The New Hardcore - Part Deux

As we reach the end of another year, and with just under a month left until the stroke of midnight on the 31st, the bombardment of end-year lists throughout the whole sphere of music journalism has already begun. Journalists and critics are expected to do so, as the eagerly awaiting music geeks look for what the past 12 months had the best to offer according to these authoritative voices, who in turn will be personally insulted or praised, and whose opinions will be vehemently dismissed or maybe even given approbation. Putting together these year-end lists is a great way to reflect about the music we have enjoyed throughout the year, about why we enjoy them, and what they mean to us or what they mean in the grander scheme of things.

In one of my most recent articles, in which I shared a mix of "new school" old school Hardcore, I reflected about the revivalism of Hardcore from these last couple of years, about the paradox of reviving and imitating the sound of a past scene that sought to innovate and which looked towards the future. And I said that we should try to imitate the spirit of Hardcore instead of copying its plasticity (ie its sonic palette ). The essence of Hardcore, the clash between electronic music and Jamaican sound system culture, boils down to these things, in my opinion: the constant search for the new, musical hybridity, and rudeness (beats that focus on the groove, drums and subbass, with a sense of rudebwoy swagger).

So, with end of the year 2018 in sight, I thought I'd make a list of some of my favourite mixes and sets that reflect on what the Hardcore sound currently is. When it comes to electronic music, all of these end-year lists by music publications have one fault, in that they focus largely on the traditional rockist formats of albums and EPs (Hip Hop mixtapes too, since they adhere to this traditional presentation). If mixes are included, they are usually official releases from the bigger labels (eg the Fabric series, the Berghain series, etc). Club/Rave music (including Hardcore, of course) is anything but traditional.

While the rockist tradition instills all of the praise on the producer, it omits the fact that the DJ is the driving force of this music. The mix is its beating heart. The mix is why the producer makes the music to begin with. The Hardcore culture's soul can be found at the club, online radio sets and podcasts (or on pirate radio if we go back 20 years). Because of the fact that these venues are unofficial, underground and more relaxed, they encourage spontaneity and maybe even the inclusion of remixes that might be insanely difficult or too costly to clear for official mix CDs. After about eight years of listening to electronic music, I finally understand that.

So let's get on with the list!

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At the start of this year, I felt as if everything was kind of a mess. Not that it actually was, but I felt as though the underground scene of UK bass music was so wide, comprised of various micro-scenes that formed as quickly as they dissolved, as to be confusing and impenetrable. Because of the Internet, the "UK" sound isn't just in the UK anymore, as artists from the US, Canada, Mexico, France, and Australia gravitate towards the UK's particular vibe, if you will. And I couldn't make sense of it. But Bristol's Batu made it make sense.

At the beginning of the year, he graced us with this live recording of his set from a club night organized by the Timedance label. Through his careful selection, this mix goes from dubby Techno, to rhythmic Dub Techno, to Tribal-like and Vogue beats, to Gqom, to Breakbeat Techno and other bass and drum heavy genreless, leftfield riddims. Yet it stays cohesive. And it shows how all of this current UK (and UK-influenced) bass music is sort of the same thing, in that, yes, people are bringing their own styles to the table, but there's a similar thread through it all, because almost everyone shares the same, or similar, musical influences, staying between 120 and 130 bpm. In fact, I believe that we might be in a similar context to, say, 2002-2004, when Dubstep and Grime were taking shape within the same equally confusing musical diaspora of UK Garage offshoots (I talk about this in an early article).Will new genres subsequently emerge? Who knows.

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This is the year in which I also began to appreciate a new sound, related to the UK Techno sound that Batu brings in the above mix - Hard Drum. This mix, a 100% Productions mix from NKC for his show on Bristol's Noods Radio, is the one responsible for this new found apperciation. Hard Drum, as the name implies, is anything but subtle.  It's hot and heavy underground sound system music with prominent percussion, using Afro-ish, wooden percussion. The most prominent influences are UK Funky, Tribal House and Gqom, with some Techno and American bass music sprinkled on there. Imagine futuristic, techy, metallic, bass-heavy Soca and Samba Carnival instrumentals.

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London's Akito is another practitioner of Hard Drum. And only since recently. Head of the Sans Absence label, he began focusing on UK Funky sounds, but has gradually shifted towards this current sound, somewhat confirming the lineage between UK Funky and Hard Drum. I was going to include one of his previous sets from his show on NTS Radio, but this one had to take its place after my first listen. Both selection and mixing are on point, as he offers an hour-long assault of percussive, bass music.

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I first came across RNBWS (pronounced "rainbows"), a Moscovite DJ and producer, listening to his great EP on the Manchester-based label, Bunk Audio. Although he himself is based in Russia, his sound is unmistakably UK-inspired. Like NKC, he offers a mix composed entirely of his own productions for the Resonance Moscow radio station. The sound? - UK Techno à la Batu: Stripped back Electro-influenced, syncopated beats and muscular 4x4 Techno backed up by a heavy sine wave bass.

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Kamikaze Space Programme has his origins in Drum n Bass under the Raiden name. In the early part of this decade, his interests turned to Techno, making a brand of bass-heavy Techno that used his same sonic palette from his DnB days, giving it an Industrial-like vibe, at times. This particular mix sees him interchange between dubby, stripped-back UK Techno (à la Livity Sound and Timedance) to harder, Industrial Techno, with lots of beats using distorted percussion. 

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(his set starts at around 1:06:00)

Another DnB alumni that has found himself in the deeper ends of today's UK Techno scene. Henry Greenleaf's own production takes much influence from the more recent Swamp 81 sound: stripped back, space and bass riddims that recall early Dubstep. In this mix, composed entirely of unreleased dubplates from various producers, takes a more percussively livelier route by its 2nd half, and is yet another mix that shows how seemingly disparate styles going on now actually fit together

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Let's go into the 140 bpm realm with a back 2 back set by Slimzee and Boylan for Rinse FM. As early as 2001-2, Slimzee's selection of underground, raw, aggressive UK Garage  beats with the Pay As U Go Cartel massively helped define what would be known as Grime. By the mid 2000s, however, seeing the Grime scene become almost entirely MC-centric, he laid low until making his comeback behind the decks some five years ago now. This set, with new player Boylan, is composed of more ravey Grime beats that don't exactly cater to MCs. On the Grime subreddit, I read someone describe Slimzee's current selection as "anxiety inducing". Take note, the beats in this set can be rhythmically intense.

