Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Rinse July

Rinse FM

RINSE

Dusk and I were back on Rinse on Thursday (31st 11pm-1am) rolling the grimey, wonky and skippy, before we legged it off to The Big Chill. We played the main stage there, which was so ludicrous it made me laugh, but it was fun.

Download the mix HERE.

Dusk + Blackdown Rinse July 08

St Germain "Alabama Blues (Todd Edwards remix)" (F Comm)
Todd Edwards "Saved my life" (FFRR)
Maddslinky "Desert Fogg" (Sirkus)
Gant "Sound Bwoy Burial" (Positiva)
Dub War "Murderous Style" (Tempa)

Zomby "Gaffling Breakz" (unreleased)
Rude Kid "Photo" (unreleased)
Terror Danjah "Trojan" (unreleased)
Starkey "Pressure" (unreleased)
Black the Ripper and Rudekid "R U Stupid?" (unreleased)
Bruza "Not 2 Nite" (unreleased)
Zomby "Bur5t" (unreleased)

Flying Lotus ft Lil Wayne "Robo-Tussin" (myspace.com/flyinglotus)
Joker "Digi Design" (unreleased)
Dot Rotten ft Voltage "Rotten and Voltage" (from "RIP Youngdot" mixtape)
Gemmy "Supligen" (unreleased)
JME "Ps" (Boy Betta Know)
Zomby "Aquafre5h" (unreleased)
Jerzey "Taiko" (unreleased)

Skream "Hedd Banger" (forthcoming Tectonic)
Ekalon "7th Soul (Sully remix)" (unreleased)
XI "Prophet" (unreleased)
Pangea "Router" (forthcoming Hessle Audio)
Landslide "Dreams & Visions (instrumental)" (unreleased)
Dusk + Blackdown ft Farrah "Iqbal's Groove" ("Margins Music" on Keysound Recordings)
Sollabong "Up and Down" (unreleased)
LD & Cluekid "untitled" (dubplate)
Dusk + Blackdown ft Teji & Farrah "Kuri Pataka" ("Margins Music" on Keysound Recordings)
Forsaken ft Joker and Ben Blackmore "Last Saloon Swagger" (Soulmotive)
Forsaken "Do You Know" (unreleased)
Zomby "Tst Me For a Reason" (unreleased)

You can still download last month's show HERE

Thursday, July 17, 2008

FWD>> and Rinse

Rinse & FWD>> August 08

The return of Pay As U Go!!!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

who's got?

The way I battle/I battle like I’m in Iraq.
The way you battle/you battle like you’re a beginner, star…


-- Ghetto, "Who's Got?"

So on the whole I don’t, and I won’t, be reviewing my own gigs: come along if you can, but me reviewing them just doesn’t feel right. However last Sunday was a special one for Dusk and I, as it was the launch party of our debut album at the very club that inspired us to make music.

Now I know when you stick your head over the parapet, you can expect to get shot at, and you know what? It’s a fair cop. But check this little beauty of an email I received on Monday…

Sunday set at FWD‏
From: XXX (XXX@gmail.com)
Medium risk: You may not know this sender.
Mark as safe | Mark as unsafe
Sent: 14 July 2008 19:04:11
To: martin_clark7@hotmail.com

Hey,
FWD was quite strange last night: One Man and Joker were fantastic - Joker's set really peaked up at the end, and I was looking forward to some Blackdown / Dusk beats to round it off perfectly.

I know you've been a leading proponent of FWD moving back to Sunday night, and returning to its dubby / non-wobbly roots, and I've got a lot of time and respect for that position. I also recognise that good DJs try to stay dogmatically true to their own brand and style. In your recent interview with Appleblim he said Sarah gave him the advice:

"don't play to the crowd [...] you're here because you have a certain
selection and taste"

However, like many things, I believe compromise is the way forward.
Yes, a DJ needs to carve a niche for himself, and develop a unique
sound. However, this does not preclude giving the crowd what they
want. It's about responding to the atmosphere and vibe in your own
way, which is personal, and yet pleasing.

