As you’re all no doubt aware, there was recently an earthquake in Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries. It left two million homeless and without access to any basic amenities. No food, clean water or medical supplies.
Hopefully you reached SOME night this time last week. The evening was put on to raise money for Haiti, and raised money, they did. £10,000 is the ball park figure for the night alone. There's an auction planned too. If you didn't go, we have the next best thing. In just a matter of days, Dubstep record label Betamorph Recordings created and organized ‘Dubsteppers for Haiti’, a compilation album which would rally the worldwide Dubstep community to join together to help relieve the suffering caused by this disaster.
‘Dubsteppers for Haiti: Volume One’ contains thirty tracks contributed by Dubstep artists from around the globe uniting for this cause. 100% of the royalties go to the relief fund as the retailers have agreed to wave their fees – showcasing real support for the project. Not only that, but all of the money raised is donated to AmeriCares which turns $100 into $3500 of aid.
In the first 5 days, the sales from Digital Tunes and Juno totalled over $1000, which means $35,000 of aid has been made available. It’s soon going to be available on the larger platforms Beatport & iTunes so keep that mouse finger searching and when you do find it there’s no excuse not to buy it. Here's a little help...
And here's a preview of what the compilation holds. Volume 2 has already got confirmed tracks from the likes of 12th Planet, Matty G, Roommate, Stagga and volumes 3 and 4 are on the drawing board. You should be proud to be part of something special.
"Hey everyone. I'm going to be mixing Dubstepper's for Haiti volume's 1 and 2 in their entirety on dubstep.fm this Thursday, January 28th at 11am PST. That's 2pm EST for those of you on the American East Coast, 19:00 GMT for those of you on the UK island, and 2:00am for all those in Haiti. Show your support by tuning in and popping in the chat where I'll be rolling the tracklist in real time."
On Friday we celebrate the end of exams, end of January (notoriously the worst month of the year) and pay day, in true style with a full on line up at Trouble Vision. But wait...
First we have the warm up at Superfilth which is held at 93Ft East with one of our favourite house producers at the minute, The Living Graham Bond. Many should recognise this name as we've been pushing him for a while now. It's free and therefore, if you live in London, there's no excuse to miss out on the opportunity to hear him smashing that booming Funktion 1 system. Here's one of his new ones which he let out a couple of weeks ago.
Everything Bad Is Good For You (TLGB Remix) - Kidda
If you missed the last posts I've collected all the tracks together to save you searching.
Geeneus the man behind Rinse FM has started giving away tracks from his dusty hard drive which probably wouldn't have see the light again. This one is from December 2004 and features No Lay on the vocal. Takes me back a couple of years, not 6 though!
Geelay No. 1 - Geeneus
While we're on the subject of old riddims. This one's had a makeover from our old time favourites Pirate Soundsystem who have given it some new bounce and 4x4 flavours.
RIP Groove (Pirate Soundsystem Remix) - Double 99
Think this one's been floating around for a while but for those that haven't picked it up - SBTRKT on point as usual with a sick garagey beat and cheerful synthy stabs.
Rekorda - SBTRKT
Lastly, FaltyDL provides us with a sub heavy edit of The xx's 'Islands'. It has a skippy beat with drifting vocals which leaves me in two minds whether this was made for the dancefloor or easy listening.
Kingdom has pricked my ears recently with his unique blend of styles. Funky/Electro/Techno/R&B, it's all there somewhere. This is where I think the American fidget scene is heading. Most of the tracks have female vocals, and all are supplemented with thumping beats underneath. US Funky? Definitely heavily influenced by the UK scene, working closely with the Night Slugs boys etc. Or maybe it's the other way around. I don't know! However, I know I like it...
United Groove (Kingdom Remix) - L-Vis 1990 [RUDEEE]
In celebration of his performance on the 5th of February as part of Fools Gold’s takeover of room two at Fabric, Kingdom has put together this promo mix for the occasion. Spanning genres from Funky to glitchy Electro-Tech, this one builds the hype for a big line up in their room.