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Let's speed things up a little more.  New York's Bell Curve serves up a great mix of high velocity bass music for The Footwork Jungle. Like the A.Fruit mix that I shared in my DnB and Jungle post, her sound can't be honed into one specific genre, typical in the current era of open-ended music tastes and "anything goes" approach. But it all holds together, as she takes us from one futuristic riddim to another, going into old school-inspired sounds from time to time. Great things are happening in the Jungle/DnB space right now and this mix is a further testament to that.

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Vromm's entry for the Cosmic Bridge podcast makes a second appearance into one of my playlists. I had to include it here. Released earlier in the year, this mix, along with the Street Beats Vol. 2 compilation, gave me a rekindled interest in DnB. The vibe of this music presented here gives off a Dreamscape vibe, from the early to mid 90s, but it stays entirely modern and sounds "current", if you will, making use of more modern approaches to beat patterns (ie the halftime beat).

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And to finish this list, another recent find, both the mix and the artist. In Patrick Flint's "Lean In", found a disappointing EP of various artists, I heard one of my favourite UK Techno tracks of the year. As that track would suggest, the mix mostly stays in the more dubbier end of current UK Techno (think of the recent releases from Livity Sound) but ramps up considerably in energy as it nears the end. Lots of great subbass heavy, syncopated beats are found here.

The Past is Now : Drum N Bass Edition

Anyone that has been following underground electronic music has certainly noticed that drum breaks have made a strong comeback these last couple of years, creeping themselves back into House and Techno. The current fascination with old school Jungle and Hardcore (I talk about this in my last article), has also made me realize how exciting the Jungle/DnB scene has been these last few years, with there being equal parts revivalism and forward thinking momentum. This year has been a wonderful one for the old school heads, and it has shown that there is still some juice left in the old sound. It has also shown that there is equally a healthy dose of experimentation, to see where Jungle and Dnb can go. So I thought I'd give a quick rundown of some interesting long-form releases that have piqued my interest throughout the year, and that are worth checking out.

Early 2018 gave us Street Beats Volume 2, a compilation of unearthed and previously-unreleased gems from about 1994. The compilation is brought to us by Basement Records, who've dug inside their own vaults to compile it, bringing together legends such as Peshay, Photek (know as Truper at the time), and Source Direct (going by the name Oblivion). The label has been active since about 1991 and has recently shifted its focus towards re-releases of their own old school material, which had been only available on vinyl records. Their sound is one that I'm particularly fond of. The synth work and atmosphere is ethereal and melodic, backed up by a dark and heavy backbone, with the subbass and chaotic breaks manipulation. It's Jungle with remnants of Hardcore.

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Next up we have Blunted Breaks Vol. 1, a compilation by Western Lore. The Bristol-based label has only been active for two years, yet it has made a big splash in the scene. Their roster includes some of the biggest names in "new school" old school Jungle: Tim Reaper, Coco Bryce, Dead Man's Chest, and Threshold. As the title suggests, they participate in revivalism (Dead Man's Chest covers for his releases on the label recall the old Dreamscape flyers), but they also take it upon themselves to make the old sound new again. And while some tracks go in full retro mode like Coco Bryce's "Adventures in Perception" (only betraying itself due to the cleaner modern production), others, like Earl Grey's "Levitate", try to offer something that is more fresh. Nevertheless, the music is all good.

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Drum N Bass pioneer and legend Goldie also decided to releases a compilation of his old material from the 90s, on his own pioneering and legendary Metalheadz label. To be honest, there are no surprises here. After more than 20 years, the label continues to be active and it rarely strays far from the blueprint it set in the mid-90s. 25 Years of Goldie [Unreleased and Re-Mastered] is Metalheadz through and through: full of dark, futuristic, esoteric rollers - the kind of music that heavily influenced Grime and Dubstep. While there are no revelations, the music is consistently great. Some people have criticized the mastering, but if you're not an audiophile, you won't notice whatever faults there might be. And if you're one of the older fans who've been waiting a long time for some of these tracks to be released, well, have at it.

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Lastly, we have Fifth Column, another compilation, this one by Rupture London. The label has been going on for about six years now, offering music that recalls the Metalheadz sound (right before it got rid of the drum breaks), and making sound new again, seeing where it can go. And it has established itself as an influential force. This is a packed roster, with the likes of Mantra, Dead Man's Chest, Forest Drive West, Sully, and Henry Greenleaf making a showing. If after listening to Goldie's compilation, you still have a craving for more futuristic rollers, this one has 16 tracks worth, all of it gold.

But Where Has the Future Gone?: 160+ bpm Edition

So now that we've gone through four compilations of old school (and old school influenced) Jungle and Drum n Bass, you might be wondering where the "modern stuff" is. In many ways, the music is still the same. I remember an interview from 2006 in which Kode9 talks about the new Dubstep genre: "In an ideal world, anything goes. The thing that's consistent in the music is the subbass. It's got a good solid subbass foundation. And, as I said, in an ideal world, anything goes on top of that." So what are the foundations of Drum N Bass? Three things come to my mind: subbass, percussion, and a fast tempo (above 160 bpm). I'm not trying to say that anything can be Drum n Bass, just that there can be more open interpretations than one might expect.

First off, another (!) compilation, Samurai Music Decade (Phase 2), by the Samurai Music label. Their output could be categorized as "leftfield" or "experimental" Drum n Bass. Sonically, it takes a lot from Industrial Techno. It's dark and brooding, heavy yet atmospheric, with distant, thumping percussion

Next, we have Etch's East Coast Jungleworx Vol. 1. A short album comprised of edits of 90s Hip Hops tracks. As the name implies, the music has a Jungle feel to it, but it also has a heavy Juke/Footwork influence at some points, and those Trap hi-hats make an appearance here and there. It's a great marriage of 90s music (Boom Bap and Jungle) with 2010s taste (Juke/Footwork and Trap), resulting in something that sounds fresh.

Let's get out of the UK and head towards Russia. St. Petersburg's A.Fruit (aka Anna Fruit) offers an exhilarating 40-minute mix of high-tempo bass music, going from Halftime, to Juke, to Trap, to Jungle, to other weird, genreless concoctions. Does it count as being Drum n Bass? Well, what she does is very close to what Sinistarr does in Detroit, or what the Defrostatica Records crew does in Leipzig, or the Aufect gang in Vancouver. And they, like A.Fruit, are all part of the Drum n Bass circuit. In any case, when you're not sure what to classify something as, chances are that it's fresh and exciting.

