There was a while a few weeks ago when Rob Booth went quiet; and a baron spell for dubstep music dawned, as the man in question moved his life and loves up to the Lake District to open a cafe. Now, I've said it before and i'll say it again - publically - his show Electronic Explorations has been a huge wealth of music and inspiration for me and stands firm as one of the major reasons Sonic Router does what it does.
Combine our oft over zealous wanking over EE's consistent pedigree with a guest mix from Ben UFO - Hessle Audio co-founder, perplexingly effortless DJ and incredibly genial chap - and you've got a bonafide smash waiting on the end of your RSS subscription feed.
Scotland knows how to do it. Lucky Me's Ballers Social Club are entertaining Alexander Nut this Friday and so they present the interweb with this: a dope as fried fuck promotional mix from the said artist.
Dizzie Rascal - Flyin' (instrumental) Tiago - Bable Fish Rustie - Shadow Enter ?>£>$>$>$$>$ (Floating Points remix) Dark House - Darkhouse Mediation Om Unit - Cradle Dam Funk - Chocolate Funkineven 1956 'She's Acid' Floating Points - Peoples Potential Karizma - Nessesary Madness Rustie - Bad Science Afrika Hi Tech - Blen! Brackles - Get A Job Brackles & Shortstuff - Sutorita Faita Untold - Its Gonna Work Out Fine Pearson Sound - Wad Tempa T - Next Hype (Plastician Remix) Joker - Retro Racer Skepta ft Wiley - Are You Ready Zomby - Godzilla Shuanise - Catch
The woman with possibly the best (and most frequent) facebook updates in the whole world, Cooly G, has put together the latest installment in Tranquera's MTV Brazil mixes.
The former purveyor of a Sonic Router mix, Akkachar hooks up a mix for Bassmusicblog featuring upfront Guido dubs as well as a whole bunch more forthcoming releases on his Rwina lable including 501 and Starkey.
After the release of the inimitable 'Polyfolk Dance' EP earlier this year and ahead of the October release of 'Butter,' the debut album from the Scottish deconstructive beat assailant Hudson Mohawke, the Warp label have opted to hand out a free mp3 of the track 'Rising 5' to the glorious XLR8R website as a prelude.
This Saturday, East London's Gramaphone plays host to Lone, John Daly and Joy Orbison - pusher of one of the most hyped tracks of the moment, 'Hyph Mngo,' which we can confirm has been scheduled for an early September release on Hotflush with 'Wet Look' on the flip.
Familiarise yourself with the Back To The Wood people and what they do by delving into their podcasts:
The 2nd highly anticipated entry in the Hotflush podcast series is here thanks to Sigha, who has taken the time to delve a bit deeper in his selection.
Essential listening for fans of the label and unknowns alike..
Some lumpy goodness from the french beat crafter Fulgeance just got upped to the BodyTonic site. A reason to stop watching Tempa T and DJ Magic in Scotland and get your clicking finger functioning to nab that Smartbanging Mixtape if there ever was one...
Martin Kemp has pedigree. Both as a name thanks to the Spandau Ballet link up and as a producer thanks to the fact that his brother, Brackles, has recently broken through into the ranks of those 'must buy' producers currently infiltrating the Boomkat wishlists of so many. With his first physical release occupying a side of the excellent first Blunted Robots release and after hearing his unique reworking of Royal T's Nintendo infused '1UP' we knew it would only be a matter of time till he broke out of his chrysalis and flapped off into the ether painted up like a tye dye daydream.
Yep, we're super chuffed to be able to bring you his contribution to our exclusive mix series and you're damn straight, it just so happens to be a blinder...
Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?
Martin Kemp: I have been DJing for 8 years and producing for 3 of those. I recently had a tune out on Blunted Robots…
Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?
I finished University a year ago and I’m doing random jobs. At the moment I install PCs which is a strange job for me considering my knowledge of computers is minimal.
How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do produce?
