Having spent the last post reviewing the best of the year in 20/20 hindsight I thought I had better put my money where my mouth is and ‘pick & mix’ 3 acts I reckon will make big waves in the coming year. This cannot end well.
TIP 1. ROOF LIGHT
Roof Light - Palm
I have never been short of ideas musically, just low on actual skill. I used to stand behind my ‘studio bitch’ and ride their knowledge like a pony. Life seemed pretty easy in those days but that all changed when I moved to London and I found myself flying solo.
I set about earning my production stripes by trawling the sarcastic but invaluable vault of production treasure that is 'Dubstep Forum'. Quite early on I had a demo which (unsurprisingly) absolutely no-one was interested in listening to. I was poised to give up when a curiously named producer took the time to give me a few pointers, his name? Roof Light.
In return I followed the 'Roof Light Soundcloud' page. Immediately it was obvious that I had flukily stumbled on to a mercurial talent. The music on this page came in flurries, sometimes dozens of tracks would disappear overnight only to be replaced with an entirely new selection the following day.
It was hard to put my finger on what exactly made Roof Light stand out but there seemed to be an unconscious musical thread stringing everything together from the most skittish Garage cuts to the deepest, gloomiest ambient soundscapes (such as the glorious but short-lived posting seemingly created as a requiem for Amy Winehouse). I felt this was an artist steeped in musical history - a feeling validated later by his DJ mixes such as this glorious double helping of sunny Psychedelia posted recently.
I became a bit of a fanboy if Im honest, I felt like I’d found gold in the Soundcloud hills.
Thankfully Roof Light’s profile began to snowball, releases on ‘Styrax’, support from the likes of Laurent Garnier and eventually a management deal with ‘Westbury Music’ has made him stable mates with the likes of Four Hero, Goldie and Actress his star is definitely on the rise.
Roof Light make such a wide range of music its hard to know what to expect next but I know I’ll be listening. Mark my words one day there will be an album and it will be impossible to ignore.
TIP 2. SNOW GHOSTS/THROWING SNOW
My second tip for 2012 is Ross Tones an artist who has already started ripping up trees under the name Throwing Snow. I had tipped Throwing Snow as my wildcard for 2011 in my end of year blog in 2010 and he has steadily delivered the goods with a series of impressive 12” releases.
I cant claim any sort of finders fee however, I stumbled across Mr. Tones via a chance follow on Twitter. He posted a Tweet saying something about ‘fulfilling a childhood dream’ and I couldn’t help but ask what that dream was. As it happened his dream had been to release a 12” vinyl record and I could definitely identify with that. I popped into 'Phonica' one lunchtime and was utterly blown away by the tune.
Throwing Snow - Un vingt
‘Un Vingt’ was lumped into the Dubstep rack but this was no honking Bro-Step by numbers. Instead it offered a clean musical palette that sparkled with a feeling of improvisation so often missing from electronic music. Over the coming year a string of unique releases built up and when he wasn’t at the controls himself he was running the remarkable ‘left_blank’ imprint which took Dubstep into the uncharted waters of sparse, minimal percussion.
Warm up slots at the Phonica parties gave way to festival appearances in Ireland and finally a slot at the influential ‘The Boiler Room’ web site. Throwing Snow had arrived like a well placed snowball on the face of 2011 and it seemed perfectly possible that Mr.Tones could just keep churning out the 12”s but that would be to underestimate the musician.
It seemed that there was another string to the Throwing Snow bow and that turned out to be the side project ‘Snow Ghosts’ on the Black Acre label. The project included a smokey voiced female singer and the sort of musical ambition that can produce ‘real songs’ the holy grail of the dance scene.
Snow Ghosts - Lost at sea
The icy, gothic cool engendered by the first Snow Ghosts release ‘Lost at sea’ is the main reason why Ross Tones gets the nod again this year. Whilst I am still gagging for a full Throwing Snow album it seems this year is earmarked for the Snow Ghosts project and a debut LP is imminent. In a landscape blessed with the likes of Salem and SBTRKT I have a feeling Snow Ghosts will make a big noise in 2012.
TIP 3. ADDISON GROOVE (Juke & UK Bass)
Whilst both Roof Light and Snow Ghosts often revel in austere emotional journeys my final choice does exactly the opposite. Addison Groove is all about the dancing, its brash, bassy and built to rock a sound system.
Addison Groove - Footcrab
In the 90’s I was resident at the Source in Oxford where I enjoyed a period of musical freedom that is hard to find in modern clubland. Whilst the drum and bass heavyweights threatened the buildings structural integrity upstairs I got a chance to play ‘freestyle’ in the cellar. I was always looking for an upbeat feeling and a friend turned me on to Dance Mania and DJ Funk in particular. It was block rocking party music steeped in lyrical idiocy and trouser flapping bass that seemed to mix right in.
Its a fine line to walk when you start playing booty tracks, these are objectionable records whose casual misogyny is difficult to defend but the music is often so hype that it charms the listener like a hyperactive child swearing for a laugh. Sometimes it would be the high point of the night and sometimes people would quite justifiably take offense.
DJ Funk - Pussyride (Parental discretion iz advised)
In many ways Juke is the natural successor to the X-rated house of Dance Mania et al. If you are going to get your head around the music then its important to see the lineage from traditional Chicago House through Booty Bass and Ghetto House. In the end these siblings share a musical heritage rooted in the grim reality of urban America, there is a deep seated truth to these uncompromising styles and *that* is what makes them so influential.
Juke & Footwork - Like 'The Black' Riverdance ... or something.
“Bangs n Works” on Planet Mu Records is a crash course in unrefined Juke. Incessant barking samples, ludicrous speed and brutal drum machines that ‘go in dry’ all combine to give a unique but slightly unpleasant sensation. Dubstep (in its fashion), started out with equally uncompromising militancy. By the time labels like ‘Planet Mu’ got the chance to go out to the states and see the Juke scene first hand the internet had already started to cross pollinate the two bass heavy styles. The UK needed its own treatment of the sound and a number of labels such as ‘Planet Mu’, ‘Swamp 81’ and ‘3024’ began to warp Juke to fit the UK palette, slowing it down and reducing the Tourette’s style sample abuse.
Over the last year or two there has been a slow but steady groundswell of appreciation for this sound. 2012 will see this ungainly bird spread its wings and fly I reckon. Don’t get me wrong, I cant see anything in the way of a crossover hit coming soon, thats really not how it (bangs &) works. This UK-centric take on Juke will prove its success in a subtler fashion by changing the way house, electro and bass are used in a modern production. Already we see the likes of Pearson Sound (nee Ramadan Man) genetically modifying house in the UK with triplet swing and booming backbeats.
Pearson Sound Vs Hardrive - Deep Inside (UK Bass)
The new Addison Groove LP is imminent and I expect it to have a huge influence on the music makers in 2012, and by proxy the clubbers in 2013 ... some time in 2014 you might start to hear the reverberations in less niche music too. After all we have seen Dubstep wobble the likes of Britainy Spears, Cher Lloyd and even the humble 'Weet-A-Bix' advert.
So do yourself a favour and get ahead of the curve ... its really only house music.
FOOTCRAB! FOOTCRAB! FOOTCRAB! FOOTCRAB! FOOTCRAB! FOOTCRAB! etc ...
CURIOUS?
Try my latest mix featuring Addison Groove & Throwing Snow:
Enjoy,
eops
