listen to that again to make sure. Quest & Silkie pretty much blew me away with some pure future soul. Oneman is up there too, just for an impeccable style, selection and vibes. Cyrus is one dark mutha and the more his set went on the more I felt it, the deep and pure dirty sound was intence. The rest represented and showed me parts of the scene I wouldn’t normally venture and killed it still. I’m going to have to get up early and rewind this little gem of a show. Big up to Marry Anne Hobbs and her Experimental Show and the whole load of steppers, first up the original Dubstep Warz crew for choosing and then the new blood Generation Bass for keeping it alive and well.

What the heads say…

listen again on the BBC iPlayer all week, then I'm sure it will be around online after that as an mp3.

Wednesday 20th August

Generation Bass
Recorded live at Maida Vale, hosted by Mary Anne Hobbs & MC Sgt Pokes

Rustie - 'Jagz The Smack' (Stuff)

Silkie & Quest… chosen by Mala
Conquest – ‘Stand’ (Deep Medi)
Silkie – ‘Dam 4’ (Soul Jazz)
Conquest – ‘Hard Food’ (Ase)
Silkie – ‘Test’ (Dubplate)
Conquest – ‘Last Dayz’ (Dubplate)
Conquest – ‘The Seafront’ (Deep Medi)
Silkie – ‘The Horizon’ (Dubplate)
Silkie & Mizzbeats – ‘Purple Love’ (Dubplate)
Conquest – ‘The Unknown’ (Dubplate)

Kulture… chosen by Skream
Kulture –‘Diesel’ (Disfigured Dubz)
Kulture –‘Steppin’ Outta Babylon’ (Dubplate)
Kulture – ‘Spooked’ (Dubplate)
Kulture – ‘Vitamin D’ (Dubplate)
Kulture feat. Ghost 1 – ‘Purple’ (Promo)
Kulture – ‘Rock The Boat’ (Bootleg)
Kulture – ‘Tonight’ (Dubplate)
Late – ‘Misty Morning (Kulture Remix) (Dubplate)

Joker & MC Nomad… chosen by Kode 9
Joker – ‘Stuck In The System’ (Earwax)
2000F & JKamata – ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is’ joker special (Dubplate)
Joker & Rustie – ‘Play Doe’ (Kapsize)
Gemmy – ‘Double Yellow’ (Dubplate)
MR E – ‘Space Invaders’ (Dubplate)
Rustie – ‘Tempered’ (Kapsize)
Joker – ‘80's’ (Kapsize)
Joker – ‘Gully Brook Lane’ (Terrorhythm)
J@kes & Joker – ‘3K Lane’ (H.E.N.C.H)
Joker – ‘Holly Brook Park’ (Kapsize)
Gemmy – ‘Back 2 The Future’ (Punch drunk)
Joker – ‘Snake Eater’ (Soul motive)

Starkey… chosen by Vex’d
Starkey –‘Gutter Music (Keysound / Planet Mu)
Starkey – ‘Striking Distance’ (Planet Mu)
Starkey – ‘Pictures’ (Planet Mu)
Graphic feat. Beans – ‘ I am Metal’ (Starkey remix) (Offshore)
Starkey – ‘Pressure’ (Planet Mu)
Starkey – ‘Dark Alley’ (Planet Mu)
MOVES!!! – ‘All Skate’ (Dubplate)
Starkey – ‘Miracles’ (Planet Mu)
Styles P feat. Swizz Beats – ‘Blow Ya Mind’ (Starkey Remix) (Seclusiasis)
Starkey – ‘Spacewalk’ (Planet Mu)

Chef… chosen by Hatcha
Mr Lager & Alys Blaze – ‘Tell Me’ (Sub Freq)
LD + Clue Kid –‘Not Gonna Cry’ (Ringo)
Geoim feat. Marita – ‘Reminiscin’(Berkane Sol)
LD & Kode 9 – ‘Bad’ (Hyperdub)
Flying Lotus feat. Dolly – ‘Roberta Flack’ (Martyn’s Heart Beat mix) (Warp)
Clue Kid – ‘Monkey Style’(Subbalicious)
Cotti – ‘Calm Down’ (Bassface)
Kutz & Benga – ‘I’ll Kut Ya’ (Dubplate)
Coki - ‘Robotnik’ (Dubplate)

Oneman… chosen by Loefah
Brackles – ‘Get A Job (VIP)’ (Applepips)
Loefah – Midnight’ (Dubplate)
Toasty – ‘Lickable’ (Dubplate)
Point B – ‘E Blade’ (Combat Recordings)
Mala – ‘Forgive’ (Deep Medi)
Groove Chronicles – ‘Stone Cold’ (White Label)
Darkstar – ‘Aidy’s Girl is a Computer’ (Hyperdub)

Cyrus… chosen by Distance
Cyrus & Distance – ‘Violate’ (RTP005)
Cyrus – ‘Decisions’ (Dubplate)
Cyrus – ‘Night After’ (Dubplate)
Cyrus & Distance – ‘Surrender’ (Dubplate)
Cyrus – ‘Space Cadet’ (Dubplate)
Distance – ‘Magnesium’ (Dubplate)

LL - 'Out The Club' (Dubplate)

Picture From drumzofthesouth Dot Com ;)

BIG!

