Blogariddims 26 / This Is The News

The second episode in the new season comes from Ben UFO, long-time DJ, junglist and musical agitator whom I first met up with on Subvert Central, and who has produced some great dubstep mixes over the last 18 months or so. Ben and his collaborators have recently started their own imprint 'Hessle Audio', and this episode is full of big exclusives and unreleased tunes... see Ben's excellent guest post below for a tune by tune rundown...

I'm biting the bullet. As you'll know Droid has been kind enough to invite me to join the fantastic Blogariddims series despite the fact that I've never been a blogger, although my involvement with various online communities borders on the obsessive. As such I'm finding it rather challenging thinking of interesting liner notes to accompany the mix, which, relatively speaking, was a more straightforward challenge. Collecting ones thoughts into a cohesive post however, is far more satisfying than rapid-fire throw away comments on forums, so before I start I must thank Droid and all involved with Blogariddims for the opportunity, and of course for all the fascinating mixes and commentary from the past year.

The aim of this mix was essentially to showcase the progress of Hessle Audio, the record label I've been running with my Leeds-based colleagues Ramadanman and Pangaea, with whom I also have a weekly radio show on www.subFM.com. In contrast to our radio show, I've approached this mix from quite a focused perspective, concentrating on several specific areas of dubstep. It seems appropriate then that after the recent flurry of wonderful Ableton mixes, particularly Paul Autonomic's immaculately programmed 'Moving South', I've recorded this mix using only two Technics 1210s and my new toy - Rane Serato Scratch. As much as the idea of Ableton and other digital mixing software appeals, I enjoy the limitations imposed by using simply a pair of turntables and a mixer. Even using Serato I sometimes feel bewildered by choice, and as a result my selection suffers, so I can't imagine how I would manage when presented with my entire hard drive. My favourite moments when DJing are those occasions of pure spontaneity - finding unexpected blends or brilliant keymatches; those rare moments when two records seem made for one another, so much so that after the mix, you can't even imagine them being played separately. This is a reflection only of my particularly style of DJing, but the kind of meticulous planning and organisation that seems to be encouraged by digital mixing software doesn't seem conducive to achieving those moments, so for the time being I'm rooted firmly in the past; a stance which seems emblematic of the way the dubstep scene has expanded, with its reliance on vinyl releases combined with the hype created by tried and tested dubplate culture.

I’m not going to spend a huge amount of time describing the mix, but I do feel that I should at least attempt to explain what it is that makes me love this music so much. For a while now people have been saying the dubstep scene is stagnating, or that mainstream appeal has diluted what was once raw, exciting, life affirming music. It’s easy to compare the rise of dubstep with the rise of jungle, and its slow transformation into drum and bass, and given the fact that both scenes share the scene mechanics I have just described, this seems hardly surprising. The difference however, is that dubstep seems to be following the same patterns in hyperspeed, which I think makes the same resulting problems more difficult to avoid, even if many of the people directly involved have seen the same things happen elsewhere. People like me can harp on about learning from experience all they like, but dubstep genuinely burst into the mainstream in less than a year, due at least partially to the rapidly increasing speed of communication and information flow.

I can’t comment on the pros and cons of dubplate culture, but what it certainly means is that in order to break through, DJs need to be presenting something different. Unless you have the freshest material, it simply isn’t enough to simply play. For a while I’ve been playing out unreleased tunes by artists I particularly rate, however, it is only recently that I feel that the output of these producers is strong enough to really sustain a set without any extra input. Consequently most of the tunes in this mix are unreleased, and they’ve been chosen because I think they communicate something that has been partially lost in today’s dubstep dances. Of course its impossible to pin down what this actually is, but a common theme seems to be the juxtaposition between contrasting, competing elements; particularly between an overall feeling of meditative depth with extremely busy, percussive yet minimal production. This combination is absolutely epitomised by Shackleton, sadly unrepresented in this mix. It’s exactly this kind of contrast that I think journalists are referring to when they mention the ‘danger’ and ‘edge’ of the music. It’s the feeling of being pulled in two different directions simultaneously, a feeling sharply amplified by extreme volume.

