Gaining both critical acclaim for its catchiness as much as for its atmosphere, the mutant strain of 140 bpm (or thereabouts) bass music currently infiltrating the global airwaves has morphed consistently over its recent life span; cross pollinating its acres of influences into the bundles of sub genres it now houses.
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It’s become a strain of club music that revels in biting back against the perceptions of those outside of the core scene, those who consider dubstep to simply be a swelteringly tough warbling bassline that’s complimented by a half step drum pattern and some airy atmospherics.
The warm fluid basslines of dark garage, the spacious precision of techno, the unabashed bolshiness of grime; the percussion led rhythm of funky house, the wanton bump of 2-step and the erratic fluorescent synthesized harmony of skweee are all constantly being harvested, peeled and juiced by a new wave of producers who are revelling in their mission to further the cocktail of sound that dubstep is currently thriving off.
Positioned as it is, in the midst of the UK capital, fabric has seen a torrent of vivacious ingenuity pass through its brickwork over its 10 year life, but of late, there has been an invasion (as much in the offices as on the club’s dancefloors) of impeccably sculpted dubstep. The ‘Elevator Music’ project stands as an album in its own right, becoming more than just a collection of tracks. It’s a collation of all the variant strains of dubstep; a completely original and exclusive collection of future bumps that reflects the embracive nature of fabric’s dancefloor music policy.
Pooling 17 exclusive tracks from established producers like Martyn, Starkey, Untold and Caspa & Rusko with a smattering of producers destined for great things come 2010, ‘Elevator Music’ ticks boxes in categories and niches that don’t even fully exist yet; unifying the vision of 16 producers with one simple passion. Bass.
“Dubstep is one of the most inclusive and undefined scenes to surface in the last decade,” Untold ruminated when speaking to Pitchfork columnist Martin Clark recently, “The interesting stuff is coming from producers exploiting the grey areas, building tunes that are dubstep by accident.”
And it’s a view that’s shared by many of these young producers, who make music without thinking of genre constraints or the implications their end product yield. “Dubstep is where a lot of us came from,” considers Shortstuff, “but I feel far more inspired by the music the scene has spawned these days.”
“I see what I do as taking elements of classic loop techno and fusing them onto a deeper rolling bass-heavy framework,” reasons Skinnz, “I’m inspired as much by older Marco Carola as I am by Mala!”
“Although it might sound a tad arrogant, I’d like to think of my music as ‘Martyn music’,” implored Dutch born producer Martyn when speaking to the website RCRDLBL. “I try not to think of it as dubstep or techno, or house or drum & bass…it’s not about genres, it’s about music. This way I feel more freedom to make the music I want to make. If you make music and it sparks something, if it triggers a certain emotion, or even the motivation to get out there and express yourself…that is just great.”
‘Elevator Music Vol. 1’
Tracklisting:
1: Hot City – If That’s How I Feel
2: xxxy – Sing With Us
3: Doc Daneeka – Drums In The Deep
4: Hackman – Pistol In Your Pocket
5: Julio Bashmore – The Moth
6: Untold – Bad Girls
7: Octa Push – Doctor Bayard
8: Shortstuff – Behave
9: Skinnz – Ukraine
10: Mosca – Gold Bricks, I See You
11: Martyn – Friedrichstrasse
12: Vista – Elixir
13: Caspa & Rusko – One Of The Same
14: Om Unit – Encoded
15: Starkey – Black Monolith
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16: Shortstuff & Brackles – Melvin Blue (Digital Bonus Track)
17: Hackman – Pistol In Your Pocket (Hypno Remix) (Limited Digital Bonus track)
All tracks are exclusive to this compilation.
ELEVATOR MUSIC: VOL.1
ARTIST: VARIOUS
LABEL: FABRIC RECORDS
UK/R.O.W. RELEASE: 18 JANUARY 2010
USA RELEASE: 9 MARCH 2010
If you would like to enter the draw to win a copy please send an email with the title ’ Elevator Music’ to comps@biggie.net.nz with your mobile number and full name.