Various Artists
DUBSTEP
ALLSTARS VOL.8 MIXED BY DISTANCE
Tempa•Records
Dub•step
\ dub-step \ n + tech•no \tek-nõ\ n
Originally published in Time Out Chicago Magazine: TOC | Dubstep Allstars
Before electrostep
man-of-the-moment Skrillex had even heard the term dubstep, the U.K.’s Tempa was laying the
foundation for a dance-music revolution. Operating since ’99, the label
introduced the world to Horsepower Productions and Digital Mystikz, two acts
that are among the genre’s first. And it was largely through its Dubstep
Allstars DJ-mix
series that these sounds made it out of the tiny East London clubs where they
were being played, often on anonymous vinyl white labels.
More than ten years later this is
still the case. In that time, dubstep has turned into an international
electronic music movement, and all the while, the label—and the series—has
remained true to its roots.
As well as any selector before him,
Distance, the DJ and producer whose 25 selections make up this eighth volume,
has captured the spaced-out breaks, deep bass wobble and dark atmospherics that
characterize the Tempa sound. His entire mix is sparse, haunting, swelling with
low end and reverberating with hints of a Jamaican heritage that has gone
through decades of U.K. dance permutations.
Dominated by his own productions,
like the grinding “Mean Streak” and buzz-saw mayhem of “Drawn,” his set also
showcases current scene stealers—and frequent collaborators—Tunnidge, whose “AfterShock”
is a surefire brain rattler, and veteran Benga, who proves that even while
gaining popular momentum with Magnetic Man, he can still crush subwoofers with
cuts like “Chemical Compound.”
Hand-crafted and
expertly mixed, this is an intimate glimpse into the original dubstep scene as
it stands today, unencumbered by any hype machine. My only complaint is that
the sounds on display here haven’t progressed too far sonically from those
thrilling early days.
—Joshua P. Ferguson
—Joshua P. Ferguson
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