judging by the amount of bootlegs listed on the release sheets, the majority of dubstep producers appear to be running out of ideas. or maybe they are just having fun. or maybe i just don't like the bass-heavy rave stuff. anyway, there's plenty of amazing music being made at the fringes, and two of the most interesting proponents cleared customs in dublin airport yesterday, thanks to the reach crew.
peverelist began with some trademark intricate, detailed rhythms, moving into two-steppy territory before unleashing the bass (which was what most of the crowd wanted). he finished with a bootleg of 'ring the alarm' and a cracking ragga-tinged number that owed as much to breakbeat as it did his usual form.
2562 is, alongside shed, one of the most interesting producers at the moment. unfortunately, his dj skills don't match his studio ones. still, the tunes were strong: beginning with shed's remix of 'tantakatan' into martyn's forthcoming remix of shed's 'another wedged chicken', he alternated between the deeper berlin/detroit-influenced stuff and a number of excellent, low-key, percussive two-step/tech variations. but the programming was pretty poor, and - for some reason - the sound deteriorated significantly for his set (of which i heard 50 minutes).
(vinyl conspiracy theorists will delight in the fact that peverelist was using mostly wax, but 2562 used CDs. 'that's the 15%' according to my wise man donal...)
mcs and rewinds... the former worked well with the bristol man's set -
which makes sense, given the sound and roots of his sound - but i felt
that huisman's turn would have been better served with a mute button:
not that the mc overdid it - he's one of the better ones i've heard -
it's just that 2562's sound doesn't lend itself to toasting. it's less
about the wobble, more about the groove. consequently, it's
hard to get totally immersed in those pads and chords and clicks and hisses when someone's
reminding you to have 'big fuuuunnn...' every now and again. and as for
rewinds? nope, not for me.