Unfortunately, I have to say you really missed this mark last night.
Joker's set finished with that banging Roni Size remix, and the crowd
was really hyped up. We were all expecting a more laid back, dubby set from you, but to go from that energy down to nothing was disastrous. The final nail was not to grow the set's energy at all, leaving it at the "warm milk and slippers" level for the full 30 minutes that I stayed for.

I don't know if the metaphorical and actual lights were shining in
your eyes too much for you to see, but the dance floor ground to a
halt, with the only movement being that of people leaving.

I don't know if it was just a bad set or if you actually achieved what
you set out to do last night. If it's the former, then I wish you the
best of luck for next time. If it's the latter, then I'd ask you to
limit your crusade for a return to the roots of dubstep to your blog,
and when you're playing the closing set in a busy club full of paying
punters, give them what they want, because unfortunately, they don't like what you've got.

Well, well, well. Seems General Doughnut here thinks I should “give people what I want” by “limit[ing] your crusade for a return to the roots of dubstep to your blog.” Alright mate, you want to have it right here, you got it…

Let’s take it blow by blow. First para, nothing to see here: move on. Second para:

“I know you've been a leading proponent of FWD moving back to Sunday night, and returning to its dubby / non-wobbly roots, and I've got a lot of time and respect for that position. I also recognise that good DJs try to stay dogmatically true to their own brand and style.”

Ah OK, nice. We’re on the same page. DJs Lead and not follow. Moving FWD>>, never backwards eh?

However, like many things, I believe compromise is the way forward.
Yes, a DJ needs to carve a niche for himself, and develop a unique
sound. However, this does not preclude giving the crowd what they
want. It's about responding to the atmosphere and vibe in your own
way, which is personal, and yet pleasing.


Ah. Now hold on. So it’s about carving your own niche, being unique and responding in your own way, but somehow compromise is the way forward?

Now, let’s not pull any punches here so Junior Spesh here doesn’t get the wrong chicken in a box. When it comes to music, especially dubstep, I absolutely, 100% do not fucking want anyone who’s anyone right now to do any more fucking compromising. Now, of all times in dubstep, please could everyone just not compromise, whatsoever, about anything? Burial, Kode, Mala, Shackleton, Martyn, Zomby, Joker, Sully, Guido, Darkstar, Ikonika, Appleblim, Quest, Starkey, TRG: could you all please just do you, to the max.

There should be no pandering to Johnny-come-latelys, no getting bogged down in formula, no forgetting your lines when you get on the big stage, no policy U-turns now we got elected - otherwise what the hell was all that time spent in the wilderness for, when we could have fucked off to breaks and toured Australia’s superclubs with Tayo?

Cos this is the thing, right. Dubstep’s got it superclub moment right now – hand up even I’ve played a few of them myself this year (who would have thought it!). Dubstep’s finally got the audience it deserved, but if I’m honest, quite a few people who got us to the main stage have found themselves bricking it while looking into the bright lights.

It’s been a great source of personal pain to see innovators deviate from what made them exciting and vital. I’ve had to deal with it and move on and accept that things have changed. So those left who still have “it,” please: no aligning “compromise” with “forward,” or is that Forward>>, motion.

"Unfortunately, I have to say you really missed this mark last night."

OK fine, that’s your view: fair comment.

"Joker's set finished with that banging Roni Size remix,"


He didn’t actually, but I’ll let you off.

"and the crowd was really hyped up."

They weren’t actually – I was in it until 5 minutes before my set half worrying that they weren’t going off to “Holly Brook Park” and “Snake Eater” and feeling responsible because I’d booked him to play, but half thinking “fukkit, this is FWD>> and people are committed to exiting new sounds. Stop worrying.”

"We were all expecting a more laid back, dubby set from you, but to go from that energy down to nothing was disastrous. The final nail was not to grow the set's energy at all, leaving it at the "warm milk and slippers" level for the full 30 minutes that I stayed for."


Well done Police Chief Wiggum, better call for extra doughnuts and cancel the backup because this is a prize piece of detective work: you came to see a 2 hour set and judged its entirety on 30 mins. You going for detective of the month were ya?

Now sure, we were the last set of the night, which you might expect to come a little harder but consider the circumstances. It was a) Sunday night b) our own launch party c) a two hour set and d) Forward>> - a place committed to new sounds not full of “’ave you got ‘Cockney Thug’ mate?” types.

