Samstag, 30.08.2008

U-Club & Version präsentieren:
DUBSTEP & DRUM'n'BASS NIGHT
SOUNDS OF LONDON

dubstep floor:
HATCHA (Tempa, London)
CLUE KID (Bullfrog Records, London)
DJ ORSON (version)
PENELOPE (royal beat club, Düsseldorf)

drum&bass floor:
DJ MERZO (u-club, Wuppertal)
DJ BUCKEL (dnb-lab, düsseldorf)
DJ DYNAMIKE (ubmc, essen)
MC YOUNGBLOOD (essen)

visual art:
SWC TV (düsseldorf)
DIE HEIKE UND SEINE HENNE (u-club, Wuppertal)

U-Club Wuppertal
Start 23 Uhr - open end
Eintritt 10 Euro

Tickets nur an der Abendkasse erhältlich !

Dubstep over Germany

Nach zwei unvergesslichen Dubstep Partys im U-Club gibt es nun kein zurück mehr. Dubstep kommt! Und da die Resonanz auf diese, für Deutsche Verhältnisse extrem subkulturelle, neue Musikrichtung nach der letzten Dubstep Night so unglaublich gross war, machen wir nun Platz für den vollkommenen Partyspass. Das heisst: Dubstep im Mainfloor - all night long. Drum & Bass Fan sollen darunter jedoch nicht leiden. Hiefür steht der 2nd floor. Die ausgezeichnete Tonanlage ist dort mit ihren direktabstrahlenden 18 Zoll Bässen zudem obtimal für Drum & Bass Klänge ausgelegt. Beschallt wird der Raum von MERZO und Gästen.

Zurück zum Hauptthema - Dubstep.
Um dem Motto "Sounds from London" auch diesmal wieder gerecht zu werden haben wir wieder tief in die brodelnde Dubstep Küche gegriffen.
Mit DJ HATCHA konnte einer der Pioniere des Dubsteps verpflichtet werden. Seit 15 Jahren aggiert HATCHA nun bereits als Dj und ist weltweit gebucht. Mit seiner wöchentlichen Radioshow auf Londons Kiss FM Kanal begeistert er mit seinen legendären Dj Sets nicht nur eingefleischte Dubstep Fans. HATCHA, der viele Jahre für das legendäre "Big Apple Records" Label gearbeitet hat, mixte unter anderem das erste "Dubstep Allstars" Album sowie "Volume 4" gemeinsam mit seinem Kollegen Yougsta.
Ihm gegenüber steht Dj CLUEKID an diesem Abend an den Plattentellern. Er ist nicht nur Dj und Produzent sondern betreibt ausserdem das "Bullfrog Beats" Label. Er zählt zur jüngsten Generation am Londons Dubstep Himmel. Ursprünglich durch Jungel inspiriert veröffentlicht er heute beachtliche Dubstep Produktionen. Seine enge Zusammenarbeit mit Dj Cotti und dem bekannten Dj Chef beeinflussen in hierbei sicherlich positiv.

Stellt Euch also auf eine abwechslungsreiche Nacht voll musikalischen Leckerbissen und ausgiebiger Körperbewegung ein. Präsentiert wird die Party wieder als Kooperation zwischen "Version" und U-Club. "Verson" Macher Dj Orson ist einer der aktiven Dubstep Promoter in Deutschland. Neben guter Musik ist er auch für zahlreiche Dubstep Partys in Düsseldorf, Köln und im Ruhrgebiet verantwortlich. Ausserdem treffen wir unter anderem auf die Djs Penelope, Dj Buckel und Merzo die jeder für sich innovative Persönlichkeiten hinter den Turntables darstellen. Für die Visuals ist das SWCTV Team aus Düsseldorf sowie "Die Heike Und Seine Henne" vor Ort.

Die Party startet um 23 Uhr, der Eintritt beträgt 10 Euro.

Cluekid:

Links:

ClueKid: http://www.myspace.com/cluekid

Hatcha: http://www.myspace.com/djhatcha

DUBSTEP
A story by Martin Clark

Lately it would be easy to assume that dubstep = halfstep. Indeed lots of recent dubstep sets are dominated by this style, which uses one snare per bar and is designed to give a slower, skanked out feel. Mala Digital Mystikz's recent set, however, performed at Forward>>-- a vastly smaller venue than he's now used to playing-- was gloriously rhythmically diverse.

Premiering a ton of dubplate weight-line freshness, his FWD>> appearance was an excursion in polyrhythmic delight. From the off-4/4 of "Anti War Dub (version)" to the interrupted house rhythms of"Hunter", it worked a treat and played on the strength of having three producers all in rich form.

Mala's long since pioneered the "up" vibe in dubstep through "Neverland" and "Anti War Dub", in delicious contrast to Loefah's ultra dark "down." A keen house fan, he could have simply injected four kicks on the beat, and made house at 138bpm. Instead he took the interesting route.

One dub, with an unmistakeable "BURY THE BWOY!" sample in it, takes polyrhythm literally, with galloping kicks coming across like two tracks mixed out of phase. Try mixing a third track outta that?