Hardcore Will Never Die.

As I was reading through Simon Reynolds' blog, I stumbled upon an interesting blog post that Reynolds himself linked to, in which the blogger Pearsall shares his own mix of old school breakbeat Hardcore made by new players in these last couple of years. As I've said in my previous post about today's unabashed retroism, recent years have been fruitful for all different styles of music made by artists whose eyes are fixated on the rear view mirror, some of whom are happy with not going much further than imitation. Pearsall acknowledges this:

"If we're honest, most of the tracks betray precisely no influence from musical developments of the last 20+ years, something that, to me, brings up many interesting questions

This is because the original hardcore rave sound arose in a musical, social, and political context that is very different from the one we experience today, a whole confluence of events  that cannot be recreated. It also can't be ignored that the scene was like a huge hive mind focused on relentless change and innovation - the speed of change was breathtaking, and probably without much parallel in recent musical history.

So it's an interesting paradox with tracks like the ones I've selected for this mix, in that they are very consciously imitating a moment in time when musicians were desperately trying not to imitate, but to innovate and keep progressing. It's a bit like modern guitar bands still reaching for that classic garage punk sound, in a sense."

That last paragraph is very telling. As I've previously said, I attribute this "Hardcore revivalism/retroism" to the fact that we have virtually all of the music at our disposal with the help of the Internet. For anyone, music from the past is, or can be, just as relevant as the music from today. Unearthing older music brings the same rewards of "newness" as digging into new releases. Consider, for example, the recent and ongoing fascination that young people (Millennials and teenage Gen-Zers) have for City Pop, Japan's funk-glamour-neon-cheesy pop from the 80s, a previously unknown and forgotten genre.

As to the question, "Why Hardcore?, well, it seems as if those early rave days have been romanticized and mythologized by everyone that was a part of it. The "being there". The "being part of something new and special". The "feeling of freedom and reverie". For someone that is, say, 20 years old today, there might be some form of longing for those days, reading testimonies and looking through the pictures of a past youth celebrating music, life, drugs, and love. And as Pearsall notes, between 1990 and 1995, things were moving and evolving so fast, that the old school Hardcore sound only lasted a little less than three years before it split into the Jungle and Happy Hardcore scenes. Out of sheer luck, others were born just in time and were at the right place to live through that era, experience it firsthand. And it came and went. Sure, the sound lived on in the two mentioned genres, but it's not exactly the same, is it? Old school Hardcore has a specificity to it, its own vibe. So why not bring it back? Why not give it one more life? Maybe that specific sound has more left into it, maybe not everything has been exhausted from it? Maybe by recreating those sounds there's a way to bring back the energy of that era - to find whatever it is some are looking for.

But, in my opinion, imitation (and nothing but imitation) can only take us so far. It seems to me that if we want to recreate the energy of the old school Hardcore era, we have to dig deeper than its plasticity, to unveil what its spirit and approach were, rather than its specific sonic palette. Hardcore was a bastard genre, a sort of Frankenstein's Monster taking bits and pieces from other genres of that era. Techno of that era. House of that era. RnB of that era. Hip hop of that era. Dancehall of that era. If we want to bring back the sense of release that the older generation experienced, we have to start by creating our own bastard genre of today. Taking bits and pieces from the music of today. Techno of today. House of today. Dancehall of today. Etc. And also look at new genres that have sprung have in the last two decades: Dubstep, Grime, Funky House, Alternative RnB, Drum n Bass, Afrobeats, Afroswing, Gqom, etc, etc. Only then, I think, can we get our own "being there", our own "being part of something new and special", and our own "feeling of freedom and reverie".

At the same time, who cares? Good music is good music. As Pearsall writes: "...sometimes music is just there to be enjoyed, so maybe I should shut up, stop overthinking things, and have some fun, right?"

And with that, I leave you with his mix of  "new school" old school Hardcore.

My Favourite Unreleased Old-School Dubstep Tracks.

Coming off from my last article about the first two Dubstep Allstars entries, I thought I would share some of my favourite unreleased tracks from the early Dubstep era, tracks that I still go back to. Most of these I heard listening to sets from the likes of Youngsta, Hatcha (our two protagonists from my last article), and also DJ Chefal, Cyrus, Slaughter Mob, etc. 

For better or for worse, an important part of Dubstep is the dubplate culture it inherited from Jungle and DnB (who, in their turn, took it from the Jamaican soundsystem tradition). Briefly put, dubplates are unreleased tracks pressed on 10-inch records, not for commercial release, but for producers to hand out to DJs as exclusives, sometimes only making a couple of copies. This practice was encouraged by two things: 1) DJs trying to "one-up" their peers and competitors; and 2) the constant search for the new by DJs and ravers/listeners alike. Alex Nagshineh further explains what dubplate culture is in this article.

So let's get right to the list. As they are unreleased tracks, all of these have been ripped straight from archived radio sets. So you'll hear voices from MCs, interacting with the listeners. The last track, the Digital Mystikz remix, is probably the ultimate dubplate, of which there are only two copies (one owned by Mala himself, and the other by Joe Nice). It is the Holy Grail of dubplates, if you will.

The producers making up this list (Skream, Benga, Loefah, Mala, Coki, D1) are the main producers that shaped the "Croydon Sound"(in turn, shaping what we now recognize as being "Dubstep") making these beats mainly for Hatcha and Youngsta. To my knowledge, they date from 2003 to 2006.

Skream - Boks

Benga - Amnesia

Loefah - Gandhi

Loefah - Babylon

D1 - [Untitled Dubplate]

D1 - Enigma

D1 - Degrees (VIP)

D1 - [Unknow Dubplate]

Mala - Tiger Dance

Coki - Crystal Lake

The Mighty Zulu Nation - Justice Day (Digital Mystikz Dubplate Remix) aka DMZ vs MZN

A Look Back - Dubstep Allstars: A Movement Takes Shape

"For emerging scenes that have a newness about them, [that are] kind of unique and fresh, vital in that way that dubstep was, and in that way that grime was, in that way that 2-step garage was, specialism is really, really important, because it's that specialism that allows the music to unravel and develop. So with a genre like dubstep, there [were] DJs like Youngsta and Hatcha, who both produced occasional records, but were essentially specialist DJs. And they put a lot of initially quite disparate music into context as being one thing. And it was that which really honed the sound and made it what it was. It helped people identify with it, I think. It made the music less impenetrable."