Starkey – Angel EP (Creative Space) 12”

A four track EP from state side bass warrior Starkey on Creative Space he has created some sublime beats for this 12”. I’m not even sure if this is dubstep and to be honest I don’t really care, its just beautiful bass music. The combination of huge bass swaggering hip-hop style beats and a beautiful warm glow put this release near the front of the pack.

Angel is a beautiful and mellow tune with huge bass weight and deep soulful vibes, yet it’s still perfect for the dance floor. This soul/grime/dub crossover is so good, its sunshine stepping if ever I heard it. The next track Bang Bang The Witch Is Dead does exactly what the title suggests, with its huge industrial sized beats and a spooky retro introduction that opens out into a big throbber of a bassline. It’s not quite as deep and soulful as the first track but some of the same elements still remain and make this, well… Bang. The flip is just as brilliant and opens with Drip, which is a melancholy slow booming track, the kick is massive, as is the low-slung bass. They both compliment the subtle synth lines perfectly, and watch for the drop it’s serious business. Drip is one of my favourites on this 12” along with Angel. The final tune Brilliance Tones does nothing to let the side down with its wonky, oh shit I’m falling down the stairs leaning rhythms, can you fall and dance? I’m not sure… Anyway its brilliant as the title suggests the breakdown really mellows the track out before the skiting badass drums come back in with the bass to destroy you.

Starkey is sublime and has an album forth coming on Planet Mu check him out.

www.creativespace.gr

Generation Bass Vs. Dubstep Warz

The original Dubstep Warz was way back in 2006 on Radio 1 by Marry Anne Hobbs and it went down as a bit of a legendary shindig apparently. I never heard it at the time but in this day and age you can find it easy enough. So for Generation Bass Marry Anne has got the original members of Dubstep Warz together to curate and choose some artists of their own to represent the scene. It goes a little something like this:

Mala’s choice: Silkie and Quest

Skream’s choice: Kulture

Kode 9’s choice: Joker

Vex’d’s choice: Starkey

Hatcha’s choice: Chef

Loefah’s choice: Oneman

Distance’s choice: Cyrus

“I have been given the opportunity to do a very special one-off show at the BBC's Maida Vale studios, which we'll broadcast on Radio 1, Tuesday night/Wednesday morning on August 19th/20th. We will also be filming the whole thing for YouTube.” Marry Anne Hobbs

I’m most excited about Silkie, Kulture & Joker who just zinged me on dubstepforum about my needles, cheeky: and Starkey sounds wicked too. All of it is going to be awesome to be honest, you can be sure to hear a showcase of the dubstep sound. I was hopping to have Appleblim, Martyn, 2562 or Peverlist in there somewhere but I guess it just isn’t happening. Catch up on the Dubstep Warz from way back bellow:

Dubstep Warz Download

Tracklist:

D1 - Untitled (white)Mala (Digital Mystikz)

Digital Mystikz - ‘10 Dread Commandments VIP’ (white)
Digital Mystikz - ‘Haunted’ (white)
Digital Mystikz - ‘Left Leg Out’ (white)
Skream - ‘Request Line’ Mala remix (white)
Digital Mystikz - ‘All Of A Sudden’ (white)
Digital Mystikz - ‘Anti-War Dub’ (white)

Skream
Skream - ‘Midnight Request Line’ (Tempa)
Skream - ‘Tapped’ (Tempa)
Sunship and Warrior Queen - ‘Almighty Father’ Skream remix (white)
Skream - ‘Glamma’ (Tempa)
Skream - ‘Deep Concentration’ (Tempa)
Skream - ‘Rottan’ (Tempa)
Digital Mystikz - ‘Ancient Memories’ Skream remix (white)
Horsepower - ‘Egypt’ (Skream remix) (white)
Skream - ‘Music 2 Make Us Stagga’ (white)

Kode 9 and Space Ape
Benny Ill, Kode9 & the Culprit - ‘Fat Larry Skank’ Kode 9 remix (white)
Kode 9 and Space Ape - ‘9 Samurai’ (Hyperdub)
Kode 9 and Space Ape - ‘Backward’ (Hyperdub)
Kode 9 and Space Ape - ‘Kingston Dub’ (Hyperdub)
Burial and Space Ape - ‘Space Ape’ (White)

Vex’d
Vex’d - ‘Saturn’ (white)
Vex’d - ‘3rd Choice’ (white)
Vex’d - ‘Wavescape Remix’ (white)
Vex’d - ‘Killing Floor’ (white)

Hatcha and Crazy D
Benga - Untitled (white)
Benga - Untitled (white)
Coki - Untitled (white)
Coki - Untitled (white)

Coki - Untitled (white)
Skream - ‘Request Line’ Remix (white)
Benga - Untitled (white)
Benga - Untitled (white)
Benga - Untitled (white)
Digital Mystikz - ‘Ancient Memories’ Skream remix (white)

Loefah and Sgt. Pokes
Loefah - ‘Mud’ (white)
Loefah - ‘Ruffage’ (white)
Loefah - ‘Sukkah’ (white)
Loefah - ‘System’ (white)
Loefah - ‘Root’ (DMZ)

Distance
Distance - ‘My Demons’ (white)
Distance - ‘Fallen’ (white)
Distance - ‘Tuning’ (white)
Distance - ‘Cella’ (white)
Distance - ‘Cyclops’ (white)
Distance - ‘Night Vision’ (white)
Distance - ‘Traffic’ (white)

DJ Pinch - ‘Qawwali’ (white)