One of the criticisms of halfstep is that it lacks energy, and last year steps were taken to respond to this. On some tracks, notably Coki DMZ and Skream's remix of DMZ's "Ancient Memories" (out soon on DMZ), the rapid fluctuation of the bass became a real vibe-driver, propelling ravers towards skankheaven. Tonight was no exception, with Mala showcasing a new Coki riddim that wobbled the b-line until the roof shook. With the drums almost inaudible, it was almost like a beatless Wiley Devil Mix, but with the synths driven from East London through the dark, choking Blackwall tunnel into Southside Croydon-style sub bass regions. When Wiley did it in early grime circa 2003 it was the MC's bark that drove the rave. In dubstep 2006, excessively mutating bass waves do the same.

But in this sea of dubstep Devil migrations and offkilter offbeats, one slab of halfstep minimalism stood out like a mile. The tune of the night-- the one that made jaws hit the floor-- was Loefah's remix of Vex'd"Third Choice". Minimalism is a tricky game. When you pick fewer elements you've got to get them right. Get them wrong, the crowd is waiting for the next tune from your intro. Get them right, and it's bliss. Loefah's "3rd Choice" remix is a dark, twisted kind of bliss, but amid his pain there's pleasure. Based around an old school bass stab, part bleep techno, part 96 Metalheadz, part grungy 2steppers-- take your pick-- Mala only played a few minutes of this seven minute remix that was finished just that day. Has Loefah topped
his own "Mud?"

Disclosure alert! The following copy is on a project I've been involved with and want to bring you world exclusive news of, right here. Since Skream's "Request Line", the success of the DMZ nights and Mary Anne Hobbs' Dubstep Warz show the explosion in interest in dubstep has been unprecedented in its six year history. Users on the Dubstep forum tripled to 1,500-- pretty amazing given most dubstep pressings couldn't shift more than 300 units as little as two years ago. You'd be forgiven amid the hyperbole for thinking a new scene had been born - when in fact Croydon's finest have been struggling away for six years or more. And while the scene's current stars and hot upand- comers are undoubtedly burning brightly, the sound also has a rich past.

Over the last four months I've been working on a project entitled "Ammunition and Blackdown
present...The Roots of Dubstep" for Tempa. The plan is to re-present the best of the now lost or obscure early dubstep 12"s. The selection will draw from proto-dubstepper Steve Gurley, go through the best of El-B's Ghost Camp, Zed Bias, Artwork, Horsepower, Skream and Benga, and end at the first Digital Mystikz anthem-- perhaps a beginning of a new phase, if ever a line can be drawn. We've spent months agonizing over which tracks have stood the test of time instead of those that merely sounded big back in the day at Forward>> over the Velvet Room sound-system. We've tracked down lost producers to prize mixed masters from their vaults. There will be an unmixed CD, so the productions can be heard in all their glory. There will also be a vinyl double-pack featuring two out-of-press classics and two still unreleased anthems dropping in early June.

Back in the Velvet Rooms days and before (circa 1999-2001), it is important to remember there wasn't a name for this sound. It evolved out of the dominant UK garage scene, where saccharine-sweet vocal 2step would sit next to Todd Edwards 4/4, DJ Zinc's breakbeat garage experiments mixed into Narrows' caustic Belgian rave or Timo Maas' remix of house anthem "Dooms Night". It was an exciting time for London's diversity of 138 bpm sounds.

As the Velvet Room sessions took garage in a more concerted, darker direction, its mix of dark 2step ("nu dark swing"), breakbeat garage, and proto-grime (also then known as "8bar" or "east beat") was for a while collectively referred to as "The Forward>> sound." At this time all parts of the dark garage spectrum influenced each other. Current dubstep purist Youngsta played mostly 8bar, and Wookie's"Storm" and majestic "Far East" were Forward>> anthems. Slaughter Mob played Ghost dubs. Oris Jay evolved from his 2step roots to produce breakier hits like "Confused" and "Said the Spider". And that doesn't even cover Lanslide, Jay Da Flex, and Zed Bias' broken beat/dubstep fusions.

It's recently come to light that it was Ammunition who first coined the term "dubstep", doing it in a press release supplied to XLR8R magazine, for a feature on Ghost and Horsepower Productions. It was subsequently used on the DJ Hatcha CD Dubstep Allstars, Vol 1. The Roots of Dubstep, therefore, documents strictly what the term dubstep refers to, and not the other shades of the Forward>> sound. For decent early breakbeat garage compilations, check the Bingo catalog. For proto-grime track down Slimzee's mix for Ministry, downloads of the N.A.S.T.Y. Crew's N.A.S.T.Y. Sessions, or early grime sets (there's an early N.A.S.T.Y. one here as part of my Dizzee Rascal interview).

The next Dubstep Allstars will be a double CD, with one disc each mixed by Youngsta and Hatcha. Legendary dubplate cutting house Transition is starting a dubstep label, which is perfectly sensible since most of the London 12"s are mastered there. The first release should be Skream v Distance "Wise Men". Distance is also working on an album for Planet Mu. Pinch's "Punisher" is also dropping on Mu.
Portugal's Numestro and 23Hz will be releasing a four-track vinyl EP late May, on 213 Underground. This will include the super subby "Galleon Dub". Scuba's crisp'n'clean electronica/dubstep excursions continue with the mournful "Dreams" dropping soon. Dub Police, Quiet Storm's label, is dropping the Caspa EP, including the lush "Cockney Flute". Burial's much anticipated debut album is out in May on Hyperdub. Finally, the BBC have done an excellent documentary and online hub on dubstep, check it here. Who likes me hat? Wed: 04-12-06