The Groove Thief

PhOniAndFlOrE present Dubsteady, an electro-dub odyssey that, while clearly prioritizing modern over classic, has echo and reverb hidden amongst its heavy basslines and varied influences. Opener “Disco Dub” fuses hip-hop and electro over a pulsating beat while “Scoopy” is synth-laden and equally relentless. The title track is a bit mellower, yet Injham’s well-layered remix, with its epic intro and almost glitchy drums, pushes the musical boundaries even farther. Closer “Capture” is more heavy electro-dub, a strong final statement on the sound that this prolific producer is championing.

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Dubmonger, a fellow purveyor, is showcasing his Dub Of The Living Dead EP. “Amalgam” starts the set off ominously, dark and atmospheric dub at its thickest. “Mountain Dub” is heavy and haunting; “Crumble” will surely inspire some dub aficionados to do some crumbling themselves, with its hazy echoes and teasing melodica. “9000 Year Lease” is representative of the latter half: slower and darker dub for the end of the world, a journey through apocalyptic depths of Romero-esque proportions. Put on your dub-goggles, and enjoy the freebie “Twenty Paces Dub” while you do:

Canada’s Dubmatix makes classic dub sound fresh.  His latest release, “Renegade Rocker Dub,” has a catchy main rhythm that alternates with spacier drum sections, making the horns a delight each time they return.  With almost 100 tracks on Soundcloud, there’s lots of buried dub treasure here, like “Deep Dark Dub” and the surprisingly funky “Pirate Dub.”  Reggae and jungle tracks abound as well, but it’s the hazy head-nodding tracks that are the most impressive:

From MountBlood comes what can only be described as cheerleader-death-techno.  Yes, this is dark music with light vocals, but the blend of the two is quite unique, needing to be heard to be believed.  At times poppy, at times angry, but then also energetic, haunting and just pounding, this music is definitely blurring genre lines - is this techno, dubstep, trance… all, or none?  Here are the first two installments of the Blood Sessions Mix series via Soundcloud, go ahead and bombard some speakers with bass and leave those silly genres alone:

DJ Vadim’s Live In Hawaii is a bass/dubstep mix, but probably should be called deepstep.  The basslines are thick and hearty, the dubbed out vocals and effects produce a hypnotic effect, and this set must have been simply massive on proper club speakers.  Vadim plays with all ends of the sound spectrum per usual, delving into jazz, dub, hip-hop, grime, soul, and reggae along the way, while riding a slow tempo until it explodes.  Features Joker, The Bug, Massive Attack, and Frank Ocean alongside plenty of originals (including a stripped-down & bass-heavy re-edit of the always epic “Terrorist”).