An Introduction to Bristol Bass Pt 2
Rooted Records on Gloucester Road is an excellent place to pick up the best of Bristol's 12"s, boasting an amazingly comprehensive collection to dig through. Here's a selection.
Guido - Orchestral Lab
With an uncannily apt name, Orchestral Lab follows in the footprints of Joker as far as melodic emphasis goes, eschewing squealing synths for an array of electronic approximations of strings and brass that walk a line just the right side of cheese. 'Way U Make Me Feel' follows the same bass heavy r'n'b archetype at once looking to the future and the past with its '80s sax lines met by futuristic basslines that anchor it firmly in 2009.
Hyetal - Pixel Rainbow Sequence
Whilst the A side is a great appropriation of the Joker/Gemmy/Guido trifecta of "purple" dubstep from a very promising producer, its Rooted Records and Punchdrunk boss Peverelist's remix on the flip that is particularly intriguing. Mangling the original's colourful 8 bit blips into a kaleidoscopic gloop, baffling shuffle rhythms create a bewilderingly hypnotic effect that's more Stockhausen than sound bwoy.
Appleblim & Shackleton - Soundboy Punishments
Cheating slightly here with the inclusion of a compilation of 12"s, but it would be impossible to choose any single one anyway. Collecting the entirety of the Skull Disco label's output, Soundboy Punishments contains some of the most claustrophobic bass music ever committed to wax. Combining skeletal percussion with suffocating levels of sub bass, tracks veer from unsettling to zen-like. A fantastic remix by Ricardo Villalobos joins the dots between dubstep and techno and the whole thing walks a satisfyingly unclassifiable line between the two.
Guido - Orchestral Lab
With an uncannily apt name, Orchestral Lab follows in the footprints of Joker as far as melodic emphasis goes, eschewing squealing synths for an array of electronic approximations of strings and brass that walk a line just the right side of cheese. 'Way U Make Me Feel' follows the same bass heavy r'n'b archetype at once looking to the future and the past with its '80s sax lines met by futuristic basslines that anchor it firmly in 2009.
Hyetal - Pixel Rainbow Sequence
Whilst the A side is a great appropriation of the Joker/Gemmy/Guido trifecta of "purple" dubstep from a very promising producer, its Rooted Records and Punchdrunk boss Peverelist's remix on the flip that is particularly intriguing. Mangling the original's colourful 8 bit blips into a kaleidoscopic gloop, baffling shuffle rhythms create a bewilderingly hypnotic effect that's more Stockhausen than sound bwoy.
Appleblim & Shackleton - Soundboy Punishments
Cheating slightly here with the inclusion of a compilation of 12"s, but it would be impossible to choose any single one anyway. Collecting the entirety of the Skull Disco label's output, Soundboy Punishments contains some of the most claustrophobic bass music ever committed to wax. Combining skeletal percussion with suffocating levels of sub bass, tracks veer from unsettling to zen-like. A fantastic remix by Ricardo Villalobos joins the dots between dubstep and techno and the whole thing walks a satisfyingly unclassifiable line between the two.
Mimeon Docherty
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1 Response to "An Introduction to Bristol Bass Pt 2"
heard about the joker exclusion, but all the same strange selection of 12"s. guido's not all that great, pixel rainbow sequence is a strong tune (heard his new soul motive release as well?) but pev's mix is virtually unlistenable, and the majority of soundboy punishments is shackleton. even appleblim wasn't living in bristol in those days, and for me, his releases on other labels although more generic are better productions...
where's the pinch? where's the milanese, the phaeleh? where's the (good) peverelist?
p.s. going to applepips on yr birthday? lots of love jg x
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