I'm ready for things to move back into hibernation... for the basses to retract their sweaty high-ends to deep, cool, low thwashers. One day we will even catch some synth-snowflakes on our tongues. I'm excited (in a really really chill way).
The little squeaks in the intro suggest that indeed, Roommate played & recorded a real Rhodes (fuck softsynths! lol jk). The sample takes me to a hill with white sunshine and ice-encrusted trees and takes me to a better time. Pure beauty. The percussion absolutely tickles my ears. Roommate - The Silent
Finally, Joker releases some new material. This remix demonstrates a slight departure from his earlier, more minimalist beginnings; bright synth stabs fill out the funky lead & bass lines. I would have sex to this song. I've got a feeling there's a lot more where this came from. Die & Interface - Bright Lights feat. William Cartwright (Joker Remix)
Even though I'm American, for some reason the UK garage/grime-influenced dubstep just sits better with me. I feel like if you could characterize UK dubstep and American dubstep in order to make a metaphor to illustrate the differences between the two, American dubstep would be a post-metal-show-chick who just wants to roll face and and say "womp womp," whereas UK dubstep would be that outcast bro who steals mtn dew from gas stations and plays WoW on weekends with his 'coding buddies.'
Now u can see from that highly illustrative comparison, that American dubstep is, let's face it, more mainstream (and more likely to give killer head). Also, one should note that when I refer to 'American dubstep,' it sorta refers to both American dubstep producers (such as NiT GriT and Bassnectar) as well as the American 'interpretation' of dubstep (the highly music-festival-oriented, post-neo-hippy rave scene). Let's face it, America likes to bastardize/mainstream-ize/mcdonald-ize our shit. I feel like a lot of American dubstep producer bros get 'caught up' in this mindset and IMHO, it is a disservice to the genre and just makes it kinda cheesy. (kinda like an american car or something... just kind of an 'overproduced letdown.')
But UK dubstep producer bros CAN BE CHEESY and STILL BE FRESH. Why? Cuz the UK gets it. Take Doctor P for example--his 'aesthetic' is undoubtedly a bit geeky and fully-cheese-ridden, but it doesn't matter cuz it's 'crazy-lovable' (and pretty trippy/stimulating to a new degree).
This above track is over a year old and it still sounds phat and fresh to me. Maybe this is cuz 'I'm not on the UK level' but srsly the bass sounds tweak me the fuck out.
His newest 'ish' is pretty much mind-blowing as well. He and Flux Pavillion (one of my new favorite producers these days) got together and made this grimey number. I copped it on BeatPort like as soon as it came out cuz I thought it was JUST that fucking powerful.
But does it live up to last yr's 'banger' that put him on the scene to begin w? I'd like to generalize and say that everybody who's ever shown any interest in dubstep ever has prolly heard "Sweet Shop." Undoubtedly, it's a classic and a milestone for the genre.
I'd like to think that Doctor P has a lot more coming out of his 8-bit wizard sleeve, but what do yall think? Do u think 'P M.D.' has moar tunes that will reach 'Sweet shop status?' IDK, but in the meantime, buy his stuff cuz he's just a bro tryin to 'hustle some quids.'
pacman to the outizzle forshizzle my crackerizzles and other brozizzles.
ZAZZLE! (think imma use 'zazzle' for something. just typed it and realized how 'B.A.' it looks/sounds)
(sorry for saying "retard" in the title. i did it for the 'lulz')
I first heard of NiT GriT this past February when my ex-roommate (who is a complete dubstep noob and fills his playlists with 'hits' from the likes of Bassnectar) played me some of his tracks from his soundcloud. At first, I thought it was just some more shit--note his boringly ubiquitous wobble-bass 'roar' in some of his early tracks (such as 'One Love'). But after following his carrier label, Simplify Recordings (on twitter), I clicked a link that lead to NiT GriT's new 'single' (below)
Now, all 'COD'-styled profile pic images aside, how does his production truly rate? Although I bet he's using Fruity Loops as his standby 'DAW,' you can't deny his technical ability. He's no slowby when it comes to gettting a 'full' sound. If sounds were like diapers, his would be bursting at the seems. But this isn't that amazing, really. How many super-talented 'bedroom engineers' are out there today making subpar dubstep? Hundreds. What strikes me about his tunes is his ability to integrate 'sad/sorrowful' melodies into his bass licks. <<<---THIS IS WHAT I LIKE ABOUT HIS MUSIC
...And to be honest, this is all it takes for his tunes to kick ass. This guy--an AMERICAN dubstep producer nonetheless--understands that chordal progressions are important. It hooks people and keeps them hooked for a long time. It gives the song a 'soul.' It makes me cry a little sometimes if I'm alone. His melody 'lead' hooks are sometimes a little lacking, but the bass always sounds fucking full, and that's enough to keep a dancefloor moving, so yeah. awesome.
(classic gangster 'street' pose)
But then u go 2 his soundcloud and download his tracks (which many are free--awesome. All of them were uploaded via .WAV--NOT FUCKING AWESOME, DUDE), and u find that not only are they not 320's, but they're bizarrely named when you import em into iTunes. His sound is professional, and the fact that he's signed to a halfway legit label is... well, legit. But his logo's and all that are really lacking.
