Dubstep 289 Items

Few names shine as brightly in the cosmology of dubwise bass music as that of V.I.V.E.K. From releasing absolutely ground-breaking tracks for the better part of 20 years primarily on his own System and Vivek imprints, to curating and hosting his legendary System nights, to bringing so much rising talent to light, it’s honestly difficult to imagine the last two decades of UK and global sound system music without him.

For ZamZam 96 V.I.V.E.K went straight to the bedrock of sound system music and delivered a power-stepper of galactic proportions.

The latest on Ilian Tape's ITX Series is this fresh dub haywiring from UK producer Mantra, one half of the UK label and events series Rupture. Following a superbly lo-fi, blue-tinted deep dubstep and garage mix offered to the label less than a year ago, she here returns to the fore with four fantastic new ones tailored for both systems and system heads. Highlights among the bunch include the dizzying, breaksy loss of sonic motor control that is 'Shackout' and the nighttimey, post-dark-garage 4x4 hardcore number 'Stomping Ground'. Closer 'Burn & Heal' rounds the whole thing out on a maximally intense jump-up jungle mastication.

Highly anticipated would be an understatement - so influential are his releases to date, it's difficult to believe he's never released a full length project. The name of the mixtape may already be familiar - an evolution from 2019's acclaimed "Slipping" EP and also the name of a Joy Orbison curated radio station ("Still Slipping: Los Santos") within Grand Theft Auto's immersive world - but in terms of scope and ambition, "still slipping vol.1" is without doubt O'Grady's boldest and most expansive project yet.

First coming to prominence in 2009 with his debut single “Hyph Mngo” - a track that became a bonafide phenomenon and changed the dance music underground forever - the London musician, DJ and producer is undoubtedly one of the most renowned, respected and influential electronic artists of his generation. Whether through his own game-changing releases such as “Ellipsis”, “GR Etiquette”, “Big Room Tech House DJ Tool-TIP!” or the “Slipping” EP, collaborations with the likes of Mansur Brown, Overmono and cutting edge Japanese clothing label Cav Empt, a run of genre-defining releases on his Hinge Finger label, a BBC Radio 1 residency and live appearances that span the most credible underground nights to festival headline slots around the world, the name Joy Orbison has been a constant byword for understated, uncompromising quality. "still slipping vol.1" is the next evolution in his journey. Fans of Joy Orbison's DJ sets and radio shows will already be aware of his diverse tastes and inspirations, represented here through a roll call of delicately curated, mainly UK, collaborators that include Herron, James Massiah, Bathe, Lea Sen, Goya Gumbani and Tyson. Just as important are the voices Joy Orbison's family - mum, dad, sister Sarah, uncle Frankie, uncle Keith (recently departed), auntie Helen and cousins Lola, Mia and Leighann, who was the first person to introduce O’Grady to drum and bass and garage as a kid and stars on the mixtape’s cover art. They appear throughout the record via a series of voice notes, his only contact with his family during this year of worldwide lockdown and an intimate, vicarious glimpse into the personal world of an artist who has generally side-stepped the public gaze. The result is Joy Orbison's best music to date and a powerful distillation of his musical career so far. Recorded in his Walworth Window studio in south east London, this is serious, future-facing sound system music cut through with a sense of warmth and playfulness much needed for these times. In O'Grady's own words, "I made a point of making it feel really human. I wanted it to be quite light hearted and humorous so that the weirder bits of the record didn't seem too wanky or self-indulgent. In my head it’s a soul record but I'm not sure that's how people will hear it”

Schon seit seinen Teenager-Jahren gehört Peter O’Grady, alias Joy Orbison, zu den treibenden Kräften der elektronischen Musik-Szene, der er immer wieder mit seinen Veröffentlichungen neue Wege aufzeigen konnte. Nun erscheint endlich sein erstes Mixtape „still slipping vol. 1“, das beweist, dass er auch in 2021 nichts an Relevanz oder Aktualität verloren hat.

„Heiß erwartet“, trifft es hier wohl, wenn man sich vor Augen ruft, dass Orbison bisher noch kein Album oder mehr als eine EP in seiner Karriere veröffentlicht hat. Der Titel erinnert dabei an die gefeierte 2019er EP „Slipping“ sowie an seinen kuratierten Radio-Kanal „Still Slipping: Los Santos“ in der Grand Theft Auto-Gaming-Welt – gleichzeitig ist dieses 14-Songs umfassende Mixtape die wohl ambitionierteste Veröffentlichung Orbisons bisher und ein Meilenstein in seiner Karriere. 2009 begann diese mit der Debüt-Single „Hype Mngo“, mit der der Londoner Musiker, DJ und Produzent hohe Wellen im Dance Music Underground erzeugte. Es folgten weitere Singles, EPs, Kollaborationen mit Acts wie Mansur Brown oder Overmono, eine BBC One Residency, DJ-Sets und Live-Auftritte in Clubs und bei Festivals auf der ganzen Welt. „still slipping vol.1“ zeugt wie gewohnt von den mannigfaltigen Einflüssen und Strömungen, von denen sich Joy Orbison treiben lässt und rollt den Teppich aus für Kollaborationen mit Acts wie Herron, James Massiah, Bathe, Lea Sen, Goya Gumbani und Tyson. Daneben bietet es einen intimen Einblick auch in die persönliche Welt des Künstlers während den vergangenen Lockdown-Monaten, beinhaltet das Mixtape doch auch einige persönliche Voice Messages seiner Mutter, seines Vaters, der Schwester und Cousinen.