- Ben UFO, Red Bull Music Academy Lecture, 2014

Let's go back 15 years.  If you were living in London, you might have been able to pick up the signal from the then-pirate radio station, Rinse FM, at home or in your car. And you might have caught DJ Hatcha's show. You listen closely. The music is dark and bassy. Energetic, earthy and esoteric. It's stripped back for the most part - the percussion and the rumbling bass - with minimal instrumentation put on top, usually a sample taken from whatever exotic/"ethnic"/oriental music. And you can faintly hear some 2-step Garage influences in the beat patterns, but the music has already begun to stray away from it.

And on top you hear the playful and almost nonsensical chatter of MCs Crazy D (mostly) and Beezy.

"Come on Hatcha! Take them to the jungle! Come on do it! Don't just say it, DO IT!"

"Deeper and darker we go! Big up all the one-blingers!"

"Going in with full stamina! Wa Wa oooeeee! Ongie Bongie!"

For everyone that was locked in to the show way back in 2003 - from the "deep heads" recording the set on cassette, to the likes of the Digital Mystikz, smoking a spliff in their car - listening to Hatcha's selection of underground bass music, that he and Crazy D would call "Tribal" or "Ongie bongie", what they probably didn't know was that they were listening to the early renditions of what would soon be called Dubstep.

As Ben UFO (founder of Hessle Audio, one of the most celebrated underground UK labels) says in the above quote, Hatcha was a specialist, honing into a particular sound. In the early 2000s, a whole bunch of producers and DJs, with backgrounds in UK Garage, started making darker, rawer beats at 140 bpm, often with stylistic influences taken from the darker ends of Jungle and Drum n Bass. In 2003, 15 years ago, Dubstep and Grime hadn't yet crystallized into defined genres.  There were different styles going about within the "140 sound" diaspora; from the breakstep garage sound, to dark garage à la DJ Narrows, to sublow, eski beat and dubstep. The Dubstep (dubby 2-step garage) term, from what I understand, was initially used to describe Horsepower Productions' output and all of the  music influenced by it, or which resembled it.

Coming from a UK Garage standpoint, Hatcha started to notice these new variants coming out: "I started to pick up on this new sound; it was Garage, but deeper and darker, more intelligent style." His sets gradually shifted entirely towards this new sound. With a record bag full of exclusive and sought-after dubplates, he became one of the most noticeable and influential DJs of this new quasi-scene, having underground producers make beats specifically for him. Two of  them were Skream and Benga, teenagers at the time. Hatcha quickly started to focus on a specific vibe, and as people sent him music, he'd give back instructions to "make it darker, more tribal."

When people speak of Dubstep's origins, one place always comes up: Croydon, South London. And early-Dubstep is often referred to as the "Croydon sound". That all started with Hatcha. He was an employee at the Big Apple Records shop, which was located in Croydon, and which was the hangout spot for a lot of Dubstep pioneers: Skream, Benga, Artwork, Tunnidge, Cyrus, Distance, Benny Ill (from Horsepower Productions), Hijak, etc. Soon after, the DMZ gang joined this group, who were the ones pushing out this bass-heavy, dark, stripped-back, sometimes tribal sound - the Croydon Sound. Early Dubstep.

Compare this track, the sound that Hatcha prefered:

To this:

FWD>> (pronounced "forward"), was the name of the club night showcasing this new style (among others) and was affiliated with Geeneus' pirate radio station, Rinse FM. The club night was run by Sarah Lockhart and Neil Joliffe, of Ammunitions Ltd, who both also ran Tempa, the most prominent and influential Dubstep label from 2000 to about 2008. Initially a space where Horsepower Productions could release their music, the label's roster grew as producers like Hatcha, Kode9, DJ Abstract, Skream, and DMZ had some of their early work released on there as well. As a way to promote this new music, Tempa saw fit to release an official mix CD as a showcase. Of course, the DJ they would call to make to first volume was DJ Hatcha himself. Dubstep Allstars vol 1, is the first official release with the genre's name. Although the CD came out in 2004, the music appears to be mostly from 2002 to early-2003, as it seems to predate the DMZ era. You can hear it in the music, which still has the 2-step swing into it. Although the mix is missing the lively chatter of Crazy D and Beezy, and even the energy that his radio show had, it still remains a great showcase of the music that initiated this Croydon Sound, with its biggest early players: Kode9, Skream, Benga, Horsepower Productions.

The next year saw the release of the second volume of Dubstep Allstars, with Youngsta taking over the decks this time. And this is where the form of Dubstep with which most people are accustomed to started to take shape.

Youngsta, Sarah Lockhart's younger brother, was also a South London resident and he'd supposedly been involved in pirate radio since the age of 13; getting his own slot on Rinse FM around 2002. By 2005, due to his unique vision and selection, to his unparalleled technical talents as a DJ, and to his partnership with one of the most unique MCs, Task, Youngsta and his show had grown a sizable following. Now, he is recognized as being probably the most important and influential DJ in Dubstep, as the underground sound still follows the foundation layed out in this second mix CD of the series.

While others in this scene were still largely toying with the vibes and rhythms of the darker side of Garage and DnB, Youngsta was more interested in seeing how "stripped-back" and "spaced out" (his own terms) the music could become. Whereas Hatcha's vision for this music was a rhythmically energetic one, Youngsta's vision brought him to venture further down the minimalist and darker path, and focusing less on the whole "tribal"/ethnic aesthetic. The signature groove and swing of Garage music is almost entirely gone here, except for the use of shuffley hi-hats. And he was the one pushing the halfstep sound that everyone associates with the genre, as that familiar beat pattern can be heard in the opening track, Skream's Babylon.




Making an appearance is the DMZ crew, who make up almost half of the mix. In fact, as Ben UFO also points out in his interview with Red Bull Music, Youngsta was such a specialist, had such a specific taste, that his sets were composed entirely of music from a handful of producers: Mala (of the Digital Mystikz), Loefah, D1, Skream, and sometimes Benga and Coki. That was it, six producers; and only four of them are presented in this mix CD.