We started with an Appleblim anthem, Pev’s “Waterfalls remix,” a DJ you seem to rate. We mixed it into our own “Con/Fusion ft Farrah” which got rewound in Dub War in New York – and we were coming off the back of the Bomb Squad, not doing the warm up set. We played some of Grievious Angel’s 2step, not dis-similar to the garage you enjoyed Oneman playing, followed by my 2step remix of Martyn’s “Broken.”

I don't know if the metaphorical and actual lights were shining in
your eyes too much for you to see, but the dance floor ground to a
halt, with the only movement being that of people leaving.


But I’ll definitely give you it, it was a mellow start and we should have mixed quicker. So?

Here’s the thing right: if you want someone to rip the arse off it from the get go, go see someone else. Our thinking is twofold. Firstly, without the mellow, there’s no hard. Without the gentle, there’s no hectic. Without the quiet there’s no rowdy. Our sets build, because we don’t want to end up in some harder/faster contest that’ll lead dubstep into some 150bpm, zone-of-fruitless intensification (© Simon Reynolds) tear-out-competition that deadout genres like d&b now find themselves in.

Secondly - and this point is the main reason why I’ve chosen to blog this piece in public – this harder/faster issue goes to the heart of what dubstep promised to be and now is. Dusk and I were happy with the new dark swing era, the Velvet Room, Zed Bias, El-B, Horsepower era. Then Ghost imploded, Zed went broken and a new era began, which was dominated – production wise - by Skream, Benga, Mala, Coki and Loefah. And in came the halfstep era, which I admit, took some getting used to. For two or three years, literally no one but producers and friends of the DJs came to the gigs and the subzero temperatures of the dancefloor felt at first alien. But I began to appreciate them for being genuinely unique within dance music, that this form of urban music could exist that didn’t need to always “go off.” It was something unique at a time when a lot of other critics were saying dubstep was less than the sum of it’s influences.

Had no one come to the gigs indefinitely, it might have not worked out, but the concept was proven as Mala, Loefah and Coki brought scale to the equation, with the success of their night, DMZ.

Things have moved on from then, I fully appreciate that, and Dusk and I are not looking to win a halfstep contest these days: quite the opposite, as we’ve championed the return of percussive and 2step flavours, amongst other vibes yet have tunes that go far lower than these on the album – one has only one kick and one hat per bar! But I don’t see why this unique element in dubstep needs to be abandoned totally, just because the scene got popular, as truly unique elements are hard to come by, trust me

"when you're playing the closing set in a busy club full of paying punters, give them what they want, because unfortunately, they don't like what you've got"

If you’d stayed a little longer Wiggum, you’d have noticed our sets, as they tend to do, got a little wonkier and grimier. By the time I’d dropped the Durrty Goodz “Concrete Streets” accapella/Joker/grime anthems/UKG rollout mashup dub I’d spent week damaging my sleep patterns making last week, it was pullup time. “Focus VIP” and “Focus” did what they do and “Kuri Pataka” got the rewind.

Then we went old school, into Reach n Spin and then the pullup on the ultra deep Steve Gurley’s “Hotboys” vox which did something to Soulja I have never, ever seen. I double dropped Dizzee’s “I Luv U” into Skream’s “Request Line” which had hands reaching for both decks, as did the MAW mix of “Sounds of the Future”. By the time we rolled into “Splash’s “Babylon” and Omni Trio “Renegade Snares” I was literally, physically fighting people off to let the tune roll out, rather than get pulled again. And this isn’t me giving it the ‘bigun (NO EGO), this is simply a statement of the facts about our set.

So bruv, the way we battle we battle like we’re in Iraq: it’s going to be a long grind, but ultimately we got the big guns. The way you battle, you battle like you’ve been kept in the dark…

Monday, July 14, 2008

Farrah: Searching for 500 Faces of Islam

Farrah 13 - by Simon Toplis

I first met Farrah through this very blog, when I wrote about urban crime and she got in touch. We chatted and became mates before working out she'd grown up a few school years below Dusk.

