Knowledge 247 - X-Ray Audio: The Documentary

"A perplexidade é o início do conhecimento." 

(Khalil Gibran) 

Esta semana o Knowledge é dedicado inteiramente ao documentário X-Ray Audio.

Who Dem Sound junta Digid e J.Robinson

A contagem decrescente para o lançamento de "War" já começou, e assinala a estreia do produtor belga Digid, pela Who Dem Sound, numa parceria com J.Robinson. 

Agendado para a próxima segunda-feira 29 de Fevereiro, WHODEM011 combina na perfeição o sentimento Dub com a palavra consciente de Jah Mirikle & Ms Sunrise, sendo que será lançado em vinil de 10", estando previsto para mais tarde o lançamento em formato digital.

RDG & K Man assinam Lost On Earth Vol.1

"Lost On Earth Vol.1" é o título do disco que cruzou os produtores RDG & K Man, numa edição que teve a chancela da Circle Vision e o qual encontra-se à venda desde o passado dia 19 de Fevereiro. 

Composto por quatro faixas, "Lost On Earth Vol.1" divide para conquistar, sendo que cada artista assumiu um dos lados do lançamento com "Rise / Against Us" e "Metaharmonics / Lavender Sky" respectivamente.

Silent Motion lança Dizzy Ep de Myth

"Dizzy Ep" é o título do mais recente trabalho, do emergente produtor turco M. Özbek aka Myth, lançado pela inglesa Silent Motion. 

Constituído por duas faixas originais e dois remixes que ficaram a cargo de Fill Spectre e OldGold, "Dizzy Ep" combina de forma peculiar mas agradável, a força do bass com a percussão.

Nothing like a freebie 177

Em Fevereiro cada sulco um freebie!

Congi - Willing 

Knowmad - DB47

Texstep - Tenebris

Flay - Monday Dub

Dillard - Shack Dub

A/T/O/S - Heartbreaker

Kapsize lança Knights Of Ren de Asa & Sorrow

Nascido desse poço de talento que é Bristol, "Knights Of Ren Ep", é o mais recente trabalho da dupla Asa & Sorrow, que mais uma vez provaram ser dos produtores britânicos com mais potencial por explorar. 

Nas lojas desde o passado dia 19 deste mês, "Knights Of Ren" chega-nos com a chancela da editora de Joker Kapsize e conta com quatro hyper coloured Grime cuts e uma monstruosa remix de Lemz & Hi5Ghost.

Knowledge 246 - Ishan Sound

"Podemos alargar os conhecimentos, nunca amputá-los." 

(Arthur Koestler) 

Esta semana recebemos no Knowledge Ishan Sound.

Nv 134 - Headland

Após uma jornada de 10 meses pelo velho continente, os Nv dão agora um salto até a Oceania, para conhecer Headland. 

Natural de Christchurch, Headland é o mais recente talento a emergir no universo Dubstep vindo da Nova Zelândia. 

Dono de uma produção fresca e visão futurista, 2016 promete ser o ano de afirmação de Headland, com lançamentos já assinados pela FatKidOnFire e Well Rounded Records.

Moonshine e Steppas Records voltam a unir forças

Após o sucesso alcançado em 2012, "Inna Zion" é o título da muito aguardada segunda tag label release, assinado pela Moonshine Recordings e Steppas Records. 

Lançado exclusivamente em vinil, MSS003 chega até nós hoje dia 19 de Fevereiro, e conta com voz da lenda viva do Reggae Linval Thompson, numa produção assinada pelo duo Vibration Lab, acompanhados nas remisturas pelos pesos-pesados do Dub and Bass RSD, Jstar, JahYu e Dub Dynasty (Alpha & Omega Alpha Steppa).

LAS lança Traveling / Omega Dub via ZamZam Souds

Para quem nos conhece, sabe que LAS é uma referencia habitual aqui no Take a step to Dub, daí que a colaboração com a imperdível ZamZam Sounds, não nos poderia passar ao lado. 

Com lançamento agendado para o próximo dia 26 de Fevereiro, ZAMZAM35 incluirá os temas "Traveling / Omega Dub", nos quais LAS explorou a magia de samples clássicos e a escuridão do espaço. 