Since the original light grey t-shirts sold out in medium and large within a few days and after such a big response to the jumpers we were rocking, we decided we'd get some more printed.
SOME night who we were fortunate enough to host a room at back in November, have teamed up with True Tiger and Crtl.Alt.Shift to bring you this insane line up in aid of the people suffering in Haiti.
If you're in London, this is not one to miss. All for a minimum of a £5 donation. £20+ gets you queue jump which is going to be a road block.
*UPDATED LINE-UP** Acts confirmed to appear at the event include:
Wiley (Island Records) Tinie Tempah (Parlaphone Records) Sway (Konvict Music) MistaJam (Radio1/ 1Xtra) Nihal (Radio1) JME (Boy Better Know) Heartless Crew Shy FX b2b Breakage with Donaeo Hatcha b2b N Type with Crazy D (Kiss100) Mystery Jets (DJ Set) MJ Cole Ruff Sqwad Marvell Riz Ahmed aka Riz MC Mz Bratt Brookes Brothers & Dynamite MC DJ Cameo (1Xtra) Loose Cannons (Kiss100) Doorly The Freestylers Logan Sama (Kiss) with P Money DJ Target (1Xtra) b2b Maximum (Boy Better Know) B Live Twin B (1Xtra) b2b Twin B (Island Records) Alix Perez Blame Sukh Knight b2b Scandalous Unltd. (True Tiger) DJ Chef (Rinse.FM) & Rod Azlan (Dub Police) Anti-Social (Quest, Razor Rector & Gangsta Boogie's Heny G) Reso The Others (Dub Police) Trolley Snatcha (Dub Police) & G Double Tomb Crew Terror Danjah b2b Elijah b2b Skilliam Tayo Seb Chew (YoYo's) DJ Chuckie George Lenton Rico Tubbs Gentlemans Dub Club - LIVE The Thirst - LIVE Debruit - LIVE Blue Bear (True Tiger) Chantelle Fiddy & Hattie Collins (Ctrl.Alt.Shift/RWD/I.D Mag) Klose One & Rattus Rattus (Urban Nerds) Nasha Experience Drums Of Death (DJ Set) Rootikal selectors: David Hill, Stuart Patterson & Ashley Beedle Zero T b2b Kharnage & Stamina (Drum & Bass Arena) K (Sly Fly Records) Slugz b2b Boyson
Jack Dixon has sent over a couple of beats for you readers' approval. We certainly approve. Having stepped into the future Dubstep/Garage seat we were taken for a grooving, bass driven ride to the sounds of a couple of storming productions. Warming bass, under, slightly repetitive at times, echoing R&B esque vocals mean these beats are perfect for the dancefloor or chilled home time lounging. This won't be the last you hear from Jack, especially round these parts, I can tell you that now. Yet another potential newcomer for 2010. It's heating up to be good year and we've barely started.
We Had A Better Life - Jack Dixon [RUDEEE]
Somebody Said They Saw You - Jack Dixon
Those of you into Techno, check his soundcloud for a mix and a new beat.
Heavyweight producer SkisM has put together this 60 minute mix which is full to the brim of squelchy, bass ridden filth made for the big rigs. Get hyped for Never Say Die's forthcoming release which features two Foreign Beggars' tracks remixed by the man himself and the likes of Excision, Baobinga and Affinity. Here's a low quality version of one of the tracks...
Get A Bit More (Demus & Randomplay Remix) - Foreign Beggars
"'Get A Bit More' is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Foreign Beggars album and SkisM's ridiculous remix is the track that inspired us to put this remix package together. In under a year, the mysterious SkisM has rapidly cemented himself in the darker side of the dustup scene, receiving support from top jocks like Chase & Status, Scratch Perverts, Freq Nasty, Rusko, Nero and Plastician. This remix is built around possibly the most venomous raps ever to emerge from the Beggar camp, with horror soundscapes and more bass noises than you can shake a stick at. It's no wonder that scene leader Reso has caned this one every set for the past 6 months!"