Then one day she sent me the shittiest recorded loop of her singing an Indian scale. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. As a journalist you learn to trust this reaction instinctively and absolutely. I suggested the three of us try record some of her singing. She features on three of our album tracks.

But since then she's taken on the most amazing challenge for Channel 4. Here in interview, Farrah explains all...

Farrah 76 - by Simon Toplis

Blackdown: So Farrah, obviously you’ve sung on several of the tracks on our album “Margins Music”, but recently you’ve got yourself involved with a proper project: travelling the Islamic world for Channel 4 to find 500 men called Osama. So with that in mind, introduce yourself those unfamiliar with your voice…

Farrah: Well, I’m genuinely passionate about the electronic urban sounds that come out of this, undoubtedly the greatest city on the planet. By trade I’m a junior doctor, but I’ve always loved music and have sung since I was at school, writing with friends or more latterly, singing on electronic tunes created by a friend using software like Cubase. Though I am of Pakistani blood, I’ve never had any training in classical Indian music. On “Margins Music,” the vocals I’ve done are definitely reaching back to my subcontinental roots, but in a pretty freeform fashion. As an amateur, essentially, I’ve not really developed any sort of concrete vocal style so it was a refreshing challenge to sing to spec for “Margins Music” in terms of style.

B: Can you explain to everyone a little about your cultural, national and ethnic heritage? (Southend massive, stand up!)

F: My parents came over to the UK from Pakistan as economic migrants and I was born in Essex – Southend on sea. I grew up listening to jungle on the pirate radio and of course, was in the heart of the 2-step garage phenomenon in the 90s. I consider myself British and proud, but I’m lucky enough to have some extra cultural elements from my eastern parentage that are really positive – respectful attitudes towards the elderly, strong family values, impeccable hospitality. Ethnically, I’m pureblooded Punjabi with Kashmiri ancestry. Overall though, the part of my identity that is the strongest is my Britishness – perhaps not the sort of Britishness of stiff upper lips and twitching net curtains, but more the kind that you feel in the air of London town, unrivalled in its rich diversity and tolerance.

Searching for 500 Faces of Islam

Farrah with her camera man/producer Masood

B: You’re about to begin filming something quite unique for Channel 4. Explain the outline and it’s purpose of the trip you’re about to embark on?

F: I’m about to go round the world in 50 days looking for 500 people called Osama to ask each of them what they love. Why am I doing it? Cos I’m irritated at the way people see Muslims. I’m not doing this to chat about Islam – in fact, I’m personally pretty secular – but to show that people that belong to the Muslim community are the same as people everywhere else. We all want the same stuff – we love the same things. I guess it’s a sort of rehumanising project. One key thing I want to emphasise is that it’s going to be lighthearted in spirit – something that I feel has been lacking whenever Muslims are mentioned for some time. I’m sure it’s going to be a positive project, and at the very least, an incredible experience for me personally.

Now let me ask you a question: Do you know anyone called Osama? If so, please hit me up on the website: www.osamaloves.com

B: What are the countries you plan to visit and what are your expectations for each one?

F: Right now we’re planning to start in the UK and then take ourselves down to Northern Nigeria for the first foreign leg of the mission – I’m damn excited and my expectations are that it’s going to be hot, hilarious, delicious, thought-provoking and a heady whirl. I am very keen on getting some Nigerian threads inna area. Next time you see me I’ll be wearing one of those lush headdresses with a fishtail cotton print skirt and eating some fufu.

Farrah 70 - by Simon Toplis

B: Looking at the trip in its entirety, what are your expectations for the impact on you as a British Muslim for the journey?

F: I don’t think that this trip will have much of an impact on any personal religious or spiritual beliefs I have. At least, I hope it won’t turn me towards being more ritualistic about religion and spirituality. I do hope that it makes me a better doctor – I think that the more people you meet and the more diverse and broad your experiences are, the ability to empathise increases. I think I’ll be shocked by attitudes towards women in some areas. Luckily, being a doctor means that often in such societies one is treated as an honorary man, but not always. If I get sidelined for being a woman and people refuse to engage with me or talk to me on that basis, it’ll make me really cross. For 6 years now I’ve been regularly immersing myself in the Islamic world, mainly in the Middle East, and I find it an incredible enriching and vibrant part of the world, but I’ve never been to south east Asia or sub Saharan Africa. I’m hoping I will come away a wiser person with a little more depth.

