I always find it fascinating how music progresses to suit. Nobody can say there’s not one kind of music out there that speaks personally to them. For years I’ve been playing African, Carribean and Latin music next to more UK orientated music never guessing for a second that they would naturally fuse into some of the genres that are proving to be highly popular now. Those infectious rhythms from Soca, Kuduro, Merengue amongst others have been translated perfectly by artists such as Buraka Som Sistema, Renaissance Man and perhaps my favourite of all Mumdance. For me it’s the perfect marriage of street sensibility, club mentality and carnival spirit and that’s precisely the attitude we intend to foster with Shanti Town. Check out his Global Bass Mix which he originally put together for Sinden on Kiss FM.
Download: Mumdance – Global Bass Mix
Perhaps one of the most widely misconceived musical genres of recent times is Dubstep. Everybody has their own idea of what they think it is and most of the time they’re only looking at a tiny part of the bigger picture. There’s such a diversity within the scene that it is impossible to pin down and like all good music some of it is nearly impossible to tie to that one simplified tag. Artists such as Brackles certainly have a place within the wider Dubstep umbrella yet they are a world away from the thumping wobble of producers such as Rusko.
Despite it’s depth and warmth it would be wrong to call it ‘grown up’ Dubstep, as that is far too condescending to the youth who have embraced it. This is not simply beats for dancing and getting wasted to but music for feeling and thought, this is the whole dancefloor experience for those who demand that little bit more from their night out. Brackles is at the forefront of forward thinking new British dance music artists alongside the likes of Ramadanman and Joy Orbison and is a regular on labels such as Planet Mu and Apple Pips. I’m really looking forwards to checking what he will pull out of the bag and if you haven’t ever caught him play before then the mix he recorded for XLR8R magazine should definitely get you excited for what might be in store.
Download: Brackles – XLR8R Podcast
This night is a collaboration between my own crew Chrome Kids who have been champions of Dubstep, future Hip-hop and Bass Music in general on our online blog and London club night Dirty Canvas, who are one of the city’s most established nights and fierce exponents of everything bass. Their line up have included everybody from Wiley to Foreign Beggars, and Zombie Disco Squad to Peaches Geldof. We shall be combining our passion for the music as well as our passion for the party and we shall both be representing behind the decks as well with Reecha from Dirty Canvas making a special appearance, having been well versed in rocking crowds at Fabric, Cargo and The End amongst many others, and us making one of our rare DJ appearances that has so far been limited to a few shows such as Glastonbury, Swn Festival, Chew The Fat and our Radio One appearances with Rob Da Bank and Bethan Elfyn. Here’s a mix for Fabric by Reecha and a Chrome Kids mix we recorded for Adam Walton on BBC Radio Wales recently.
[...] us, as we get all tropical and techy with just a touch of Dubstep and UK Funky under the banner of Shanti Town. We also have some incredible guests lined up for the first night in the shape of Mumdance and [...]