I really liked Tuff Jam and Todd Edwards tracks and tried to make those shuffley four four drums on Reason. It didn’t really work out. Later on, I got into dubstep through Mala, Loefah, Skream, Benga etc. and the tracks were simpler and there was more experimentation, rather than trying to make a particular type of music, or searching for particular drum hits so that it fitted into a genre.
What aspects of it [dubstep] connect with you and spur you on to continue producing?
Weird noises and bongos.
What’s your production set up like? Has it changed a lot since day dot?
I started on Fruity loops, moved onto Reason and I’ve been using Nuendo with some VSTs for the last couple of years. I use a synth called Massive a lot and I’ve got a Dr-sample 202 that can be useful.
Oh and, you must get this a little bit, what’s the big idea behind the moniker? I get that it’s your name and all, but some might ask why you didn’t opt for an irrelevant production alias when it has such overt connotations to Spandau Ballet… and latterly Eastenders bastard Steve character?
I really got tired of choosing a name. It was wasting a lot of my time so I decided to go with Martin Kemp… for now.
Your first tune ‘No Charisma’ is out now on your brother’s label, Blunted Robots. Does it fully rep your style do you think? Like what can the adoring public expect from other Martin Kemp tracks?
I’m not sure. I think at the moment I’m still finding my style. The newer stuff that I have made is just as weird as ‘No Charisma’ but darker and maybe closer to dubstep.
Your myspace is incredibly bare, no info, no pictures etc... Is it intentional for people to not know you? Do you think it adds to your music’s mystique in a way?
I’m quite a lazy person. I created the myspace so that people could listen to my tunes, I’m not so interested in writing about myself. I think it’s better if people don’t know who you are and all they get from you is your music.
What else have you got coming up this year?
‘Bowser’ is coming out in the next couple of months on Hold Box Flat, a new label from The Bpm, I’ve got a remix of a track by Royal T called ‘1 Up’ coming out soon on No Hats No Hoods and the next Blunted Robots release is going to be ‘Aztec’ and ‘After The Night.’
I’m playing in Bristol in September and hopefully again in October.
Tell us a little about the mix you have done for us... what tracks just had to be in there?
It’s got a bit of funky, garage and some of my tunes on it. I just had to select a Horsepower tune for the mix and I really like the Roska remix of ‘Just For You’ by Untold as well as Brackles’ remix of MSTRKRFT ft. John Legend.
What is the thing that is most exciting you at the moment in the bass music scene?
Artists that are making tunes influenced by funky, garage and dubstep… I really like Greena’s music, obviously Mickey Pearce, Brackles, Shortstuff and Cooly G. I find that crossover area really interesting.
Have you got anything else you want to tell us, words of wisdom for our readers?
MSTRKRFT - Heartbreaker ft John Legend (Brackles Remix) (Free DL via Discobelle) Cooly G – Narst (Hyperdub) Scratcha – God Made Me Funky (Fantastic 4) Martin Kemp – No Charisma (Blunted Robots) Horsepower – When You Hold Me (Tempa) Zed Bias – Neighbourhood [El- B Remix] (Tempa) Perempay and Dee - Buss It (White) Martin Kemp – Bowser (forthcoming on Hold Box Flat) M Dubs – For Real (Babyshack) Lee Perry vs. Kode 9 - Yellow Tongue ft. Samia Farah (On U Sound) Mickey Pearce – Inammi (Blunted Robots) Untold – Just For You [Roska Remix] (Hotflush) Martin Kemp – Aztec (forthcoming on Blunted Robots) Brackles – Air Pie (forthcoming on Planet Mu) Brackles & Shortstuff – Sutorito Faita (Planet Mu) Tuff Jam - Key Dub (i! Records) Altered Natives – Rass Out (Fresh Minute Music) Royal T – 1 Up [Martin Kemp Remix] (forthcoming No Hats No Hoods) Brackles & Martin Kemp – Graffiti (unreleased) Emvee – Glitch Dub (Wireblock)
After somewhat of a forced hiatus, ThinKing’s Reduction Records imprint has returned to the public sector with a deep and sinister vision on this platter from Elemental, proving in no small measure that the dark, shadowy recesses are very much alive in dubstep today. Tough and techy junglist vibes roll out like thunder across the two heavy weight floor shakers with both cuts managing to sound like they come from a different world; one where giant creatures speak only in bass bubbles across the open expanses of space, while they work tirelessly on the construction of an all conquering space vessel.