B: Who are you most excited about meeting? Where are you most excited about visiting?

F: Honestly? Honestly?? I’ve gotta tell you the truth – I find most people utterly fascinating if you scratch the surface. Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone has tender secrets, dark secrets, hopes and desires, bizarre dreams, ambitions. Having met a couple of very famous people in my life, it’s become quite clear that what they have is really no more fascinating than an unknown Joe Bloggs with a comparatively pedestrian existence. The key is teasing out those tantalising nuggets and fascinating details that make up each person. I cannot wait to begin meeting ALL the Osamas, but I suppose the ones who are “featured” Osamas will be people with whom I can spend more time, get to know and bond with. I’m most excited about visiting our first stop – Nigeria!!

B: Conversely, what are your concerns for the trip?

F: I’m bloody scared of cockroaches. I have a penchant for sampling gnarly looking street food that may leave me confined to the water closet for days if I’m not careful. I loathe religious extremists and find it difficult to bite my tongue when I see people being unjust and unreasonable and forcing their opinions down other people’s throats.

Farrah 102 - by Simon Toplis

B: From this vantage point, pre trip, do you expect your sense of identity or outlook to be affected in any way at a result of the journey?

F: As a Londoner, one constantly lives in a microcosm of the world, so long as you venture across postcodes, so I’m constantly saturated in ethno-cultural diversity here at home without even venturing out of the city. I think the main change in my outlook is a heightened appreciation of the liberties we enjoy in this country compared to many parts of the world – e.g. places where Shariah law applies.

The other thing I think I’ll have a heightened sense of is how much anger and resentment there is towards our government for what we’ve done and joined with the Americans in doing around the world. We all know this is the case anyway, but coming face to face with the bubbling frustration and rage that so many people feel towards our government will be sobering and may make me a little bit more committed to making my voice heard on political issues back in the UK.

B: Do you expect to encounter much music on your trip?

F: Hell yes – I hope so. To start with Nigeria, the land of Afrobeat and Fela Kuti, the region of body-shaking West African drums, is a music lover’s wet dream isn’t it? I am ready to be educated about Nigerian music and hungry to hear it and maybe even help make some. I hope that if we get to the Middle East, I can have the unparalleled experiences of listening to the throaty, emotional, melodic sounds of Umm Kalthoum singing on the banks of the Nile with a shisha and a fragrant Turkish coffee.

Arab music gets a bad rep for being melodically uninspiring and unambitious but I think that the backbone of Middle Eastern percussion is such a pure and primordial aural pleasure that I’m willing to overlook any number of repetitive string section sweeps and boring song structures just to hear that Bedouin drum beat. Don’t worry Martin, I’ll bring back a selection of cross pollinating transcultural sample sources for your next project!

B: Damn girl, now you’re talkin’: I’m gonna hold you to that!!!

“Searching for 500 Faces of Islam” is due to air on Channel 4 this autumn. For regular updates check www.osamaloves.com including her daily journal.

Monday, July 07, 2008

"Margins Music" album launch @ Forward>>

Dusk + Blackdown album launch flyer

Dusk + Blackdown album launch @ FWD>>

Sunday 13th July
Foward>>, Plastic People, London

DJs:

Dusk + Blackdown (2 hour set)
Joker
Oneman


Dusk + Blackdown "Margins Music" (Keysound Recordings) is out August 18th featuring Durrty Goodz, Trim, Farrah, Target and more... For more info check here.

Thursday, July 03, 2008

P-fork flava

Dot Rotten

The death of Young Dot and the resurrection of 2step by Grievous Angel in my Pitchfork column this month.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

LDN005

Focus2 - Dusk - by Simon ToplisFocus4 - Dusk - by Simon Toplis
Focus3 - Dusk - by Simon ToplisFocus1 - Dusk - by Simon Toplis

Dusk "Focus"/Dusk + Blackdown "Akkaboo" (Keysound Recordings) is out now.

UPDATE: Keysound now on iTunes. Brap!!!!