DO NOT PLAY THIS VIDEO!
cos this man will pop up in your brain
everytime you hear a dubstep tune

One of the best things about dance music is a fat old bassline and seeing as the best things come in threes…  Here at Punx HQ we are fond of melody, we appreciate the need for structure and form, and a song WILL make ladies sing and dance.  But we know the best girls… now they like rhythm :)

I’m not talking ill-considered wobbly basslines thrown over a rock or rave sample for the sake of, nonsense Herve copycat cliches, or fidgety rising rasping guff that has no sense of rhythm.  I’m thinking grooves that lock you, three-dimensional glue like structures that seem to stick in every corner of your brain, and that special frequency that pumps lead into your chest.

Here’s three producers and three new tracks that force a smile on my face like the victim of a Chelsea FC hooligan.  Three that will certainly be hitting the airwaves when the Punx take to the stand.

Paul Weller ‘Wake Up The Nation’ (DJ Zinc Remix) - Zinc has long been rocking my World since my early adventures in Drum & Bass.  Most notably for tracks like ‘Super Sharp Shooter’ but also forgotten classics like “Reach Out’ and ‘Casino Royale’ and then of course his whole Bingo Beats years.  Still on form some fifteen years later, first with the Crack House EP and now this, a remix of Paul Weller!  Typically great rhythms, fantastic b-line and nothing short of what i expect when i see that name appear on a promo pack.

Delphic ‘Halycon’ (L-Vis 1990 Remix) – this guy in my opinion seems to be doing no wrong.  I’m seeing a really exciting rebirth in garage 2-step soaked rhythms and thankfully people have dispensed with the pervasive plastic beats of early noughties UK Garage.  L-Vis 1990 is right up there on the frontline.  Alongside cohort Bok Bok with their Nightslug parties, basslines have never sounded so exciting.  Often twisted and unexpected there are no cliche fidget wobbles and squelching here.  Just hard-hitting filth straight from the gutter.

Claude Von Stroke ‘Monster Island’ (Christian Martin Remix) - Claude von Stroke’s not really somebody you’d necessarily associate strictly with ‘bass’ but a pioneer nonetheless.  ‘Who’s Afraid Of Detroit’ made it ok for a dropping bassline to be played in a house club and his remix of Luke Solomon’s ‘Ghosts’ was pure ‘tear-out’ drum & bass reinvented.  His label Dirty Bird has a steady rate of releasing subtle little bass-fueled bangers and this, the latest is just brilliant.  Taking on all the themes i love in jungle/drum & bass; sinister overtones, tribally beats, and a heads down stepper basslines.  It WILL freak some people when we play this out but i for one can’t wait.

No YouTube link on this one but you can check it here

Snoop Dogg – Snoop Dogg Millionaire
Feat. Tanvi Shah of Slum Dog Millionaire (Dirty Version)
[mp3 zSHARE]

Dupstep breakthru!!! Snoop hangs with the jai ho kids and comes out of india with chase n status and blows up the planet.. Big ups to doggystyle records and let’s keep gettin wilderrrrr. [via Mad Decent ]

Dubstep might be the genre that everyone’s talking about at the moment, but unless you’re on the scene, you might struggle to describe how it sounds.

There are two primary characteristics. Firstly, it’s driven by a high-tempo bassline (138-142bpm as a standard), but with syncopated, shuffling beats that appear to play back at half tempo and loop over two bars instead of one.

And secondly, as the ‘dub’ part of its name suggest, it’s largely instrumental.

As with any style of music, though, these things aren’t written entirely in stone. Sometimes you get vocals; increasingly, you get MCs performing over the top; the basslines aren’t always fast; and very occasionally you get a four-four kick drum.

These are the basics – now let’s look at some specific things you can do to improve the quality of your dubstep productions. [read more @ musicradar.com ]

Version Big-Fi vs New Order & Feral [.rar]
01. Version Big-Fi vs New Order – Blue Monday
02. Version Big-Fi vs Feral – D’Skasting
03. Version Big-Fi vs Feral – D’Skasting (Big-Fi Dub)

Dubtronic/Dubstep/Dub/Bass virtual vinyl with three atomic cuts
possibly the post of the month?

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