Exclusive run of 12" vinyl with these two banging remixes of Martyn's iconic Vancouver by Verraco and Rhyw! Expertly mastered by Beau at Ten Eight Seven.

In 2010, Mount Kimbie released their debut album, Crooks & Lovers, to widespread acclaim. Perfectly capturing the heady atmosphere of the moment, the album melded the wide-eyed mentality of what had become known as ‘Post-Dubstep’ with an open-minded musical sensibility that produced an instant classic. Ten years later, the album is reissued on Hotflush with a bonus disc of the band’s first ever release.

Includes Through Lines LP + a beautiful 40-page booklet featuring a collection of Martyn’s writings on music, inspired by the 9 tracks on the Through Lines vinyl release, designed by the very excellent Jeroen Erosie.

Dubstep's origins lie in dark 2-step mutations that evolved on dancefloors and in studios in the early 2000s. That same fusion of swing and space and subs can be found by the bucketload throughout the new EP by one of DNO’s staples, Kercha.
Skippy speed garage hats and slippery globules of bass animate the otherwise sparse production on the opening track ‘Feature’, while the wild beat on ‘Absurd’ could catch out any DJs not giving it their full attention. Wrapped in Kercha’s signature sonic debris, it delivers three and a half minutes of rattling, clicking, squelching wizardry.

The B-side gives us ‘Stimulate’, a collaboration with new-gen rising star Hypho. Indebted to trap, it’s full of militant 808 hi-hat rolls and the kind of firing synth tones that spell doom in a sci-fi movie (and tear up festival stages).

Finally, ‘Saturday’ is classic Kercha: sub-bass from the Seventh Circle, and so many suspicious chirps, whistles and hoots that it could soundtrack a nighttime stroll through the woods just as easily as skanking in a smoked-out sweatbox. The track is peppered with voice notes from a friend — snatches of funny, halfcut chatter, as random in content as Kercha's non-vocal sampladelia. The final snippet, which translates to “Saturday dictates its rules”, gives the track its name. A statement that can be read in all sorts of ways, it could even confer a motto for this whole collection, reflecting Kercha’s trademark originality.

The ‘Absurd’ EP is one of Kercha’s most dancefloor-directed releases to date, and whether conjuring the ghosts of club nights past or envisioning the raves of the future, it’ll be dominating sound systems for a long time to come.

Rhythms of postmodern realism at the very bottom of the DNO.

South West England is a fertile ground when it comes to producing seafarers and dub makers. Bishop completes a hat-trick of releases from the region, with a brace of tunes that bring the unrelenting pressure of the deep to the ears of surface dwellers.

Dub De Société brings dubstep’s reggae origins to the forefront; an atmospheric production underpinned with a hulking baseline. Flutes of Bhutan goes deeper. Bishop combines a flute sample from the summit of the world with relentless kicks from its base. The result is a sound that is both alien and unnerving, yet incites an intense fervour in those that hear it.

"Top drawer business from Mr McCann, bringing a profound understanding of what high-pressure dub-rooted music should be about, both banging and deep depending on which side you pick :)" This quote taken from the original release in 2012 feels as relevant today as it did then! Proving to be a timeless classic, Dread still gets the pull-up in the dance!

Love Love host a collaborative release by two of the freshest contemporary Avon producers, Best Pest and Kursa. Kursa (also one half of S.Murk) has built a notable following in the UK as well as in the USA, playing out often at big stateside events with his own style of tight, maximalist bass music - think Tipper, Eprom, Noisia etc… Ben Pest is no stranger to Love Love with 2 previous solo releases under his belt, best known for his crunchy techno & electro and ripping hardware live-sets. Here they come together for a 5 track genre-hopping EP, each flexing their respective production sensibilities, splicing elements of dubstep, grime, hardcore & garage together, along with a healthy dose of multi-dimensional sound design, to make some of the noisiest modern dance music going.

Early support from: Clouds, Giant Swan, Rob Hall, A Made Up Sound, Om Unit, Nikki Nair, Luke Sanger, Deft, Warlock, Second Storey...