Lojik has just released a free EP with some of his older productions on. This shouldn't be taken in the wrong way though. These four tunes are four beautiful compositions encapsulating time and space. Calming atmospherics surround the simple but effective beats and send you off into some dreamy haze. Having already caused a stir with his Bob Marley & Santogold remixes, we're looking forward to more big things this year.
What he has to say about himself is a nice little read.
"Luckily my parents got me into music at an early age playing all sorts of instruments like violin and keyboards, and I finally settled on guitar. I had alot of experience writing music in a band but when that stopped I had to turn to something else to express myself musically. With electronic music you can create a whole track yourself so that really drew me to it.
The first time I heard dubstep was Midnight Request Line by Skream which really got me, it was so simple but deep at the same time. I really wanted to replicate that so I started making beats. As I progressed my more musical influences became evident and I started incorporating more garagey type sounds into my tracks. In terms of where I'm going I'd love to be able to really strip down my tracks so they sound amazing with the bare minimum elements - if you can make a track sound great with just bass, drums and a few samples you know you've made a good track!"
DOWNLOAD: Lovin' You EP
01. A World To Forget 02. Lovin' You 03. Sparks 04. Secrets
We're very proud to have been nominated for these awards. Please take a couple of minutes to return all the time and effort put into this blog by registering with Dubstepforum and placing a vote in the box next to our name. Not sure you even need to register. Go go go!
BONUS: As a voter you are entitled to a free £2 voucher to buy whatever track you like on Juno Download.
Everyone gotta move? Kastle has done just that. This is a side project from someone who has smashed the US bass/house scene in previous years with dancefloor bangers and huge basslines. He has seen where music is heading and taken a turn towards the deeper route, although obviously still heavily influenced by lots of bass. I'm all over this. With a tracklisting which boasts taste, sufficient amounts of bass and interesting drum patterns - Kastle has set himself up perfectly for a big year in 2010. Not forgetting to mention, the productions are top notch. With the project only really running since December, there's already a forthcoming EP on Starkey's Seclusiasis. Get following on dat twitter ting.
"I absolutely LOVE this Kastle stuff. It's amazing." - Starkey
Soldier Of Love (Kastle Remix) - Sade[RUDEEE]
DOWNLOAD: January 2010 Promo Mix
01. DJ Madd - I Know It's You 02. Tek-One - Wax Poetic 03. Wedge - Running Away (Guido Remix) 04. NastyNasty - Damn Girl 05. Zero 7 - Everything Up (Joker & Ginz Remix) 06. SDUK - Clunge 07. Julissa Veloz - Take Control (HavocNdeeD Remix) 08. Joker - City Hopper 09. Example - Won't Go Quietly (Kastle Remix) [RUDEEE] 10. Kano - Rock N Roller (Starkey Remix) 11. NastyNasty - No Names 12. Robin Thicke - Sex Therapy (12th Planet Remix) 13. Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets (Pariah Remix) 14. Kastle - Fitter Happier (Radiohead Cover) 15. Alix Perez - 1984 16. Instra:Mental - Watching You 17. D:Bridge - Wonder Where 18. Subwave - First Time 19. Well Being - Without A Doubt - Robert Manos - Silver - 20. Mutt - Conversations ft. Kevin King 21. Burnkane - You Will Forget ft James J K Hughes 22. ill.gates & Filastine - Waiting For Initiation 23. Wax Tailor - We Be ft Ursula Rucker 24. Sade - Soldier Of Love (Kastle Remix) 25. Izaak Stern - DF Tripper 26. Jogger - Nice Tights (Nosaj Thing Remix) 27. Uffie ft. Mr Oizo - MCs Can Kiss (Starkey Remix) 28. Geeneus - Yellowtail VIP 29. VV Brown - Unity (Cooly G Remix) 30. Shavana - Feeling Shy (1QY & F@Z Remix) 31. Mosca - Square One (Greena Remix)
I wonder whether Udachi & AC Slater will follow...!
