This one comes via Red Threat and is enough to make even the most subdued young outcast click his fingers and ask Mary-Sue to jive. Compiled by Mumdance for Clash Magazine, it’s a fairly progressive listen, beginning with epic swathes of atmosphere and gradually working towards the downright nasty. It’s like watching a kid grow up from an innocent young thing into a sadistic, drug-addled teenager. First he’s all like “aww a cute butterfly” and then he’s all like “fuck the planet, I’m going to sledgehammer a cat”. You know how it is.
Diplo has his fingers in many a pie and now he’s chosen to plunge it through the sweet, moist crust of dubstep. Diplo Presents Dubstep is a 16 track compilation which showcases “some brand new and unreleased, some classics, some overlooked sleepers”. The tracklist comprises a mixed bag, with some tunes hitting the jackpot and others floundering like Piers Morgan at a fundraiser. For example, James Blake ‘Sparing the Horse’ falls very much into the “maaate, sick tune” category, whereas Doctor P’s ‘Sweetshop’ falls into the “maaate, I’m not sure how much more I can take” division.
Starkey’s remix of Rudi Zygadlo’s ‘Resealable Friendship’ is definitely the high point, offering the beautifully vulnerable and epic in equal parts whilst James Blake’s refix of Untold’s ‘Stop What You’re Doing’ is similarly alluring. ‘Glazed’ by Brackles is another tune which I could loop and listen to all night long, but if you stop concentrating it drops into Stenchman and that glassy stare will be irreparably shattered forever. Anyway, Oldsy pointed out that this is probably intended to bring dubstep to a new audience, so in that case, it’s probably a positive thing that they’ll get the chance to listen to James Blake and Starkey alongside the bastardised creations from wub wub valley. Let’s just hope they make the right choices…
Rusko’s new album is going to be called OMG. I know it should really be all about the tunes, but the name is awful. If he’s trying to be cute, he’s only succeeded in making me feel sick. He may as well fuck his music career, log on to 1998 msn and ask a 14 year old girl ‘”a/s/l?” Jesus, ‘Woo Boost’ is a bag of shit too, it sounds exactly like ‘Mr. Chips’, what’s happening mate? I hope he’s taking the piss and changes OMG to You Must Be Skanky to Ride This…umm…or something good.
At least the podcast he did for Mad Decent the other day was tolerable, there’s a few interesting morsels tucked in there somewhere. For example, the fact that the album isn’t going to be purely dubstep and that some of it will stray into disco territory, that’s pretty intriguing right? Regardless, Rusko is a talented musician even if he does have a penchant for mid-range wobbly shit at times, so I’m optimistic that there will be a few decent tunes knocking about when OMG drops. For now though, we just have to make do with ‘Mr. Chips V2′…
I would have posted this yesterday but I was predisposed, it’s pretty hard trying to update your blog and defeat circus crime at the same time you know.
Still, Mad Decent have dropped a free mixtape in the name of currently incarcerated rapper Gucci Mane and it’s dripping with talent. Comprising remixes from Gucci’s The Cold War Mixtapes, there are contributions from Diplo (obviously), Flying Lotus, Mumdance, DZ, Zomby and host of other impressive producers, it’s all very exciting.
What’s that? You don’t like Diplo? Think of this mixtape as a w(rap) of smack; even if you think you won’t like it, you’re probably going to end up loving it.*
Israeli bass heavyweight Kalbata has knocked together this promo mix to gain some exposure for his latest release, Oh Gosh, which is out now on Botanika Records (BALUT004). Headed up by a nasty, sub-heavy a-side, which rolls forward in sporadic jerks like an unreliable bulldozer, the release also features an equally hefty 8-bit laden b-side in ‘Karl Butter’. Both tracks bear more than a passing resemblance to a hunk of electro that’s been through a meat grinder with a few bones of dubstep. But whatever the recipe, it all makes for a rather pleasing, if a little bloody, result.
As mentioned by Sabbo, who posted this up on Mad Decent, the mix crosses several genres “from dubstep to garage, old skool hardcore to Miami bass and reggae”, so it’s a pretty varied ride. Tracklisting after the jump. Enjoy.
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