Dark and atmospheric, the music in this mix is more meditative than actually danceable, but that was the idea. Youngsta didn't do sets to skank to, but to light up a blunt to, and bob your head to the beat, eyes down, as you feel the enormous sub pressure rattle your rib cage.



British underground club music in the early 2000s was probably like what it is now, with different styles floating about, subgenres of subgenres, with a similar vibe threading along each sound, but without any one of them crystallizing to form a new genre. In the early 2000s, underground Garage spored many different styles. While DJs like Slimzee and Geeneus took from that pool to shape what we now know as "Grime", Hatcha and Youngsta had also taken from that very same pool, to shape what we now recognized as being "Dubstep". And while some of their archived radio sets have been uploaded on Soundcloud and Mixcloud, Tempa's first two entries of their Dubstep Allstars series remain great points of references to listen to where the genre comes from, and who built it.

Showcase Mix: Old School House Music (made in the 21st Century)

Consider this statement: "Jungle has House influences".

You say: "Ok..."

The interlocutor continues: "Jungle also has Techno influences."

You pause for a slight moment, and agree.

And you're left wondering: What is House? What, exactly, is Techno? And how can people distinguish one from the other so assuredly?

Let me try and give a description. Techno is machine music. Usually instrumental, it has a steady, repetitive rhythm; it's not too slow, but not too fast. It can sound grey and atonal, or even, at times, bright and melodic. Created in the 80s in Detroit, it takes massive influences from West Coast P-Funk and 70s German electronic music, taking the German motorik pulse and putting it in a dance/club environment.







And House? Well, House is also dance/club music with a steady, repetitive rhythm (not too fast, not too slow) created with the help of drum-machines. But House is soul music. Originating in Chicago, sometime in the late 70s, its sound stems from the long tradition of R'n'B. While Chicago House is usually instrumental, and can be stripped back like Techno, it has an evident Funk and Disco groove to it. The Garage House variant from New York, also from the late 70s, is more song-based, with its Disco, Soul and R'n'B (and even Jazz) influences made much more apparent.

Of course, Techno and House, despite its purists, have always co-existed and, in turn, influenced each other. Some tracks could be categorized as both, making things frustrating for people who need to have things neatly classified. But I can confidently say that Robert Hood's classic Detroit: One Circle is unquestionably Techno, and that Marshall Jefferson's and Soundstream's posted tracks are indeed House, through and through.

At this point, House music is already about 4 decades old, and there seems to be no sign of it slowing down. For four decades, with all of the stylistic changes it has gone through, it is essentially the same thing. Same vibe. Same formula. Even now there are still masses of House producers sampling Jazz, Funk, R'n'B and Disco records (some even specializing in making Edits of old Disco joints): A testament to how the genre has stuck to its roots, to its musical heritage, and, to a certain extent, to its original sound. House music has, in my opinion, become a classical genre. "Classical" in the sense that it has its own unchanged, traditional conventions that are able to host new and foreign elements without having them alter the essence of its sound. While I'm the type of listener that likes to look for the new (and that is in perpetual search for the new), it is impossible no to commend its long-lasting appeal, and how much great music this genre continues to give.

The Mix

So, for this showcase mix, I thought I'd make one with House tracks that are more "song-based", for every listener that has also wondered what House music is.  Well, this is it. This is No Nonsense House Music. 4-4-2 House Music. "Just Punt the Ball Away!" House Music. Pepperoni and Pizza House Music. No fusion elements. No generic ambiguity. No musical hybridity with new, current genres, or Techno, or anything else. Just a steady rhythm with funky basslines, jazzy chords on synthesizers, upbeat piano, Disco-styled strings, soulful R'n'B singers, and divas.

The music here falls more in line with the New York Garage version of House. And to offer something different from the classics that we hear over and over again, I thought I'd select tracks made after 2000 that have an old school feel. If the track is relatively recent, and if Larry Levan would've probably liked it, then it's going in. I hope you enjoy.

♪ 'Cause House is a Feeling! ♪

Tracklist 

00:00

Quentin Harris - My Joy

4:21

Full Intention - I'll Be Waiting (Gray & Pearn Remix)

7:48

Hardsoul feat. Amma - Don't Let Love Weigh You Down (Original Classic Mix) 

12:00

Janet Jackson feat. Nelly - Call On Me (Disclosure Bootleg)

14:04

Stephanie Cooke - Rain (Let It All Come Down) (Dennis Ferrer's Rainforest Mix) 

18:52

Frankie Knuckles - Let's Stay Home (A Director's Cut Classic Club Mix) 

22:27

Joi Cardwell & DJ Gomi - We Can Do Better (Fred Everything Lazy Vocal Mix) 

26:02

Julian Gomes - Love Song 28 (Original Mix) 

Peverelist's Bass Music: Jungle Re-Contextualized

It's interesting to think about musical influences, whether it's how a certain genre, artist, scene, or track has influenced another certain genre, scene or artist, and so on. To think about musical influences is to think about how musical elements and styles tend to get passed on, from one era to another; about how they survive (or die, if ignored), and how they're used to create something new.

One of my favourite electronic music producers is undoubtedly Peverelist. In wanting to promote fresh bass music from his city of Bristol, he started the Punch Drunk label in 2006. Even before its Brostep variant took over the EDM festival circuit in 2010, Dubstep was all the rage in the underground. The subbass-powered, dread-filled, skankstep sound from London sounded like nothing before. And as with Jungle and Drum N Bass, the sound promptly made its way to the port city. Notable producers in the genre that have appeared on Peverelist's label are: Pinch, Gemmy, RSD (from the legendary Bristolian act, Smith & Mighty), Kahn, Shorstuff (aka Mickey Pearce), etc. 

Ever since the start of Rave and Hardcore, Bristol has, from what I've read here and there, always been in the shadow of the capital. But maybe that is less so today. In 2011, Peverelist starts a second label, Livity Sound. Possibly because of his waning interest in Dubstep (which had become formulaic by then), the label served as a venue to push out forward-thinking, yet still club-oriented, bass music from a crew of Bristolian producers. Livity Sound, in a way, was a continuation of the Techno-infused Dubstep style that was going on in the late 2000s (which the Punch Drunk label also showcased). But the tempo had changed, going from 140 to about 125-130, stepping away (or pushed out) from the Dubstep scene. As with the labels Swamp 81, Night Slugs and Hessle Audio, Livity Sound's output is an important pillar of the current "UK Hardcore" sound going on right now (which I wrote about here). While it has settled into a certain comfort zone in the last two years, the label's  prior willingness to takes chances and surprise  has made it one of the most influential and important labels of this decade in underground electronic/club/rave music.

