Facing a splinter not entirely unlike the clownstep/liquid divide drum & bass saw years previously, dubstep is firmly splitting itself into different camps: hypermasculine, chainsaw bass and an indefinable other.

What’s particularly interesting about this split is the migration many producers are taking to shake the connotations that dubstep’s begun to entail. Whether it’s dropping the BPM and taking on house or looking back to the garage that mutated into what we have today, 2009 has seen seeds sown for many exciting new ventures in bass.

One such producer carving a bold new path is unquestionably Untold. Whilst earlier productions were pleasant sub-loaded two-steppers, the Hessle Audio 12” ‘Can’t Stop This Feeling/Anaconda’ double header changed the game completely.

‘Can’t Stop This Feeling’ was a tense techy roller with a seemingly endless melodic ascension, but it was the flip that was the real star of the show. Finding its way into the record bags of everyone from Kode 9 to Crookers, it was the beginning of an amazing ‘09 upgrade of Wiley’s eskibeat  productions (see Wiley - ‘Icerink Instrumental’ for the prototype).

With a heavy sub bass kick drum hit at the beginning of each bar combining with subtle tuned percussive noises to provide an economic melody, the remaining space is filled with bizarre abstract  rhythms that beg you to discover new ways to dance.

Like a robotic flipside to Zomby’s unreleased eski tracks, Untold replaces colour with complex interlocking rhythms that have a surprising dancefloor success rate.

An EP doublepack is forthcoming on Hemlock but even more essential is  the accompanying remix 12” with the anthemic James Blake remix of ‘Stop What You’re Doing’, a track that surely would’ve surpassed Hyph Mngo’s hype levels had it been around this summer. The eski revival is sure to begin to show its influence over the course of the next year.

Simon Docherty