I know you all miss Filthy Fridays, but the word “wobble” spans much farther than just mid-range bass and snappy kicks. Wobble Wednesday gives you the opportunity to venture into several different worlds, rather than dissect just one. I love Figure/Doctor P/Flux Pavilion/etc. as much as the next person, but they cover a very small sector of the over-encompassing world of electronic music.
I’ve tried to diversify this week’s selection to show you how expansive EDM can be. My goal is to introduce you to the unfamiliar and unknown. To broaden your horizons and let you experience music you wouldn’t normally come across on the radio or through your SoundCloud subscriptions. I can almost guarantee none of you will love every song in here, but that’s not what this post is meant to achieve.
The same concept goes for attending music festivals and events with extensive lineups. You’ll have the chance to see the big headliners any time (sometimes more than twice a year), but the smaller acts playing on the smaller stages are where the next wave begins. As summer festivals approach us, I implore you to squeeze everything you can out of that $300+ ticket and do your pre-festival artist research. Don’t be afraid to walk off and explore on your own while you’re there, too, and always have a festival schedule on hand.
FUTURE
This isn’t so much future as it is electroacoustic. For those of you that don’t know, electroacoustic music is a very abstract form of composition that deters away from standard looped beats, focusing on the arrangement and modification of field recordings and sounds in nature. It’s not for everybody, but tracks like this one allow you to see how artists work with free-handed samples. It really is a trip.
Starts off with a dissonant steel drum sound, but the vocals even out the melody. Very minimal while keeping the listener alert.
Another Boxcutter tune for you. He’s doing big things for future garage. Can’t wait for him to blow up.
Tech house with a very tribal/Spanish feel. A natural progression from the funkier future garage tracks.
UK BASS
While techincally filth, this track brings the sound back to its roots in the UK. Artists like Benga, Skream, Youngsta, etc. have all dabbled in these scratchy leads and wobbly bass. Kutz is one of the original lads as well.
Ripped from the Hatcha & Crazy D show on KISS FM, this track is a monstrosity. Very nice purple sound with Crazy D MCing over it.
New dub-bass sub rocker from Blak. Be sure to grab it when it officially drops.
FILTH
Filthy with gliding mid-range bass wobbles. Another purple tune for you.
This is the kind of dirty filth that fills the basement venues of Boston and LA. Sounds like Figure with some Mord Fustang synth thrown in.
Not too long ago, Gold Top was doing mostly remixes himself. Now he’s the one being remixed! This one’s got hints of booty bass with the grimey sliding mid-range bass.
Begins rather hollow, sort of like listening to music on one of those wind-up kinetic energy FM radios. It’s filled with plenty of funky samples though, so don’t worry.
DRUM ‘N’ BASS
If filth and drum and bass had a child in a back alley of a Denny’s in the sketchy part of town. Except that child grew up and founded an organization to help impoverished villages in Africa. Just enough slick dirt to establish its roots, but develops into a proper headbanger. That’s what this track is.
Heavy melodic drum and bass, fresh off TREi‘s recently released LP, Satellites. This type of music is for the hard trance fanboys and fangirls who love a good aural blasting.
An older track from the guys at SOM Music (founded by State of Mind in 2007). This one epitomizes the new era of complex and filthy drum and bass.
TRAP
South African trap from Bear Pause. It has that delayed bass after the drop that the more popular tracks feature. Makes for a much heavier groove. (Download)
Sane Beats‘s remix of Jakwob‘s “Fade”. Slow jam with a massive beat.
Super heavy trap that sounds more like a filth track than anything else.
Slower trap with a gritty bassline.
Aaaaah yes, I see we’re steadily moving into the juke and twerk side of trap. Many people claim it as “[Insert City] Club” beats, but where it came from is only a small factor in what makes it great. I don’t care if I found it in a thrift shop or in the dumpster of said thrift shop—if it sounds good, I’m down.
MIX OF THE WEEK
In the spirit of shaking things up and adventuring into unknown territory, here’s a diverse mix from LA’s Fei-Fei. I had the pleasure of attending her show at UCSD last week, and I’ve gotta say she really knows her way around a multitude of genres. Big ups to the DVC for the afterparty, and to all the young and reckless souls who raged at the show.
This mix hits more genres and sounds than I have the time to mention, but it’s two hours long and done quite well. Enjoy this big spoonfull of musical medicine to ease your troubles. Tracklist available on the SoundCloud page.