Peverelist, the label boss, the don, is at the center of it. Although he started in the Dubstep scene, and his current music can be lightly qualified as "Techno" or "UK Bass" depending on who you ask, to my ears, he's always made the same music. Sound system music. Bass music that follows the UK Hardcore tradition. Throughout his discography, one idea that come backs, ever since his first releases, is his tendency to fuse the attacking, ricocheting subbass of Jungle and Drum N Bass with the established machine-soul sound of (Detroit) Techno. The Dubstep genre, I believe, was initially the perfect space to try this, at a time when it still seemed like there was uncharted territories to explore in the genre, over 10 years ago.

Peverelist has a sound of his own, and is instantly recognizable. Outside of his preferred hi-hats, warm kicks and melancholic synths, the element that gives his music his own signature style in the realm of Techno is the dizzying grooves he takes from Jungle and Drum N Bass (especially the former). This made sense to me when he's said in interviews that his roots, as a DJ and raver, lie in those genres. Back in 2012, he uploaded an old Jungle mix he made sometime in the late 90s (listen here). Let's take a look at two tracks taken from that mix: Shut Up & Dance's remix of The Godfather's Somebody, released in 1995 on Red Light; and Never Felt, by an anonymous artist, released in 1995 on Hard 'N' Heavy. A chance to get acquainted with Peverelist's own musical influences.

One of the main characteristics of Jungle is the drum breaks manipulation at fast tempos. Not unlike Hip Hop, the breaks are sliced up and re-assembled however the producer wants to. However, in Jungle, the breaks are put together in a unpredictable fashion. There is a dominant beat pattern in each track, but the producers have fun and deviate from it by offering different variables after every couple of bars or so, without interrupting the groove (for the skankers at the rave). Different percussive elements are highlighted at different times: skittering attacks from snares or hi-hats, or cymbals (or even applied filter effects) that cut out as suddenly and quickly as they jumped in. This creates that dizzying, offbeat swing that is intrinsic to the genre. A world apart from both House and Techno's motorik beats.

Also pay attention to the bass underneath all that. In a lot of cases, I don't think we can talk about bass lines. "Bass line", to me, implies a player, a musician, that has everything seemingly under control. The bass in Jungle is anything but that; it's an untamed beast. Notice how, in both tracks, at every 2 bars or so, the subbass jumps in, bouncing around rapidly and successively, almost as if it wanted to burst out of the speakers, before sliding down and subduing itself momentarily, until it jumps in again. With the percussion on top, it creates a feeling of chaos and, with it, a spike in energy.

In regards to the bouncy, offbeat bass, and how Peverelist uses that stylistic element within a Techno track, let's take a look at two of my favourites from last year: his remix of Roberto's Chord Recall (Solar Phenoma) and his own Wireframes (Livity Sound). [*Note: Listen with headphones or speakers with adequate bass response]. Notice the bass in his re-imagining of "Chord Recall". That ricocheting, offbeat subbass, almost straight out of a Jungle track, jumps in at the start of every bar. Stylistically, the reverberated chords echoing throughout are fairly typical of Techno. But, until the strings come in at midpoint, the immense bass takes center stage, giving the track weight, forward momentum and a dizzying swing.  In "Wireframes", the same idea is applied, but we can hear some percussive work come into play. The offbeat subbass attacks paired with the kicks create the same effect as in the "Chord Recall" remix. Peverelist layers in swinging hi-hats, snares and claps that dance around the bass. None of the elements ever seem to stay put.







Finally, let's take a look at one of his "Dubstep" tracks, from his Punch Drunk label: Fighting Without Fighting, released in 2010. This is the track that actually brought me to think about how Peverelist utilizes his Jungle influences to create new music. In this track, the chaotic impulses of Jungle are present, in both the percussion and the bass. The bass is relentless; again, it bounces around continuously, with almost no break to its assault on your speakers. While the drum breaks aren't there, listen to the snares and hi-hats. They're spastic, uncontrollable, unpredictable. The hi-hats sometimes come and go as they please. There's no fixed motif with the beat pattern. Peverelist adds his touch, with the melancholic melodies and restrained Techno chords which give the track some type of shape that the listener can grasp onto. Sure, it doesn't have the rudebwoy swagger of Jungle, but this track definitely shares its sense of controlled chaos; and I think that there is definite lineage to be traced here.

Is "Fighting Without Fighting" actually Dubstep? Or is it Jungle? Or is it both? More importantly, does it matter what it is? When I heard the track, I didn't know what to make of it. Only when I realized that Peverelist might be trying, as previously mentioned, to seamlessly combine Jungle/Drum N Bass and Techno  did I start to make sense of it. As I stated in the opening paragraph, I found it interesting to see how someone's musical baggage affects their compositions, how they might use it, re-contextualize it, to create something fresh, something yet unheard. Jungle and Drum N Bass aren't viewed as "forward-thinking music" anymore, but their sound lives on in music that is considered as such. At least, people like Peverelist are seeing to it.

Don Robbie's Crucial Past: Sniffing Our Way Into UK Reggae.

As with many people who follow the Premier League, Arsenal's disappointing last four seasons have led me to discover AFTV (previously Arsenal Fan TV). Set up by Robbie Lyle in 2012, "for the fans by the fans", AFTV's intention was to give a venue where the disgruntled fans could speak their minds, ranting about the manager Arsène Wenger and his antiquated tactics, and the inconsistent showing from the players. The prestigious team's downward slope culminated last year with their 6th placed finish (they usually finish in the coveted top 4) and trophy-less season; their worst result in the 22 years that Wenger coached Arsenal, seeing him end his gig at the London club.

In all the highs and lows of the team, after every single game, week in and week out, whether they're playing in their home-base of North London or someplace in the Ukraine you never knew existed, Robbie shows up with his camera and his microphone at hand to interview the fans and let them express their elated joy or their continued despair.

And for better or for worse, some charismatic interviewees became regulars on the channel; ordinary, working-class people ranting about their team and manager, sometimes in an unintended comical fashion as with Troopz (the channel's nickname is BludFamTV because of his rants). These rants have attracted people from all over, transcending the Arsenal fanbase, to savour the schadenfreude or to simply be entertained.