You can get the mix here - or subscribe to the series here.

Ben UFO: Blogariddims 26 / This Is The News

1. Loscil - Rorshahk (Kranky)
2. Ramadanman - Blimey (Unreleased)
3. Untold - Test Signal (Forthcoming Hessle Audio)
4. Mala - Learn (DMZ)
5. TRG and Selector Dub U - Harajuku (Unreleased)
6. Pangaea - Antistatic [Ramadanman remix] (Unreleased)
7. Ranking Crew - Son of Thunder (Unreleased)
8. Ramadanman - Drowning [Kablammo remix] (Unreleased)
9. Terror Danjah - Green Street (Aftershock)
10. D1 - Malfunction (Tempa)
11. Headhunter - Techo (Unreleased)
12. Kode 9 - Ping (Rephlex)
13. Untold - Kingdom [Pangaea remix] (Unreleased)
14. DQ1 - Gud Money (Tectonic)
15. Cloak and Dagger - My Lips Are Sealed (Unreleased)
16. Peverelist - Erstwhile [Forsaken remix] (Unreleased)
17. Martyn - Suburbia (Unreleased)
18. 2562 - Resistance Dub (Unreleased)
19. Groove Chronicles - Masterplan (White)
20. Pangaea - Coiled (Forthcoming Hessle Audio)
21. Matty G - 808 Bass (Unreleased)
22. El-B and Rolla - Serious (Locked On)
23. TRG - Decisions (Unreleased)
24. Martyn - Storm Watch (Unreleased)

1. Loscil - Rorshahk (Kranky)
2. Ramadanman - Blimey (Unreleased) 3. Untold - Test Signal (Forthcoming Hessle Audio)

OK, so I do this quite a lot, but this mix starts actually with a tune that isn’t dubstep. Its fun to play though, as it runs at almost exactly 140bpm, has heavy bass, and is just generally a really nice tune. The Kranky label have this sort of sound totally pinned down – dubbed out, atmospheric ambience with just enough melody and progression to avoid ‘background music syndrone’. The first dubstep track comes from crew member Ramadanman, who’s been working extremely hard refining his sound recently. This one is my favourite of his productions so far, and I can’t think of anything else that sounds like it. The opening is startlingly minimal, with almost nothing to cling to other than busy, mutant tribal percussion, which finally gives way to a fleetingly beautiful melodic breakdown reminiscent of early 90s electronica; a genre of which he claims almost total ignorance. The next track comes from Untold, and will be coming out on the third Hessle Audio release, after an EP from Hessle crew member Pangaea. The sound is totally unique, retaining almost none of the traditional dubstep format, and I can see it appealing to a huge range of electronic music fans… although I suppose I have to say that. It’s wonderful though, and defies description, so the only thing I can say is to judge for yourselves.

4. Mala - Learn (DMZ)
5. TRG and Selector Dub U - Harajuku (Unreleased)
6. Pangaea - Antistatic [Ramadanman remix] (Unreleased)
7. Ranking Crew - Son of Thunder (Unreleased)

This next passage sums up best what I was attempting to communicate about the contrast between busy production techniques and deep, meditative vibes. The Mala tune seems to have been oddly sidelined in scene terms, possibly due to the fact that it was released with one of the most popular Mala tunes ever, ‘Lean Fwd’. I’ve only heard it played out a few times, and was absolutely delighted when I first read it was to see a release. It mixes beautifully with the TRG and Selector Dub U track as well – both tracks are in the same key, and switching the two basslines changes the root note of the chord. The first time I discovered it I’m sure I could feel the endorphins rushing.

