Favorite Things
This year, much like the last, dubstep took a prominent place in the musical landscape. The diverse and disparate scene produced two of my most beloved albums...
Burial- Untrue
An all around slab of dark, emotive dubstep pitter patter. That said, it's not as immediate as his previous release, a more subdued and obtuse sound seems to dominate. His compositions have become more complex, retaining the soul at the heart of certain strains of dubstep, while exploring the hisses and imperfect sounds left off his first release. The interludes feel much more weighted as well, such as the midway track "In McDonalds", which abandons straight beats for more urban soul sounds, soul fed through post-glitch production, an eerie ode to late night rendezvous. When the beats are on, they're pitch perfect, sublimating everything going down in the dubstep scene, while forgetting the 'dub' bit; tracks like "Homeless", a song built on organ chords and abstract voice fills, are transformed from what might, in the wrong hands, be a standard set of bars into something so sublimely entrancing.
Burial- "Untrue"
Shackleton/Appleblim/Gatekeeper (Skull Disco)- Soundboy Punishments
Taking the triad beats in to distinctly esoteric territory, the guys at Skull Disco are pushing the genre into new territories, rubbing shoulders with minimal techno sounds and middle east-tinged riddims. It's minimal, tough stuff--beats surrounded by strange gurgling synths and otherworldly voice samples--I would think that this music is more in line with some contemporary noise in the mold of Double Leopards than the grime based pop monsters like Skream. Altogether a lot drearier than Burial's coup, Skull Disco still retains its club ties, where Ricardo Villalobos can do a remix without anyone batting an eye. If Burial is the undeniable spokesperson for the zeitgeist that is dubstep, then this label is the variated paths that generations of weary club goers might follow.
Appleblim- "Mystical Warrior"
Burial- Untrue
An all around slab of dark, emotive dubstep pitter patter. That said, it's not as immediate as his previous release, a more subdued and obtuse sound seems to dominate. His compositions have become more complex, retaining the soul at the heart of certain strains of dubstep, while exploring the hisses and imperfect sounds left off his first release. The interludes feel much more weighted as well, such as the midway track "In McDonalds", which abandons straight beats for more urban soul sounds, soul fed through post-glitch production, an eerie ode to late night rendezvous. When the beats are on, they're pitch perfect, sublimating everything going down in the dubstep scene, while forgetting the 'dub' bit; tracks like "Homeless", a song built on organ chords and abstract voice fills, are transformed from what might, in the wrong hands, be a standard set of bars into something so sublimely entrancing.
Burial- "Untrue"
Shackleton/Appleblim/Gatekeeper (Skull Disco)- Soundboy Punishments
Taking the triad beats in to distinctly esoteric territory, the guys at Skull Disco are pushing the genre into new territories, rubbing shoulders with minimal techno sounds and middle east-tinged riddims. It's minimal, tough stuff--beats surrounded by strange gurgling synths and otherworldly voice samples--I would think that this music is more in line with some contemporary noise in the mold of Double Leopards than the grime based pop monsters like Skream. Altogether a lot drearier than Burial's coup, Skull Disco still retains its club ties, where Ricardo Villalobos can do a remix without anyone batting an eye. If Burial is the undeniable spokesperson for the zeitgeist that is dubstep, then this label is the variated paths that generations of weary club goers might follow.
Appleblim- "Mystical Warrior"