SOMEBODY PLZ MANAGE THIS DUDE SO HE CAN GET TASTEFUL!
kthnxbai
-PACMAN aka subVader
(what, like you didn't already know?)
I'm really torn with dubstep these days. I feel like I've been with dubstep since it first made waves in the US when Rusko put out cockney thug (cuz let's face it, that's when dubstep really took off) but these days it's been brought into the ever-genre-fucking light of the MAINSTREAM~~~~
This isn't all bad. We're seeing stuff like the luvstep mixtape which pushes dubstep into different vibes (trading violent gargling wobble basses for tame sweeping melodic basslines). Also you get badass remixes of big named producers by other big names, for instance this remix of a track off of rusko's upcoming LP on mad decent:
Hey, genre pushing is great, but i think it gets ruined by jokers like bassnectar who cater to the drugged up, hippy, jamband scene. I don't like this american-version of the british raver. what the fuck america? does everything we do have to turn into some sort of mcdonaldized, mass-pleasing, money raking bastardization? ahh well, there's more to life than bitching about the mainstream. let's focus on the good shit, shall we?
First up is Freddy Todd. This dude churns out crazy, syruppy glitch-hop styled dubstep a la Rustie and some of the other lucky me crew. But he kinda trades the lofi nuances of lucky me for a fat, american hip-hop touch. Can you call it dubstep if it isn't 140bpm? Cuz a lot of his stuff isn't. (looks like he's even done stuff with my beloved Mochipet! yay!) But I fucking love it. oh yeah, he's from DETROIT, TOO!!!
This next one is a real chopper upper. Seriously heavy, I'm going to get subby to throw it in a mix or something. I like how it feels as though this sort of ultra-heavy/grimey style of dubstep has evolved from simple wobbles to crazy shit like this (and it doesn't even feel that repetitive). You should check out Bar 9, his shit is heavy and he srsly knows how to keep it real fasho with the grime and all. However, I'm a little tired of the whole BLACK AND WHITE MYSPACE PAGE DUBSTEP ARTIST LOOK AT ME I'M A BADASS COMPUTER NERD WHO CAN DJ meme.
Lastly is a subvader release. A kind of otherworldly approach to dubstep, this Mr Hudson x Kanye x Gucci Remix is pretty nuts. Not many producers change up the feel in one song as much as Subvader, and nobody does it as well. His EP IS DUE MAY 1st!
Subvader's 1st single, 'Y'all Can't Handle Me,' just got released! Heard it in a mix by some dubstem forum's dj's show and thought it was pretty wicked. I like when the dj's all like 'whoo-o-o-oahh phaze mann!'
The other songs on the Bloodlines EP are awesome. I seriously love the chillstep vibes-->great for coolin ya down in the summer heat! EDS, J Courage and Aquadrop are awesome, very creative producers.
You can buy it on iTunes, Beatport, Amazon, among some others. All Subvader's other music will be given away for free.
Speaking of, his ep is soon to come out! all 4 tracks are done and mastered and ready to be sent out! Stay tuned!!
hey y'all, this is your palzy subvader (cuz the pacman let me use his account to post this meself) and i am proud to say that west michigan finally has the foundation for a killer dubstep scene!
ben steele (aka B-sKID) and cody madison (aka trip) got this entertainment group together not even a month ago and they already have some super-rad plans. a little bird told me they are planning on blasting their soundsystem to celebrate 4/20 this year, and it sounds like i'm going to be making some appearances on their bills later this summer--i couldn't be more stoked!
i'm sure pacman will continue to post about these guys, SRSLY STAY TUNED!!!
EAT THAT MUTHRFUKN CHOWMEIN AND THROW BACK SOME CODEINE! THE SUBVADER MIXTAPE IS HERE!!!!!!
Tweaking Trays' very own Subvader just sent us his new mixtape. We're really fucking excited about it, not just because it's fucking sweet and full of bangers, but because this is our first official release from the Tweaking Trays family. Some things he wanted to say about it:
"Even though the tracks aren't all new releases or very eclectic, this is a mix of songs that I love and that fit together pretty musically. I wanted to make something that expressed a lot of the different styles of dance music that I like, so I featured everything from synthpop to dubstep."
Subvader--also known as Peter Wiley--is making his debut on Chicago's Trenchant Recordings. His song "Ya'll Can't Handle Me" will appear on their upcoming digital compilation release. We'll be sure to keep you posted!
Here's the tracklist: 1. Anoraak - Nightdrive With You (Fear of Tigers Remix) 2. Chris Lake - Changes (Dirty South Remix)
3. A1 Bassline - It's Alot
4. Feist - My Moon, My Dub (DZ Remix)
5. Dr. Dre - The Next Episode (feat. Snoop Dogg) (Jay Robinson Clubstep Mix)
6. The Party Squad - Murderer (Diplo & Jayou Remix)
If you would like any of your own content to be featured, or you have problems with any content already featured, please contact: tweakingtrays@gmail.com
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