8. Ramadanman - Drowning [Kablammo remix] (Unreleased)
9. Terror Danjah - Green Street (Aftershock)
10. D1 - Malfunction (Tempa)

This is possibly the most energetic section of the mix, starting with an excursion from the mysterious Isle of Wight trio, Kablammo. Other than several inflammatory posts on dubstepforum, little is known about the group, but this tune really speaks for itself. Disgustingly skewed bass mutations transform Ramadanman’s original from a deep, menacing two-stepper into a dancefloor destroying beast. With his 2005 beat ‘Green Street’ Terror Danjah seems to blend about 100 genres at once, predicting the recent trend of techno infused production and combining it with furious Indian percussion and pounding bass weight.

11. Headhunter - Techo (Unreleased)
12. Kode 9 - Ping (Rephlex)
13. Untold - Kingdom [Pangaea remix] (Unreleased)
14. DQ1 - Gud Money (Tectonic)
15. Cloak and Dagger - My Lips Are Sealed (Unreleased)
16. Peverelist - Erstwhile [Forsaken remix] (Unreleased)
17. Martyn - Suburbia (Unreleased)
18. 2562 - Resistance Dub (Unreleased)

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the proliferation of techno influenced dubstep, particularly on Dissensus and various blogs. I went through a phase of including pitched up techno records in my sets, and sometimes it worked really well. Monolake, Sleeparchive, and the Sahko camp particularly produced a lot of material that fits the mould, sometimes even at 140bpm, although most of the time I was struggling to get away with enormous tempo increases with the pitch control regularly hitting +8. I decided recently however that I was actually more interested in playing dubstep with influences from different genres, rather than playing out different genres within the same set. This increased focus might seem like a reduction in scope, but I think it’s been helpful to the process of creating an individual sound.

Many of the artists in the above section have links to Bristol, including 2562, who recently produced a magnificent 12” for Tectonic, DQ1, Headhunter, and Forsaken. The Forsaken remix is especially fantastic, turning Peverelist’s original deep techno workout into a hands-in-the-air house inflected dancefloor destroyer.

Another recent phenomenon with the expansion of dubstep is the influx of producers from different genres. Drum and bass producer seem to have a bad reputation in this scene, however Cloak and Dagger and Martyn have great track records across both styles. Martyn has made a name for himself by blending his love of Detroit successfully with skippy, uptempo two-step percussion, whereas Cloak and Dagger reacts against the standard half-step template with his distintively loose, tribal drums.

19. Groove Chronicles - Masterplan (White)
20. Pangaea - Coiled (Forthcoming Hessle Audio)
21. Matty G - 808 Bass (Unreleased)
22. El-B and Rolla - Serious (Locked On)
23. TRG - Decisions (Unreleased)
24. Martyn - Storm Watch (Unreleased)

I always try to include a few older pieces when I mix, partially to communicate a sense of the history of the music, but principally because I think mixing busy, uptempo old school stuff with newer, more brooding dubstep sounds great. El-B is responsible for both ‘Masterplan’ and ‘Serious’ in the above section, and for me they sum up exactly why he is so revered in this scene. Forward thinking yet immensely danceable; blissfully euphoric without being tacky. These records are both pitched approaching +8, and it’s a testament to El-B’s engineering that they still sounds great. Funnily enough mixing these old records so regularly, it actually sounds weird whenever I hear Juiceman and Rolla MCing at normal pitch.

I’d like to draw particular attention to the Pangaea tune as well, as it will shortly be coming out on Hessle Audio 002. We had a bad batch of test presses but hopefully it’ll be out in a few weeks. It reminds me of early Big Apple records, infused with a love of old electronica records. White noise seems to have become something of a trademark…

Thank you to anyone that takes the time to listen, and thanks once again to Droid for inviting me to join the series. I really hope you all enjoy it. Massive thanks must go also to all the producers who have been sending me beats, particularly everyone involved with Hessle Audio, and everyone that’s been encouraging us along the way.