‘925’ comes on like the spaceship’s amplified control panel, all whirring, glowing sounds with dubbed out bleeps and jungle like techy breaks that roll out under a solitary, wailing female voice. It’s when the control panel sounds switch up, infusing themselves with a sudden burst of energy before the bass drops that this track really comes to life. The bass is dark as hell the down low subs pound your stomach as alien jabbers shake the rest of your upper body.
The flip side comes in the shape of ‘Arise,’ which takes spaced out synth hooks and places them firmly up front alongside the rattling drums, before Elemental really lets fly with the bass weight. The bass lines on this one drag you in; they’re addictive and sound nothing short of massive as the snare begins to sound more and more like a heavy-duty cyber hammer of some sort, smashing metal in an unknown atmosphere.
Shackleton returns to the performance fray alongside Scuba, the Moody Boyz and Dub Syndicate at fabric this Friday. Here's a piece written by my hand heralding Shackleton's return in as much stead as oh say... a free version of Logic 9 or an office with actual functioning air conditioning.
The full announcement is done. Rather than rephrase I bring you word seeded from Bleep:
"October will see the release of ‘5 Years of Low End Contagion’, a double CD marking Hyperdub’s five years of life as a record label. Honouring their past, present and future in equal measure, ‘5 Years of Low End Contagion’ is comprised of one disc of prior highlights, and one of freshly composed material contributed by Hyperdub artists and close friends. A series of five 12-inch EPs in special sleeves featuring a selection of the new tunes will be issued, one per week, leading up to the release of ‘5 Years of Low End Contagion’."
Which equals:
Hyperdub 5.1 EP - 12"Vinyl (HDB023) Released: 31/08/09 Kode9 & The Spaceape ft. ChaCha - ‘Time Patrol’ Black Chow – ‘Purple Smoke’ Flying Lotus – ‘Disco Balls’
Hyperdub 5.5 EP - 12"Vinyl (HDB027) Released: 28/09/09 Mala – ‘Level Nine’ Cooly G – ‘Weekend Fly’
5 Year Of Low End Contagion - 2x CD Compilation CD#1 - A CD compilation including all the tracks featured on the 5 EP's. Plus several additional previously unreleased tracks. CD#2 - A 16 track mix of hyperdub back catalogue, many of which have never been released on cd before.
The 12th release on Kamal Joory’s Berkane Sol imprint sees him teaming up with Wigflex boss and fellow Nottingham resident, Spamchop, for the A-side ‘Cave Rave.’ Unfurling low end stabs, crushing snare drums and hyper delayed hi hats they meld their styles well, hanging their percussion on an almost Egyptian sounding synthesizer and tight mid range bass pulses that wander the scales with an abundance of swagger. It’s a little less twisted than you might expect, on the grounds of previous work from both producers, with the emphasis placed squarely on the pressure the drum work yields at high volume but it’s a beautiful example of the ingenuity and talent Nottingham is currently breeding.
‘Sirius Star’ is solo Geiom firing on all cylinders; when he’s using his hi hats to propel his 2-step, funk rhythm or teasing out short blasts of taught mid range bass you really can tell he’s enjoying his time inside his sequencers. He lets the main melody float in snatches around the track’s main bassline pulse, once again forcing the low end and drum work to carry the brunt of the attention. It’s a little more of a creeper than the A-side, but when the motorway like atmospherics dissipate into nothing and the drums dance through the swirls of synth texture it’s a definite plate to be proud of.