I was only thinking to myself the other day that there was a distinct lack of good music around at the moment. Releases seemed to have got stuck in the snow just like everything else and all the free stuff is wank. This is probably not true just me not being grumpy. However I did pick up "Arabian From Luzzi" (which might be named wrong) by Sec which has been soothing the craving. On the snow topic - I don't understand how our whole country goes into shutdown with a bit of the white stuff. Everywhere else can cope. And why didn't the weathermen see it coming weeks ago. That's their job isn't it? Perhaps it's just too difficult for them.
Anyway, B. Rich has managed to bring the goods to the table with this enjoyable remix of Tiesto. Good use of the vocals and not over done it with the bassline. Synthy big room sound but also suitable for lounging. He's suggesting this could be called Trancestep - sounds good to me.
Knock You Out (B. Rich Remix) - Tiesto [RUDEEE]
Wachs Lyrical who we featured a while back recently gave away his Bloc Party remix which he did with Squidface. Not Wachs' normal style this but one to pull out the bag at a party. Squelchy bassline which then ends up in some bouncy drum n bass. It's had big recognition from Kissy Sell Out who said, "Normally I do an edit of the tracks so they fit better in my sets but this one's just fine the way it is." It's even still in his top 5 tracks sent to the Kissy Klub. On the subject of Kissy, has anyone seen how nuts he is at DJing? Probably not very appealing to most but you can check it on his myspace just above the Beatport shop bit and... I heard his Toddla T remix on the radio the other day and then found it's already been given out. Bouncy bassline under a big original vocal.
One More Chance (Wachs Lyrical & Squidface Remix) - Bloc Party
Rice & Peas (Kissy's Drum n' Bass Mix) - Toddla T
Lastly, there was some twittering the other day about an unreleased number from the old time favourites Aesop Rock. Quality isn't great but tis worth a listen.
Jinx Planet - Aesop Rock
Oh and a bonus - Senseless Records are giving away a old track by Sarantis on their bandcamp. All you need is your email address. It's worth it. You remember that first track on our first mix? Same label.
Many of you may know Marina Faib and therefore this does not apply. But... for those that haven't come across this Russian talent - you've been missing out. Drawing influences from Drum and Bass to the darker deeper end of Dubstep she brings us just what you'd expect but with an heir of quiet perfectionism. A prime example of this is in her last two mixes. Part 1 was in one of my top mixes of last year. There's no self hype but there's huge hype over these mixes and there's a reason for that. Enjoy...
DOWNLOAD: Worn Out Places [promo mix]
01. Faib - Cold Rain [Mindset dubplate] 02. Lostlojic & Faib - Breath Of Spring 03. Faib - Whisper of Trees [Ranking dubplate] 04. Faib - The Silence 05. Faib - Somewhere Far Away 06. Faib - One Love [Mindset dubplate] 07. Okapi & Faib - Nirvana 08. Faib - Ticking Clocks [Ranking Records] 09. Synkro & Faib - Inhale [Smokin Sessions] 10. Faib - Invisible Light [Mindset dubplate] 11. Faib - My Game 12. Faib - Thrust In 13. Faib - Broken Mirror [Mindset dubplate]
Then, last week I was delighted to see she'd dropped part 2 just before Christmas.
DOWNLOAD: Worn Out Places (part II) [unreleased dubplates only]
01. Moving Ninja - Tunnell 02. Innasekt - Cluster [forthcoming Boka] 03. Phaeleh - Low 04. Ruckspin & DLR - Conspiracy 05. Moving Ninja - Silo 06. Savior - Left Behind 07. Indigo - Your Not Alone 08. Merkabah - Sunspot 09. Ruckspin & Quark - Roman 10. Heinali - Only You 11. Lostlojic & Bisweed - The Overworld 12. Sneer - Bad Blood [forthcoming Amecca] 13. Savior - Burst Into Fire 14. Irrelevant - Grains (Myrkur Remix)
Check her other productions here, another name to watch in twenty ten.