It’s been a pretty eventful year for Fkof Records, but we’re delighted to be ending it with a bang and by welcoming two brand artists to the imprint. We’ve been long-time fans of Oddkut and Abstrakt Sonance and when we discovered they’d been on the buttons together we knew it was material we wanted to home.

Following an acclaimed EP from Brussels duo The Untouchables, DNO Records stays in Belgium for the next instalment of its global bass odyssey, but offers up a wholly different kind of trip originating from Charleroi.Leading the way are Clearlight & Owl. The pair typically operate together as Glÿph — producing glitchy, modern techstep — but the use of their independent aliases is an early indicator to expect the minimalist experimentalism found in their solo work.

For The Heads returns with the third installment of their vinyl series welcoming Germany's own Conzi to the imprint with his inaugural solo EP. This weighty 4 tracker is packed with head-down, nose-curling rhythms on both sides, making this an EP not to be slept on. Having featured on respected labels such as Hotplates Recordings and Foundation Audio in the past, and with support from the likes of Sicaria Sound, J:Kenzo, Ternion Sound and many more, Conzi is a name you will be hearing much more from in the very near future.

The 007 issue of Dubs Galore welcomes the debut of 2 artists on the label : Mr K and Arta colabing with label boss Von D to explore new "Dub in the Dubstep" adventures.

Khanum joins the small but already acquainted Dubs Galore family with 2 soundsystem hitters.

We are super stoked to welcome back 3WA aka The Portuguese Serial Killer aka The Christiano Ronaldo of Dubstep for another fire release on Foundation Audio (this time around getting the vinyl treatment)! Pedro has got many tricks up his sleeves. Here are 4 of his finest. Make no mistake he will nutmeg you, dribble around you, Ronaldo chop past you and handball the finest goal without the ref seeing (and he’ll make it look easyyyy)… What’s more to say? The guys a wizard and makes some of the most interesting music in the Dubstep scene. Get to know if you don’t already.

2022 repress

Hold tight the artists unknown giving the far-famed superstylin' their idiosyncratic palate.

140 on the A - 170 on the B gives it summer vibes, dubby vibes, drum and bass vibes, super vibes!

This limited 7inch introduces Andreikelos with a catchy downtempo tune on which mediterranean flavour meets electronic sounds as the traditional Greek organ bouzouki smoothly flows over an abstract hip-hop beat. Also includes dubstep remix by Earthkeptwarm. Includes free download code with additonal track.

As deep and wonky as it gets, Buffalo bass wizard isded is back with some potent dubstep saucery in the form of Swang EP - the latest release on Truth’s Deep, Dark & Dangerous imprint. One slurp of the producer’s potion will see you hypnotized and intoxicated in equal measure as the four cuts of the most matured and delectable bass seep through your veins. Tribal feels, sub-shattering lows and crisp percussion all coalesce to create the perfect conditions to take the step into the unknown crevices of your own mind. Ready to get swang? We didn’t think so.

Spooky has long been one of the hardest working soundmen in East London. At any given time you can see him streaming sets on Insta, blasting out tunes, and being the OG cat he always has been, with a reverence for the roots of Dub, from the Jamaican roots to US Garage and back to his backyard via his Grime/Dubstep/UKG cuts, which are always full of raw depth and swing.

This is why it was more a matter of what to fit on his first EP on LoDubs, given when the conversation was started about RAS Riddims a whole deluge of tracks came our way. Clarty Steppers is not only 6 of the best of those, but 2 bonus tracks in the accompanying DL, and the option to get those 2, and a extra VIP of one of those tunes which will only ever be available via the companion Poly Cut of this release.

A compilation of Grime and Dubstep music that was originally released between 2018 and 2021 from some of the artists on White Peach.

A momentous signing for DDD, as the label welcomes one of the most influential artists in dubstep’s history: Caspa.

On his Inner Space EP, which drops on September 6th, the producer takes refuge within his introspective sanctuary of ice cold beats, deep pulsating bass and futuristic sound design - presenting a four-track tour de force of 140 that is at once impactful as it is cohesive and holistic.

This one is also available as a limited edition picture disc vinyl.

A veteran producer (Who prefers to separate this incarnation from past works) working within many disciplines in sound, Silent Cubes demonstrates a particular skill in atmospherics and mood in their productions, creating three tracks of original UKG driven sound that speak in a dialect as familiar to the progeny and brethren of Clubroot, Sorrow, and Congi as that of Chez Damier, Mr Fingers, and Ron Trent. An exercise in deepness, Draped in the framework and immediacy of Garage.

Showing how evocatively these elements can be transformed is MOY, himself straddling a line between classic IDM, Old Skool, and Acid, and with releases on Analogical Force, Vinyl Fanatiks (AmenTec), and a slew of others. MOY comes forward with a hybridized remix of “The Stream”, which really is in a class of its own and closes outside B.

