Blackdown:
“When I look around the Rinse roster, as well as the funky selectors, it’s DJs like Oneman and Brackles, who share our Thursday 11pm slot, who I increasingly feel musical affinity with. Dusk and I take a different approach to how we use old school on our show, and I sure would love to mix like Oneman, but selection wise I think there’s common ground.
Hyperdub have been an incredible inspiration in the last two years, but it’s nice to now see a collection of likeminded producers/DJs like Ben UFO, Oneman, Brackles, Braiden, Alex Bok Bok, Grievous Angel, Shortstuff, Martin Kemp and Joy Orbison using Hyperdubs, funky and old school grime ‘n’ garage sensibilities to find a way that isn’t either wobble, dub techno or dull commercial house. To find a way that preserves the quintessential London elements of feminine pressure, rawness, rudeness and all the other nuum factors, without coalescing into just one thing or becoming something unlistenable or unlistenably dull.
In practical terms, this may be as much a question of bpms as selection. Funky rides at 130 bpm, 2step-badman Sully flexes at 134ish and grime’s at 140bpm still. I’ve seen harder dubstep DJs pushing 150bpm. To me, with the gravity of the mass creativity of funky right now, I feel an urge to drop the bpms and up the groove.”
This is absolutely where I’m coming from right now. That strange yet familiar middle ground is just where my head’s at. I am delighted to be included in Blackdown’s list. The new “Magic Dub” tune a few of you have got is about dubstep, it’s about keeping 140 a worthwhile tempo… but it’s a halfstep house tune. Just to make the point… and because the sample is so good. I want to do more “dark subby dubstep” that’s … good.
So in the next month I have two singles dropping. One, next Monday, is bashy funky. One is dubstep, 140bpm garage and wonky. The line between the two is where the flex is.