And Robbie is always there to document it. Not only those "characters", but also to get the opinion of other "more sensible, reasonable" fans. His work has earned him over 800k subscribers, making his channel by far the biggest football/soccer fan channel on Youtube. His channel has caught the attention of professional pundits such as Gary Neville (who's also appeared on the channel) and he's been invited to talk on TV and on other Youtube channels.

And if the Youtube comment sections are to be believed, Robbie owns everything now. Every stadium, every building, every parc, every monument (from whichever country) that are used as backdrops for his videos are apparently his. Really, it's just a playful way to express how much success he's had. That's why he's the Don. Don Robbie.

However, about a year ago, someone unearthed some old concert footage featuring a familiar face. Well, it appears that before Don Robbie, in his days of yore, he was the reggae artist, the badman, the rudebwoy, the sound murderer, Crucial Robbie.

And to my, and certainly others', great delight, I found out that he had released an LP of Digi Reggae, Crucial View, released way back in 1990. While it's lacking his rediscovered hit, Don't Sniff the Coke (*sniff, sniff*), the album is a pretty solid work from the Casio keyboard-era of Dancehall.

♪

So, if you're up for it, I feel that we could take this opportunity to dig a little into UK Reggae further. We've heard the Don in action on the mic, so let's have a look at other artists. I won't pretend to be an expert, but I thought I'd share some tunes I've enjoyed and discovered while listening to some of The Heatwave's and the Toast Collective radio shows. Don Robbie clearly says not to sniff the coke, so we won't. But I think we should take strong sniffs into UK Reggae. Robbie sniffs six times in his chorus. So we'll also take six sniffs. One song per sniff. Six sniffs. Six Songs.

*sniff*

Our first hit will be a dose of the UK Apachi's No Poll Tax. Yes, this is the Apachi, who would become the Ragga Jungle hero. Released in 1990 on Sweet Freedom Records.

*sniff*

Our second hit is courtesy of another Jungle legend. Prior to his raving days, General Levy also dabbled in Dancehall. His 1988 track, New Cockatoo, already displays his unique vocal delivery that would make him popular.

*sniff*
The third hit gives a taste of Top Cat's Push Up Yu Lighter. The 1992 track seems to be a flip of the mega-hit "Under Mi Sleng Teng" riddim.





*SNIFFFFF*
Our fourth hit is a strong one, fast-forwarding us all the way to the late 2000s. Producer DJ NG teams up with MC Versatile and future UK star and rave queen Katy B, in one of her first records. Tell Me, blending UK Garage with Carribean rhythms, is not only one of Katy B's best performances, but it was also very influential in shaping the UK Funky genre.





*sniff*
Our penultimate hit takes us to Lea-Anna. The forgotten UK singer brought us one of the biggest dancehall hits of 2012 in her Murder.





*sniffffff*

Finally, our last hit will be Stefflon Don's Afroswing track, Envy Us. Taking rhythm inspiration from the Afrobeats genre, the song is a great showcase as to why she's become one of the biggest UK "Dancehall" perfomers as of late.

The Past is Now. The Future was then.

It's the evening, and I'm listening to George Clanton's newly released Slide. It's an enjoyable synthpop album. Great melodies, cool sounds, yadda, yaddda, yadda. However, what is striking to me about this album, is how its retro sound isn't striking. The synth work and the sampled drum breaks entirely assume a 90s vibe, but never does it sound novel.  I think it's safe to say that retro sounds are no longer particular or audacious stylistic choices in music. It's as if we've accepted the sounds from  the past into our current lives. They are just a palette among many. In Google Play, in Spotify, in Youtube, I have at my fingertips an immense collection of music from every era. When it comes to modern music (i.e. from the 60s onwards), everything falls into a sort of musical mosaic while listening on a digital platform.

How could it not? So many modern acts borrow directly from the past. Sure, there are some modern tendencies, notably when it comes to vocal melodies and vocal delivery in pop music, that distinguish them from older styles. But when it comes to song arrangements and instrumentation, past works serve as inspiration, to the point where it's not just inspiration but imitation at times.

I think of electronic music right now. I wrote the article highlighting what I considered as "the new Hardcore" in UK rave music. I also consider it as being "new" and "fresh". But let's just think about everything else. Look at House music. In 2006, Loefah said in a dubstep documentary that "House and Techno have been doing the same thing for 10-15 years". It's 2018 now, and House is still the same. Same tempos, same chord progressions. Mostly, look at Lo-fi  House, probably the biggest underground electronic genre in the last few years outside of Big Room/Festival Techno (is that still considered "underground"?). The genre is shamelessly retro, not only in its sound but in the names that some producers have given themselves (DJ Seinfeld? Ross from Friends?). It's biggest hit is probably DJ Boring's Winona. 

Lo-fi House's main characteristic is its fixation on the past, a whole scene dedicated to sonically reliving the past. But the retro fixation is also present in other genres. Jungle and Drum N Bass are going through a resurgence in interest right now. And while there are certainly labels that are trying to push fresh stuff, there is no ignoring the continued veneration of the 90s sound, especially when it comes to Jungle. Tim Rearper, Coco Bryce, Pheneus II, Dead Man's Chest are but some that have given a new life to the Jungle sound of '93, when Jungle still had a heavy House influence. This year also saw the release of a compilation titled Hardcore Will Never Die, for which various modern producers made Hardcore/Breakbeat Techno tracks as a showcase.

In Techno, the old Detroit sound lives on as a major influence for a lot of producers. Even in Dancehall, I've recently realized that some of my preferred riddims are callbacks to the 80s and/or 90s. And, as I've stated in my Mala entry, underground Dubstep continues to gravitate around a fetishization of the "true sound", the 2006 sound, the DMZ and Tectonic sound. As such, the music is still the same thing as it was back then.

Actually, to say that "it's still the same thing" is a bit unfair. I can only guess as to why a younger generation of producers is so fascinated with the past when, usually, in Electronic music, it is the notion of the future that is an important source of inspiration. There was a time when Electronic music's "evolution" was dictated by technological advancements and a growing accessibility of recording and studio equipment. But we seem to have plateaued (for now) in that regard.