“Sound And Motion”. Presented as a 4-track vinyl EP, in a numbered/limited edition, and bundled with access to 2 exclusive Poly Cut/Digital tracks, only ever available via the access provided through ownership of this record.

Saturated! the various artist series on vinyl has proven to be the epitome of curation in bass music since its inception. The whole package is curated such that each track perfectly flows into the next. Each volume is carefully hand-picked and serves as a snapshot of bass music at that moment, Saturate! has earned its spot as the first choice for those seeking fresh sounds from established and emerging artists. and has been leading the way in all thing's bass heavy, breakbeat, experimental, glitch, hip-hop, psychedelic and trap for years now. They have a track record of propelling artists to the next level. Their roster includes some of the scenes biggest names. These compilations present A weird, wonky and wonderful journey through the raw attitude of the blistering beat driven electronic music scene. Get it now!

"Saturate Records, a bass music label based in Hamburg, Germany that started in 2010, has come together with Stylust's (formerly Stylust Beats) Sleeveless Records to bring the world Saturated Warriors, a sweltering new compilation album featuring heavy-hitters from all around. Both labels pride themselves on only putting out the freshest music, always catering to the counterculture crowds and only accelerating with the times. Over the years, Saturate and Sleeveless have had releases from some of the current biggest names in the bass-music scene, including Herobust, G Jones, Zeke Beats, Conrank, Shlump, and more. Finding their niche in giving young talent a platform, these labels have become a home for young producers that aren't afraid to experiment. Now Presenting Saturated Warriors!"

"Rare, super limited 003 from Saturate! Records 7'' single series, featuring the bigger than life artists heRobust from Atlanta and Pixelord from Moscow. Silky and crunchy."

"Rare, super limited 005 from Saturate! Records 7'' single series, featuring the now defunct Naive Machine and Krsur with some smooth hyper colored Garage and Footwork vibes, I don't want to say this but Calling Me has that James Blake feel. It's better, with the swing and even more uptempo."

"Insane and heavy beats by the og don Pixelord featuring great remixes by an all-star line-up comprising Dj Ride, Dj Pound, Starkey and Dranq!

Like a lightning bolt in the middle of a dark sea, Pixelord has returned once again from the frozen lands to shock and disquiet the tides of Futuristic Bass Music. Perhaps the best thing about Russian electronic music godfather Alexey Devyanin's Pixelord project returning to Saturate! for this "Demonslayer" release is not simply the exciting and hard-hitting beats contained within, but the simple fact that it shall be offered on delicious, glorious Vinyl. An artifact for all time, perhaps to be found in future wastelands by those who would consider this "Demonslayer" to be the VanHelsing (or perhaps Trevor Belmont) of the 21st century bass music scene.

The last decade has seen Pixelord riding the wave of forward-thinking bass music, and always staying at the crest, and 2020 is no different. "Doomguy" comes tearing straight in with menacing, distorted synth weaponry, assaulting with ballistic beats (even some nods to Junglism) until finally bestowing some glittering melody atop the fray, showing that not only is Alexey an elder-statesman of the genre, he's still the eager bass monster that explores his own depths. The depths are again evident in "Pain Elemental" where the vibe is established immediately, and only delves deeper into the slightly-detuned bass signals and ominous creeping atmosphere. The melodic elements are no longer here to sooth, they are newly charged laser beams that sear the flesh, scorching the eardrums.

This foreboding, demon-dispatching vibe is indeed present throughout this entire release, as you enter the "Bonus Stage" of this deadly game, where the aggression does not abate, and the bass plays backseat to the synth bell sonic geometry on display. The drums especially feel the wrath of Pixelord on this track, where some impossibly tortured tambourines take a beating, and the chopping and relentless reorganization of the rhythm keeps you churning with intensity. The title track brings the "wild style", even though the drums are less frantic, the bass frequencies and laser blasts from our protagonist, the ever-ready "Demonslayer", are sure to dismantle any submissive subwoofer in range.

"bfg" rounds out this collection in a disheveled fashion, dishing out low frequency divebombs and squelches, whilst otherworldly transmissions from synth realms afar come leaping in trying to assert their dominance, only to be eaten alive by daemonic bass and telluric currents of seismic drum activity. An utterly destructive end to this tale… BUT Wait, IT Gets Worse! We have here on hand Saturate! stalwarts DJ Ride, DJ Pound, Dranq and big daddy Starkey on remix duty, who all take the tracks down their own rabbit holes to parts unknown, with equal aplomb. The result is equal in intensity and aggression, but the textures by which this is conveyed are wholly transformed and re-imagined skillfully.

All this on one slab of gorgeous Vinyl. No demon shall stand a chance against Pixelord's battalion of beats and bass."