To celebrate the Elevator Music album launch tonight in Room 3, Fabric are hosting this mix which Untold has done for Sinden's Kiss FM show. They're pushing the sound of 2010 as much as anyone and props to them for that.
Sonic Router is nearly 1 year old and to celebrate they're putting on a line up which can only be described as forward-thinking, exciting and top notch - sums up the blog pretty well too. I'm well jealous that I can't make it to Bristol that weekend. All you that live there have no choice!
We been slack on the tune front recently and I know that's what goes down best so... I'm going to start with this sick edit from SBTRKT who is quickly rising up the list of highly rated producers but that's not the only reason to start - the title fits perfectly for what you are about to receive. A portion of 2010 in sound waves. You may also recognise it from our latest mix if you've been so lucky as to hear that.
Timeless (SBTRKT Edit) - Goldie
A freebie from VVV who I'm reckoning is going to have a huge year. Consistently pushed out decent beats in '09 through the dubs section of Dubstepforum (which is now waste for those who haven't already realised) and I now believe he has some stuff coming out this year sometime. Head over to the myspace for some previews. He leans in a different direction to normal with this one but perhaps this is also appropriately named.
Learning Curve - VVV
Chesus & Rodski have joined Tony Blitz and J.D.S and are now known as C.R.S.T. There's a promo mix from them over at Chrome Kids if you're interested in more stuff by them. Otherwise this future garagey 2-step beat is soothing my ears and even inducing a slight nod of the head. Riddim.
Me n You - C.R.S.T [RUDEEE]
Night Slugs' first release is a big one, 2010 is set to be a big year for those boys. For full info on the release, check here. If you don't know what Night Slugs is, or who it's run by or what sounds they're pushing then a good read of that blog should bring you up to date. Or you could start with this Funky number, Mosca on the original, Greena on the remix. Mosca's 'Nike', also on the EP was recently found in this list...
Square One (Greena Remix) - Mosca
Lastly, Nosaj Thing has also set himself up for a big year - with a debut album out last year some may say he's already a had big one but I feel another step up in the coming months. Originality doesn't seem to escape his production skills. Dreamy evening sounds complentmented by floating vocals. One for the bedtime playlist perhaps?
Heaven Can Wait (Nosaj Thing Remix) - Charlotte Gainsbourg
Excited for what this year might bring us? I am. A lot. What's the vote on?
(For those struggling to read, please use "ctrl" & "+" on your keyboard or "ctrl" & mouse wheel - we are in the process of sorting it!)
Jon, tell us a little about Boka, started in 2005 sometime, what made you start a label? I’m sure you’re very proud to have Distance as your 001.
Boka Records was originally started by Jono (Professor JS) back in 2005, I took over the label at the end of 2008, Jono retired early I guess and has gone in a different direction, travelling etc. so it’s been my first full year running the label. I went to school with Jono in Southampton although we didn’t really know each other at that point - I hooked up with him via S.T. Holdings where I work; they’re also responsible for distributing Boka among many other labels.
As a label owner it’s great to be involved with a label who have always been about uncovering and exposing new and exciting artists, Boka were one of the early Dubstep labels so I hope to think that the releases we put out there have a degree of authenticity. Distance has gone on to be one of the more high profile Dubstep DJs which is wicked.
Has the growth been exciting since you took over the label or has it been a struggle but with a light at the end of the tunnel?
Got into a rhythm fairly quickly once I took over the label, the first release I put out with Boka was the 16bit – ‘In The Death Car EP’, which in some ways was a risk at the time because it was an all-out aural assault, Boka has always been a little more subtle than that haha, but that was my aim with Boka once I took over, to vary the output and incorporate the heavier stuff as well as the lighter and deeper styles. This will become even more apparent in ‘10.