The second blinding double pack Zomby EP, 'One Foot Ahead Of The Other' (this time on Ramp Recordings rather than Hyperdub) is available at Boomkat like right now...
Scottish producer Gravious, has re-appeared with a glut of live shows, after a seemingly year long hiatus from releases, after 3 singles on HotFlush and its sub label Scuba. His recent 'Futurist EP' (full review here) for the London based Highpoint Lowlife label was reportedly inspired by visions of the future fitting considering that on the strength of it and of his own productions his future is as bright as a certain mobile phone companies idea to give away 2 for 1 cinema tickets.
We caught up with him to learn a little something while we nabbed our 20th exclusive mix.
Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?
Gravious: Yes! My name is Ali, and I produce slightly leftfield Dubstep tunes under the alias Gravious. I'm an Edinburgh boy, but have been based in Glasgow for the last 8 years. My first release came out on Scuba, a sub-label of HotFlush Recordings, back in 2006. That was followed by 3 more on HotFlush, and more recently by an EP on Highpoint Lowlife.
Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?
Outside of music, I am still Ali, but I do a 9-to-5 for an organisation distributing funding money to voluntary and community projects, as the music alone doesn't keep me fed and sheltered.
When did you get into producing?
My mate Rob showed me the basics of production back in 2001, and it really took hold over the next few years. Before then I'd played guitar and stuff, and been well into music, so it seemed like the logical step as I got into more electronic styles.
What is your set up like now compared to back then for making music?
To be honest, I'm still on a pretty basic setup compared to most! I just have a PC, a small midi keyboard and a pair of speakers. Most of the software I use is about 5 years out of date, and I don't use much in the way of plug-ins, but the stuff I do use I know inside out. I kind of like being limited in some way, as you can totally lose yourself in all the hundreds of synths, VSTis and stuff out there. I've used a lot of those things, but I find it slows down the creative process if I have too many...
What first sucked you in to dubstep?
I first heard dark-garage and early Dubstep through J Da Flex and Femme Fatale when they were both had 1Xtra shows back in 2004, and that was what really hooked me on the sound. There were tracks they played that just sounded like nothing else – futuristic and bass-heavy, and with really different beats. From there I started buying records, and checking out the forum on the old Dubplate.net, which always had mix-sets and Rinse shows posted up – which was about the only way to hear that stuff up in Scotland. It was about then, 04/05, that I also started producing Dubstep stuff myself.
Gravious – Subterfuge [Hotflush]
There is loads of quality music coming out of Glasgow your hometown at the moment do you get mixed up in all the goings on up there and what are you really feeling at the moment?
There is indeed! Obviously Rustie is putting out some massive tunes, and has been for some time now – likewise HudMo. I'm also feeling Darell's beats at the moment, after seeing a few of his live sets at my mate's night, so check him out.
There's a really healthy scene for that kind of off-kilter bass heavy stuff up here, which is wicked, although I've not been too involved with those guys directly. There are also some really good Glasgow based people on Highpoint Lowlife too – check out The Village Orchestra in particular. I've not been playing that much in Glasgow recently actually! Which is a shame (hint hint promoters, ho ho), I think I need to get myself out there a bit more locally.
Who is exciting you musically at the moment?
In dubstep, people like Hyetal, Peverelist, Untold and Joker are all really doing it for me at the moment. They all have a distinctive sound, and have interesting stuff going on in their tracks that set them apart from much of the rest of the scene. There are always others too, but I have a poor memory! Otherwise, ‘Mirrored’ by Battles has been on constant rotation on my player for the past year.
How did your latest release the ‘Futurist EP’ come about for Highpoint Lowlife and what was the inspiration for it?