In terms of underground Electronic music, the 80s and 90s were wild years. But I, like everyone aged under about 35, only know so through reading about it and listening to the available music. The music from those years still serves as a sort of guide (or template) for what is current (well, maybe not for the whole "deconstructed/post club" thing). Even more "modern" sounding stuff like Bass House can find some of its stylistic origins in Tear Out Drum N Bass, French House and Trance from the 90s. And so, when we read about how those years have been mythologized by older ravers, and when we listen to the music and hear how it's so distant and different, yet so familiar, of course people are bound to be fixated on it.

A certain longing arises for those mythological years, regardless if someone "was there" or not. We hear how incredibly vital Hardcore Techno and Jungle were, but those scenes only lasted a couple of years each. At the time, most people were intent on "moving things forwards", with "finding the new": "That amazing track that came out 6-7 months ago, that's old history now." So producers take those old aesthetics, and bring them back; make them new again. Because maybe we want to experience them now, live them in our own way. Because maybe there still might be possibilities for new explorations using those old aesthetics.  Could someone in '95 have made a track like Subjoi's The Way I Feel or Mall Grab's Feel U, or Denham Audio Cinnamon Vanilla, or Dead Man's Chest Avalon Dub?

The answers is: who knows. Maybe. Maybe not. There was a time when innovation was the name of the game in Electronic/Club/Rave. It seems as if innovation might be a tad overrated.

So just let's just listen and enjoy the music, and ignore everything I've written.

Reggae Gold? No. Ragga Song Spesh

This year marks the 25th anniversary of VP Records' flagship Reggae Gold series. While compilations of recent music seem like an antiquated idea, I think it actually suits genres like Dancehall and Reggae, where so much music is released every year, and where so much of it can, in honesty, be discarded. Sure, the same can be some for probably most genres, but the Dancehall scene has the tendency to churn out a ridiculous amount of music, more so than in any other genre I've encountered. And for a genre that has always been singles-focused (more so in the last 20 years), a compilation can serve as an entry point into what people are listening, and as an introduction to new names in the scene that one might have missed. VP Records are not only an influential label, but they're also regarded as fine selectors.

Now, maybe's it's because I'm beginning to be out of touch with the current tastes in the Reggae world, but I felt like this year's Reggae Gold entry to be underwhelming. Though, it's not without its high points. Hoodcelebrityy's hit, Walking Trophy, is as catchy and charming as it is earnest. And so is Dovey Magnum's Bawl Out (although in a more hyper-sexual manner). Estelle's Better is as good as any modern R'n'B number from the likes of Rihanna, Drake, or any of your favourite US-based artists. And lastly, Sheensea's Nothing Dem Nuh Have Ova Me is a perfect example of why she's one of my favourite current singers in Dancehall



I feel like the rest of the release is filled with mediocre Roots Reggae and Pop Reggae fluff. A problem with modern Dancehall is in how much a lot of it has crossover'd with Mainstream/US Pop music. I don't remember on which forum or Youtube comment section I saw this, but I recall seeing Dancehall being described as "turning into pop music with patois accents". I won't dare to dictate what Jamaican music should like, nor will I pretend to be an expert, but I do somewhat agree with that sentiment, in that it expresses a loss of modern Dancehall's "uniqueness", or "Jamaican character", at least when it comes to its instrumentation.

For the most part, this 25th anniversary entry does not disprove that. I understand that Jamaican music has always had an extremely close relationship with American Rnb (and Hip Hop) music throughout the decades, but some Dancehall artists' (especially producers) mainstream aspirations bring them to imitate their American counterparts too closely, instead of innovating and coming up with new sounds of their own.

♪

Don't get it twisted, Dancehall still has a lot to offer. To say the contrary would be too narrow-minded. And, to be honest, most of Dancehall still sounds, to my ears, characteristically "Jamaican", taking cues from all kinds of modern music, but still following in the footsteps of King Jammy, Rude Boy Kelly, and the like. And so, "why not make a Dancehall playlist/compilation that I'd want to listen?", I asked myself. And I did.

Terror Fabulous perfoming on one of my favourite riddims, from the 90s

Ragga Ragga Ragga, the other big compilation series, saw its last entry in 2014, which was disappointing, since it was my favourite series of the two. It focused more on the "sound system"/ club side of Dancehall, and did away with the cheesy modern Roots stuff that Reggae Gold will sometimes include. So that's exactly what I will do. A playlist of back to back sound system business, that I'll name, Pat's Ragga Song Spesh 2018.

1. Stylo G - Yu Zimme
2. K More - Washing Machine
3. Ishawna - Mi Belly [Under Wata Riddim]
4. Mavado - Enemies
5. Shenseea - Position [Bashment Time Riddim]
6. Charly Black - Tan Tuddy [Bashment Time Riddim]
7. Mr. Lexx - More Than You [Boom Riddim]
8. Ce'Cile - Indie Gyal [Boom Riddim]
9. The Heatwave feat. Sylo G - Closer to Me
10. Pamputtae - Champion Jockey [Champion Jockey Riddim]
11. Danielle Di - Round A Back
12. Stefflon Don - Senseless
13. NSG feat. Geko - Yo Darlin'
14. Konshens - Bassline
15. Shenseea - Subrosa
16. Shokryme - Selfish [Tropical Bounce Riddim]

The playlist includes tracks from 2017 and 2018. The cutoff point for last year's music is June, when Reggae Gold 2017 came out, which is when Ragga 2017 would also have come out had it not been discontinued. Pat's Ragga Song Spesh 2018 is my favourite Dancehall from that point to now.

One thing you might notice is the proliferation of UK-based artists: Stylo G, K More, Stefflon Don, The Heatwave, NSG. More could have been included, which is not surprising. I feel, through listening to internet radio, as if the UK (London, especially) has been a point of convergence for modern "Afro" music - Jamaica's Dancehall, West Africa's Afrobeats, London's own Afroswing and, to a certain extent, South Africa's Gqom - for some time now. Artists like Stylo G and The Heatwave are veterans at this point, the latter taking a crack at production again these last couple of years, creating one of the best Dem Bow tracks in his and Stylo G's Closer to Me. NSG offers a taste of London in his Afroswing track, Yo Darlin'. The rest ranges from 90s throwback stuff, to club jams, to slower tracks.

So get your RSS (Ragga Song Spesh) feed right here, through the embedded Youtube playlist, Spotify, or Google Play. And turn up the volume knob, please.