I guess you could say every release is a tunnel with a light at the end of it, my job is to make the tunnel as long and as bright as possible... that’s not a euphemism or a David Brent quote by the way haha.
Current excitement in the Boka HQ is the Chainsaw Calligraphy remix package. How did this come about? The original caught a lot of people’s attention back at the start of last year – one of your bigger releases?
Yeh... The Death Car release was big, the hype on the internet got a little crazy on that one, took me by surprise. I didn’t press nearly enough records for a start. There was always this thing with how to format the original release (‘Chainsaw Calligraphy’ originally featured on the now deleted ‘In The Death Car EP – BOKA018), I always knew that ‘Chainsaw Calligraphy’ was gunna be the big one so it kind of hurt to put it on the B-side on 33rpm, but the three tracks together as an EP worked so well and chainsaw seemed too short a tune to stick on it’s own on the A. The EP was a real strong showcase for them as producers at the time, these days they’re just about to go on their 2nd US tour which I’m stoked about for them.
The remixes of Chainsaw was inevitable, I suppose, just took a long time to nail em down. I was always gunna ask Jakes to do a remix, he was the obvious guy to remix the tune, coz eeez a sicko!! He’s given it that signature Jakes sound with a sick second drop so big ups to him.
16bit gave the parts to PropaTingz like a year ago, I didn’t even know he was gunna be doing the remix until he sent me his version, blew me head clean off, it’s epic, more of a reinterpretation than a remix, but releasing loads of remixes sounding the same would be pointless…
The Kanji Kinetic one was totally last minute, originally it was gunna be a Jakes remix with the re-release of the original on the flip but once PropaTingz delivered his it was decided to make it a 2 part release and get Kanji to do a mix on a 4x4 flex, he’s totally reinvented and reinvigorated the original tune! It works nicely alongside the re-release of the 16bit original mix on the flip, which has been re-mastered and cut loud on 45rpm due to popular demand.
I prefer 16bit’s deeper productions which some are rumoured to be forthcoming with Boka? Otako, what’s news with this?
16bit have got some sick deeper more minimal hip-hop and techno influenced beats, some of them were sent to me soon after chainsaw calligraphy etc, I think they worried that ‘In The Death Car EP’ would typecast them sort of, they are just as prolific with the deeper bits, check out their tune ‘Serum’ which I think is coming out on Mindset soon.
Otako should be coming out in March/April with either 2 tunes on the flip or a bunch more, possibly as a double pack.
There seems to be so many new labels popping up all the time, artists creating their own etc? What’s the advantage releasing with Boka?
I’ve had to ask myself this question and I guess from an artist’s point of view when sending music to labels they probably have a few labels that they aspire to release with or have been influenced by their back catalogue, so it’s great to receive music from these kind of people, Soundcloud is starting to annoy me a little though, I refuse to listen to demo’s that have been sent to over two thousand people….
But yeh, there’s a hell of a lot of labels around at the moment, and fairplay to all of them it’s not an easy job. I just hope that vinyl will survive through the massive influx of digital only labels and people will still want to buy tangible pieces of music. With labels like Boka and I guess people like Pinch at Tectonic and Mala at DMZ/DEEP MEDi etc etc artists get the opportunity to work with a label who captured that sound at an early point in its’ development and be apart of that history... and, hopefully make a stash of cash too haha.
Have you any advice for the smaller labels?
Just keep releasing music that you are passionate about and spreading your message, don’t turn your back on the physical product and push your artists and in turn the label in the direction they need to go.
How do you select what’s going to be released, do you approach artists or do they approach you. How would an artist not in the know approach you for a release? (Obviously not through Soundcloud as mentioned above!)
Most tunes these days come either through aim or to an email address, try to listen to everything, but that isn’t realistic a lot of the time. I’d obviously approach artists direct if there’s a particular tune that I’ve heard from them.
