BellaBassFly is YOUR SOURCE FOR THE FRESHEST UNDERGROUND CULTURE DAILY! Only the BEST GLOBAL MEDIA! Global press, Entertainment , Dance , Film , Art & Technology.
BellaBassFly provides exclusive NEW content from the most cutting edge platforms on earth. Celebrate everyday life with BellaBassFly! FREE DOWNLOADS DAILY!
WARNING: MATURE CONTENT
Nothing always leads to something… Eventually. The blank canvas. The empty mind. The quiet room. Space waiting to be filled with thought, ideas, colours, shades, vibrations. Vibrations like the ones Caspa has been firing out on the regular since late 2016. One track head shots, each and every: focussed, firm and resolute in their underground nature and energy, they’ve been some of the darkest, heaviest, grittiest club tracks the dubstep pioneer has ever released.
Cue: ‘The Nothing’, a spacious, precision-measured step into the dubspace abyss, it’s Caspa at his deepest, moodiest and realest. With its stark, painfully poignant vocal sample the message is clear: forget the trappings, the frills and unnecessary displays of perceived ownership and focus on what’s real and dear to you… Not dear in price. Driven by ten-ton kicks, a croaked-out grainy bassline slurs and the hum, slides and pops of pistons and glitches ‘The Nothing’ is roomy yet crammed with detail and attention. Every aspect of it is considered and sculpted with kick-ass systems and vibe-drenched dancefloors.
Many men expect something for nothing. Men others get so caught up in the nothing they’ve forgotten why we’re here. For Caspa “The Nothing” is something to remind us why we have to fight the distractions and the bullshit for what we know is real and true in life. Something Caspa’s done his whole career…
In its twenty five year reign, Ram Records has seen a huge selection of LPs grace its back catalogue of music. These releases have helped elevate artists into ground breaking careers, demonstrating how Ram is both a key player and tastemaker within the world of drum & bass. And up next on the imprint is the debut album from Frankee, an artist in the truest sense of the word, who has paved his way from sister-label Program to delivering some of the most exciting released within the Ram discography. He now presents a single which nods to his effortless versatility, one spearheaded by a production standard he’s worked on meticulously for years, now paying off through formulaic summer anthems such as ‘In Your Eyes’.
Whether it’s the jugular slicing sounds of ‘Gully’, or the picked-out melodies of tracks like ‘Deep Down’, Frankee continues to impress with his diverse set of records. He returns to the softer end of his musicality with ‘In Your Eyes’, featuring Charlotte Haining’s peaking voice overture. Frankee’s hard-hitting drums sit beneath the mix and help give it an added weight, although each flowing instrumental adds to Charlotte’s blended vocal talent. With each element, the record orchestrates into yet another demonstration of Frankee’s imperative song writing skill.
‘In Your Eyes’ is an exciting signpost of what Frankee’s forthcoming album will pedestal. Not only will it celebrate his ability to merge his skill set with likeminded vocalists, but it’ll also showcase a sound spectrum which is intimidating for even the most longstanding artist. His album is quickly approaching and with it comes another monumental part of Ram’s history.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Drumsound & Bassline Smith’s rough-edged alter-ego 2DB make an appearance. In fact, the last time the Technique bosses’ slightly more evil doppelgangers showed up was in 2015, when they delivered the masterpieces of filth Terrahawk, Check Out the Bounce, and Quaalude. So, have those two years away dulled the raucous sensibilities of the 2DB style?
Well, Leave opens with some dancehall-tinged chords and a pop-soul vocal that might lull the casual listener into a very mistaken sense of security. But then there’s that tom-roll into building kicks and pitch-bend madness that signals it’s time to brace yourself for a major onslaught. When it’s time to switch up the mood and raise the energy in the dance, this is going to be an essential tool.
The powerhouse drop is where we see that 2DB griminess come into full effect. That metronomic battleaxe strike of the mid-range bass, supported by chest-rattling sub and those monstrously stomping drums is going to hit any rave like an earthquake. This is insistent, driving, dancefloor music that’s made by people who know exactly what deejays want on their USBs. In short, it’s an absolute beast of a tune.
It’s clear that the 2DB moniker is the cloak that Drumsound & Bassline Smith to hide their dark side. Of course, they’ve got all the production skill, the technical ability, and musicality a producer could want. But, in tunes like this, they also get to show off undiluted raw savagery. And DnB dancefloors love it.
Youngman’s been doing 2017 properly. You’ll have heard him on Radio 1 featuring on tracks by the likes of Phantasy & Macky Gee and Wilkinson. You might well have caught him lyrically killing a rave or a huge festival stage. And you’ll certainly have heard his triumphant return to Technique Recordings with Sorry and his multi-part follow-up by the name of Spinning. In fact, the third part of that project has just landed, and it takes us on an unpredictable journey.
We’ve already seen how Fred V & Grafix and Drumsound & Bassline Smith interpreted Youngman’s vocal. For this final instalment, though, we’re being treated to the original version, produced by Example, Dirtyphonics, and P Money collaborator Kaikai, and it’s something you definitely weren’t expecting. As the filtered-into-the-distance chords of the intro are given a delicately percussive heartbeat, Youngman’s voice fills the mix hypnotically and there’s no telling where this is going to go.
The beat drops, a half-speed, genre-twisting rhythm underpinned by throbbing, weighty bass. It’s the vocal that always takes centre-stage here, leading the listener through the spaced-out, almost trip-hop atmosphere. Then Kaikai takes us even further down the rabbit-hole as he cuts and reforms samples of Youngman’s voice into shadow-toned stabs. This is dark, emotive and soulful not-quite-drum ‘n’ bass music that’s got a vibe all of its own.
This whole three-part project from Youngman has been an exercise in pushing the boundaries of vocal-led DnB. We’ve seen one song sculpted, moulded, and dissected in very different ways. Now we’ve got Spinning in, perhaps, its purest form, it’s proof that Youngman is an artist doing what artists are supposed to do: taking chances and pushing beyond limits. And you better believe, there’s a lot more of that journey left.
