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The mix at Mixcloud
This mix is an 80+ minute exploration into the fusion of drum´n´bass with dub techno & dub. It´s more of a deep flowing, laid-back affair at 170bpm to cool off to. Remedy yourself with a dose of sub bass and chill atmospheres. Listen closely to discover a rare facet of drum´n´bass music.
I try to follow a clear concept with all the mixes that I put out there and I´ve done quite a few that explored the connection of dub and drum´n´bass. The common influence is obvious since jungle started using reggae basslines and dub production techniques 25 years ago, which spawned all sorts of obvious and less obvious connections.
But it is rare that dnb productions take an inspiration from what techno did with dub since the 90s. Probably timing was an issue too: Dub techno became unpopular just a little while before the explosion of dubstep became the major influence for dnb artists, who experimented with more minimalistic structures and room for sounds. As a result a certain flavour of halfstep and autonomic dnb became an interesting playground for innovation in the late 2000s, but it had little to do with dub techno.
So I searched for tracks at around 170 bpm that deliver a certain sound: Not too dark, negative or aggressive, but not too much reggae-warmth either, rather a digital cool. Tracks also had to shift their focus away from heavy beats to the dub elements but also not fall into the halftime dub area. So this mix sits somewhere in between the minimal dnb scene, that still uses typical dnb beats and the ambient scene that has abandoned beats completly.
I never was and probably never will be a big techno fan in general, which means I only listen to a very small fraction of what´s out there, so my observations might be flawed. But I´ve always liked the Berlin-centered dub techno scene around the Hard Wax store, producers Ernestus and von Oswald with their many aliases (Rhythm & Sound, Basic Channel…) and labels like Thinner and Scape. Today in drum´n´bass we have Samurai Music Group in Berlin, which incorporates influences of this particular sound in their releases, but mostly explores very dark atmospheres. A more fitting output between techno and dnb comes via the Hidden Hawaii label. Nordlabel, that is featured with tracks by Dissident, is also from Berlin.
In its entirety not all the 85 minutes are dub techno influenced, but most of it is and it all comes together nicely, I think. If you know any interesting dub techno-influenced tracks at 170 bpm that I missed, let me know!
Tracklist:
01 Nether – Sunset Dub [Cylon]
02 Felix K – Flowers of Destruction #4 [Hidden Hawaii]
03 Dissident – H2Oil [Pinecone Moonshine]
04 DB 1 – Vanguard [Hidden Hawaii]
05 Dissident – Visible Spot [Nordlabel]
06 Nether – Glacial Dub [Space Cadets]
07 Martsman – Static [Hidden Hawaii]
08 Nether – Dimensional Space Jazz [Deep Soul Music]
09 Overlook – Travelling Without Moving [UVB-76 Music]
10 Elemnt – Circle of Light #2 [Hidden Hawaii]
11 Dissident – Solvent 1 [Nordlabel]
12 Overlook – Clouds [31 Recordings]
13 Pessimist – The Woods [Samurai]
14 Felix K – Flowers of Destruction #2 [Hidden Hawaii]
15 dBridge – Trinity Ville [Cylon]
16 Clarity – Fog [Samurai]
17 Dissident & Cyberworm – Octoplane [Delta 9]
18 Flxk1 / Wan 2 – A1 [Hidden Hawaii]
19 Theory – Babylon Dem (Dubmonger´s The Drum Machine Museum Rmx) [Translation]
20 Dissident & Cyberworm – Tusk [Kos.Mos Music]
21 Loxy – Politicians [Soundium]
22 Calibre – Blackhole Dub [Signature]
23 Totally Unknown Artist – Tierdrub (Dominic Ridgway) [—]
24 Nether – Deep Echo [31 Records]
25 Dubmonger – Radiowaves [Dubmonger]
26 Morphy – Myrrh Dub [—]