I prefer to receive max 4 tracks of an artist’s best material especially from those I’m not familiar with at the time, sending a zip with like 20 tunes inside gives the wrong impression generally, I’m more of a fan of artists who employ the belief of ‘quality over quantity’, if you’ve got 20 top class tunes then that’s different, but a well-respected producer is unlikely to have 20 unsigned dubs on his/her computer unless they’ve been tucked away in a shed for four months grinding it out without any external stimuli...
You can catch me on aim at ‘bokarecords’, and the generic email is ‘info(at)bokarecords(dot)co(dot)uk’.
Views on Vinyl vs Digital?
I’m still a vinyl junkie but Boka also releases digitally, usually to coincide with the vinyl release. It has to be done these days, if you don’t you’re a mug because apart from anything else people will try to get the tracks for free and the label owes it to their artists to pay them properly and cater for everyone’s buying habits.
And... piracy, this must be a label owner’s biggest fear? With digital becoming more and more dominant and file sharing like it’s a teen rule to be cool – how do you cope? Artists and others can argue that the main revenue is from playing out so the more people that know their name and come to the shows the better but...
The problem right now is that it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to sustain a small underground label, it’s totally do-able and artists make a return but not nearly as much as they would have say a decade ago, if people want labels to release music they are going to have to support it, but I suspect there’s quite a lot of people don’t care who releases the music and it’s all about the artist themselves which I suppose is fair enough, but I don’t really want Boka to be ‘one of those labels’.
I do get offended when certain sites post up 320s of Boka releases without asking permission, that’s totally out of order but I guess it’s the culture we’re in, people want things instantly and meanwhile there seems to have been generated a hive of people who earn status points for uploading and downloading other people’s pieces of work.
Artists who are used to making a living from their music may find they aren’t able to do that anymore and are forced to either do something different, treat it purely as a hobby OR sell their souls to satan and produce a style of tune purely because it’s popular at the time, which causes the saturation.
If a record label was an Art Dealer you probably wouldn’t walk into an exhibition and walk out with a painting, unless you’ve either bought it or stole it. But at the same time there’s an argument that people who steal music would never consider buying it in the first place, you just gotta cater for everyone’s buying habits and do the best you can for the artists.
Since you’ve released a couple of Emalkay EPs, three in fact – was there any talk of 'When I Look At You' being a Boka release?
Emalkay spoke with Gary Caspa who is responsible for Dub Police, Storming Productions and Sub Soldiers - he’s built up something great there and I have full respect for him, Emalkay is going on sick right now and congratulations to him for the success of ‘that tune’. So, No, is the answer to that one ;)
What’s your favourite Original/Remix of 2009? And, any artists to look out for in ‘10?
Yeh probably ‘Maybes’ by Mount Kimbie that came out on Hot Flush, that was an absolutely sick EP, also ‘Terror Planet’ by Truth on Aquatic Lab that was a rough beat, I’ll be working with them on a release this year. Anything by Falty DL he’s been my favourite producer this year.
As for next year, look out for DJ Madd, he’s been making waves recently but I hope 2010 will be his year. Orphan101 from Bristol is gunna be big next year too, he’s got some bits forthcoming on Apple Pips and Saigon Recordings soon. And look out for Addison Groove, he has got some sick beats forthcoming on Loefah’s Swamp 81 label, sounds like a cross between El-B and early Loefah.
With some massive releases already under your belt, what can we look forward to in 2010? Any artists you’ve got your eye on?
