Skream and dubstep: the two words are practically inextricable. Or at least they were. As a teenager, the Croydon-raised Oliver Jones was instrumental in taking a sparse, forbidding musical form and turning it into a world-beating behemoth. Tracks like “Midnight Request Line” showed that dubstep could do hummable melodies just as easily as urban paranoia. Jones’ career has since gone stratospheric. In 2010 and 2011 he had chart success as part of Magnetic Man, a trio with fellow Croydonites Benga and Artwork. Last year he produced tracks for Kelis and Miles Kane and landed a weekly Radio 1 slot.
As a figurehead of contemporary British dance music, then, it’s perhaps appropriate that Jones is about to leave dubstep behind. There’s no doubting that UK electronic music is experiencing a boom-time, but the poster boys of the new generation – Disclosure et al. – are increasingly of a house persuasion. It’s a development Jones has been following with keen interest, showcasing an increasing amount of house and techno in his sets over the past year.
With his contribution to Pete Tong’s mix series for Defected out this month, it seems the transformation is complete. The mix is a bold, colourful trip through sunny disco and more aggressive UK sounds, spanning from Dusky and Midland to Justin Martin and Duke Dumont. RBMA caught up with Skream shortly after a triumphant “classics set” at dubstep institution DMZ to find out why such sets will soon be a rarity and discuss the inspiration behind his new mix.
Vice or as I like to call it “The Onion of Hipster news outlets” chimes in with some witty observations about dance music culture in England today.
At some point in 2007, a bunch of people realised that they hadn’t been laid for the entirety of the four years they’d been listening to dubstep, and fucked off to make something that sounded like the exact opposite of it.
It began life without a name, but pretty soon music hacks realised the jig was up for dubstep because no one wanted to feel like they were trapped in a submarine in the Thames having a panic attack any more, and so “post-dubstep” was born. A few years later, and here we are: with the first British club music built on a 4×4 kick to soundtrack a T4 ident since “Where’s Your Head At”.
Modern-day house is undoubtedly the movement of the moment, currently occupying a territory somewhere between the internet underground and the stereo of your mum’s favourite shop on the high street. Some of its facets have broken through into the mainstream, but the heart of it definitely remains in the “sub” part of culture. “Latch” may have made the top 20, Bashmore might be blowing up on your workplace radio, but if they did another Live Aid tomorrow, nobody from the scene’s ready to be up there singing “Let it Be” with Paul McCartney and Emile Sande quite yet.
UK duo R1 Ryders didn’t really pull any punches when it came to naming its latest EP, London Underground, which is out today via Brookyln-based label Party Like Us. The four-track effort embodies the classic, hard-edged sound its title references, offering beefy bass and thick, skittering drum patterns with a crisp, modern production sense. “On My Own” even manages to sneak in touches of string-like synths and glimpses of melodic piano into the dark, dancefloor-aimed style.
Tracklisting:
01. SBTRKT – Hold On.
02. SBTRKT – Right Thing To Do.
03. Addison Groove – I Go Boom.
04. Shadow Child – So High.
05. Bugz in the Attic – Hold It Down (Bugz In The Attic Remix).
06.
07. Domu – Worldwide (Solid Groove Remix).
08. Disclosure – My Intention Is War!
09. SBTRKT – Living Like I Do.
10.
11. Machinedrum – No Respect.
12. Jay Electronica – Exhibit C.
13. Flying Lotus – Putty Boy Strut.
14. Frank Ocean – Thinking About You (SBTRKT Remix).
15. SBTRKT – Wildfire.
16. Machinedrum – Alarma.
17. Kendrick Lamar – Swimming Pools (Drank.