Originally, Thorsten from Highpoint Lowlife approached me about some tracks for a compilation album project, at the start of last year, but eventually that ended up being a 3-track EP that came out in May. The three tracks weren't written specifically as an EP, and in fact I made ‘Vultures,’ the second track, back in 2007. It came out of my anger at corporate greed in Africa, as it happens (right on brother...). The other 2, ‘Jupiter Jazz’ and ‘World of Tomorrow’ were more blatantly retro-futuristic in their style, so they are pretty heavily indebted to historical visions of the future, which is something I find really interesting. You can tell a lot about a period in the past from its visions of the future, like the gleaming utopias of the 50s and 60s as opposed to the Terminators and post-apocalytics of the cold-war era.
I can hear a hint of Underground Resistance and Detroit techno in the ‘Futurist EP’ and other bits, you have that futuristic soulful melancholic vibe going on at times but with that dance floor edge, is that an important part of your sound or just coincidence?
To be honest, it is more coincidence than design, although I have been getting more into the UR/Detroit stuff recently. It must have influenced me indirectly though, I'm sure, because I can hear it when I listen to that stuff now. However, I've seen a couple of reviews of my track ‘Jupiter Jazz’ recently that claim I named it after a UR track, but I'm afraid that's nonsense! It's actually a reference to Cowboy Bebop, a slightly obscure but brilliant Anime series which I was mildly obsessed with when I made it.
There is a really melodic sound to your tracks. How do these come about, do you tinkle on a keyboard, pluck them out of thin air or just have a knack and ear for melody?
Melody is really important to me in my tracks, so it's usually the first thing I work on. So much dance music has great sounds, but no tune. Sometimes that's great, but I find it hard to make good tracks that way. For me, if I'm lucky or on a roll, I sometimes just hear something in my head, and put it down, and it works. More often though, it's just mucking about on my little keyboard and seeing what happens, then tidying it up afterwards.
I see you’ve been playing all over the world recently to everywhere from Australia to Holland what has been your favourite moment out on tour?
Running over a 2-metre long snake on the way out to a bush rave in Australia was pretty crazy! Couldn't really call that a favourite moment though... That gig was in this Mad-Max style home-made shack about three stories tall, and it had the most incredible lighting set-up I've ever seen, so that has to be up there.
The view out of the TV-Tower I played in Hungary was pretty awesome as well. Generally, it's still pretty mind-blowing just pitching up to these gigs and finding that people the other side of the country/continent/world recognise some of my tunes!
What does your live show entail?
The live show entails me with a laptop, midi-controller, keyboard and Ableton with Reason plugged into it. Basically I don't have enough arms/RAM to play everything live, so I play bits live, use a bunch of audio loops and effects, and sort of recreate the tracks again on the fly.
Tell us a little bit about the mix you have done for us, what tracks just really had to be there?
There's a bunch of tracks I'm really feeling at the moment on there. ‘Pixel Rainbow Sequence’ by Hyetal is one that I've been caning for a bit now, so I'm glad to say that will be out really soon. It has great futuristic vibes over a solid beat. I threw that DFRNT track in there too, but there were loads of other great tracks of his I could have put in – he's got some big stuff up his sleeves, a fellow Scot as well... The Kaskaad, Vaccine and Funk Ethics tracks are also belters, and the Ikonika one is a an old favourite. There is also, a cheeky first public outing for my remix of Deep Child.
What have you got in the works right now and what’s forthcoming?
The Deep Child remix is out soon on a Sub Continental Dubs 12”, and I have two remixes of tracks by German rudeboy Don Goliath coming in the next few months. I also have 12”s lined up on Pollen records, Davey Jones (a new project from the Clandestine Cultivations guys) and !113g@1 v@1u3 in Australia.
I will also be launching Gravious.com in the next week or so, so check it! It has audio for just about everything I've done, and loads of mixes archived.
Have you got anything else you want to tell us, words of wisdom for our readers?
If you do a live set, stick tennis racket grip-tape to the bottom of your kit – it stops the bass from rattling your laptop onto the floor...
Following on from Untold's bizzarely futuristic 12" 'I Cant Stop This Feeling' b/w 'Anaconda' Hessle Audio are back, championing the percussion heavy stylistics on the second single (the first being on Soul Jazz) from Pearson Sound.