Chainsaw Calligraphy Remixes parts 1 & 2 are both out on January 18th, on vinyl and digital so go cop that. Then soon after will be the ‘Jack Cates’ EP from JSL who’s based in Denmark and co-runs the Kraken Recordings label, three tracks on that one, all heavy hitters. After that will be some Von D and DJ Madd collaborations, something a little lighter but still bass-heavy. There’s another 16bit EP in the pipeline, a release from New Zealand’s Truth, and a cheeky Ikonika remix of DJ Madd’s ‘Flex’d’ which I’m excited about. I’ll also be working with Vista & Presence Known on a release and Matt-U & Riskotheque, plus a whole lot more I’d imagine... I’ve got my eye on a few artists, but I’ll continue to view them from afar with binoculars and a fake beard for the time being. Haha!
Anything else to add?
Y’all can check out the Boka Blog to keep up to date with goings on and recently I’ve also started a Facebook group, which you can find here. I’ve started doing mixes showcasing new releases as well as tunes that have influenced Boka and keep my passion alive for the music, available on the blog first, next one should be coming in Jan/Feb, and it would have been earlier if my computer didn’t crash right at the end of an hour long mix the other day...
Big up the Hush House.
Thanks Jon, keep doing what you're doing, we love it!
Hush House aims to bring you the freshest beats from many a varied underground genre, with a focus predominantly on dubstep - back in December we felt that there was a lack of somewhere providing what we wanted. We started out sourcing the best tracks, not necessarily the newest. We decided to share them with our friends and the best way to do that was the blog. From there the growth has been organic, but no doubt what brought you to be reading this is good music. We’ve had a bumpy ride but have learnt huge amounts from our mistakes and as we grow with the scene we now have strong views on music piracy. Many argue that piracy is good for whatever reason but over the coming months we aim to stamp into the pirates that buying music is good for the soul. We will still provide you with the music which we hope tickles your fancy, most of which as you know from the site is free.
Here at Hush House HQ we’ve had a busy and very exciting year. Having only really been running since last January we’re very honored to be nominated for ‘Best Website’ in the dubstepforum awards alongside the likes of GetDarker, FACT Magazine and the wonderful Sonic Router. We will let you know when voting commences but in the mean time – spread the word and support your favourite website.
In other news our first tees went on sale in September, medium and larges selling out in just a few days so we thought we’d get a few more of those sizes for any who missed out. We decided to get some darker ones as well this time, in Charcoal. Also jumpers, after such a big response, have arrived and will be up for sale in the next few days. The perfect way to spend that Christmas money. Everyone likes to look fresh at the start of the decade.
Another topic is quality – perhaps you don’t like every tune that is posted but no two people are the same. We try our hardest to make sure that the quality of production, mixdown and bit rate is as high as possible. Listening to music should be as it was in the producer’s monitors. We don’t post vinyl or YouTube rips and near enough always have permission from the artist. It’s their music, not ours. You should have a pair of decent speakers/headphones on your "to buy" list if you’re still listening on computer/laptop speakers or iPod earphones. It’s all about the quality of speakers, and playing it as loud as possible!
Those who have sent tracks in, keep sending them - we love hearing your stuff. We try and give feedback as much as possible but we're sorry if there's no reply sometimes. The inbox flows pretty quick and time is mostly of the essence.
So where will we be in another years time?
We’ve got lots of ideas cooking in the Hush House oven, some will be revealed, some may need a little more time and will have to bake a bit longer. Rest assured we’re excited and hope you will be when we tell you about them.
Finally, a big thanks to everyone who has joined us on our musical departure. It’s been enjoyable to watch the download numbers going through the roof; especially the mix series, (which takes a lot more effort than it might appear). The response that it’s had is nice and reassures us that it’s all worth while. Suggestions for future artists are welcome, we always note feedback and advice – we endeavor to find everything good but occasionally miss some things... occasionally!
To back that up here’s our highlights – we’re not going to give you lists and tables because for one, they’re too difficult; but also there’s been way too many tracks and remixes which we’ve loved this year... but as a current overview:
Producer – Breakage
New Producer – Synkro
Best Mixes – Phaeleh, Faib, Kryptic Minds, Silkie
Most Overlooked – Rob Sparx
Our top three (four, I forgot someone!) introducing posts:
