Dubstep On It

I was always turned off by dubstep - a bit difficult to dance to, a bit samey, despite enjoying the bass sounds, and despite friend's insistence to give it another chance - until I saw Benga at Field Day. His set was phenomenal. Hearing the implausible thunder of incredible basslineafterbassline, all running through the properness of the Blogger's Delight tent system, has forced me to reconsider. I still find some of it isn't up my street, but Benga's own stuff is consistently rude (not sure if any other word describes it better, especially on 26 Basslines) and I can see the ease with which it can slip into a conventional techno/electro set. The Skream and Plastician remix of The Black Ghosts works very well in this way.
The Black Ghosts - Some Way Through This (Skream and Plastician Mix) // Buy on Beatport.com

I'm also appreciating some more techy dubstep such as this track I nicked from Palms Out a while back, which I've been dropping a lot. For me this fulfills my danceable requirements much more than a lot of other stuff.

Mockin' Bird - Effort

Having said this, the more I listen to dubstep (can I call it D'step? Has this already been done?) the more I also realise that there is a lot of danceable, uptempto stuff that isn't techy.

Have a listen to this mini-mix by Amit from the Man Makes Music collective, recorded to advertise their pre-carnival night this Friday.

Dubstep mini-mix

Tracklisting:
1) Zomby - Spliff dub (Rustie remix), 2) Zomby - Mu$h, 3) Darkstar - Need You, 4) Ikonika - Please, 5) L-Vis 1990 - Change The Game (Starkey Remix), 6) TRG - Broken Heart (Martyn's DCM Remix), 7) Shut Up and Dance - Epileptic (Martyn Remix)

It showcases well the diversity within the genre.

the night looks pretty good too:

MAN MAKE MUSIC + ECLECTRIC CARNIVAL PARTY

Fri 22nd August
Rhythm Factory
10pm-6am

Room 1 - MAN MAKE MUSIC - (B'more, Jackin', Dubstep, Garage, Wonky, Jungle):

RUSTIE (Hyperdub, Dre$$2$weat)
JACKMASTER (Dre$$2$weat)
SCANDALOUS UNLIMITED (True Tiger)
Man Make Music DJs (Sketchy, Zaz & Another Asian)
Solid Gold (Trouble Vision)

Room 2 - ECLECTRIC - (House, techno, electro)

TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS (live)
UNION DJs (Union@Fabric)
TJ Hertz
Matt Carter
Rich Smith
Ed Steele
Noel Mas (MMM)

£6 tickets in advance at clubtickets.com
£6 b4 12 / £8 after


http://www.manmakemusic.com




Which reminds that next weekend is carnival. ( I gather that it is referred to as just 'carnival', I guess because this is THE carnival, in this country at least, and therefore requires no prefixes).

I haven't been before, so expect to be a bit bewildered. Have checked out the Time Out's Carnival Soundsystem guide, though, which gets me very excited, if a bit overwhlemed. Any tips for where to stand/dance/eat etc most welcome!