Limitado a 800 unidades em formato de 7", "Traveling / Omega Dub" não terá direito a qualquer edição em formato digital.

Nothing like a freebie 176

Fevereiro enxuto, rói mais freebies do que quantos ratos há no mundo!

JFO - Eyez

Spec - Version

Occult & Jausmė - Cashmere

Madam X - Kaizen Movements Vol I

A Taste Of Struggle- Deep End (kaiju Refix)

Amerie - Why Don't We Fall In Love (Muttley Bootleg)

Knowledge 245 - Os Dias da Rádio

"A Rádio permitiu que as pessoas agissem com seus corações e mentes." 

(Dick York) 

Aproveitando que ontem se celebrou o Dia Mundial da Rádio, esta semana dedicamos o Knowledge a esta com a reportagem "Os Dias da Rádio", do programa Perdidos e Achados. 

Black Acre lança álbum de estreia de Commodo

O (con)sagrado produtor britânico Commodo, anunciou o lançamento do seu álbum de estreia "How What Time" para a primavera, mais concretamente para o dia 8 de Abril, numa edição da mui recomendável Black Acre. 

"How What Time" sucederá ao magnifico "Volume One", editado o ano passado em parceria com Kahn e Gantz, e segundo Commodo "strike a balance between a sample-heavy, rap style sound palette and the energy of the 140 BPM based music I've always been a part of". 

O seu primeiro avanço oficial, já foi conhecido e intitula-se "Set It Straight" e conta com a participação de Rocks FOE.

Tracklist

1. Hej 

2. Pea Souper 

3. Itchin ft. Trim 

4. Hadi Hadi Ah 

5. My Liege 

6. Russian Glass 

7. Floods 

8. How Dare You 

9. Sleepwave 

10. HWT 

11. Set It Straight ft. Rocks FOE 

12. Kofte Cloud

Os Submotion Orchestra anunciam Colour Theory

"Colour Theory" é o título do próximo álbum dos Submotion Orchestra, o quarto da carreira da banda inglesa, cujo lançamento está previsto para 19 de Fevereiro, pelas mãos da Counter Records. 

Conhecidos pelas suas actuações ao vivo e melting pot sonoro, os Submotion Orchestra focaram a sua atenção na produção de "Colour Theory", de modo a que este atingi-se novos rumos, tornado-o desta forma mais expansivo.

Gradient Audio lança Sounds From The Vault

A editora de Portland, Gradient Audio, numa simbiose perfeita com Steven Lorenz, Digital Monk, Cubism, Wosui, Section 8 e B1t Crunch3r, acaba de lançar a compilação "Sounds From The Vault Volume 1". 

Reunindo seis temas, muitos deles inéditos ao público, GRD084 liberta a energia do lado negro do Dubstep, o que promete fazer as delicias dos fãs mais clássicos.

Nothing like a freebie 175

Entrudo borralheiro, freebie soalheiro!

Aeolho - Most Of Us

Craft - Call My Name

Skint - Mary Anne VIP 

Benton - Grooveline Bling

Wheelton - Merry Christmas Ep

Alpha Steppa ft. Kiangana - Motherland(Dub Mix)

Knowledge 244 - Dub Stories

"O conhecimento cresce exponencialmente. Quanto mais soubermos, maior a nossa capacidade de aprender, e mais rápido expandimos a nossa base de conhecimento." 

Esta semana o Knowledge é dedicado inteiramente ao documentário Dub Stories.

Nv 133 - Taztical

Após uma pequena estadia pela velha Albion, os Nv viajam esta semana até a Alemanha para conhecer melhor Taztical. 

Radicado actualmente em Dortmund, Taztical é um produtor e turntablist de ascendência grega, que tem vindo a chamar atenção da comunidade Dubstep, com as suas produções assentes em elementos étnicos e místicos. 

Apoiado por nomes como Joe Nice, BunZer0, Mentha e FatKidOnFire, Taztical conta já com trabalhos lançados por editoras como a Indigo Movemente e Signals.

TSDcast 56 - Subtle Mind Entrevista + Mix

From the San Francisco Bay Area to the TSDcast - Subtle Mind

Take a step to Dub - Hi guys how are you today? 

Subtle Mind: Austin - No complaints here!

Paul - All good.

TSD - Alright, let’s get the "boring" stuff out of the way first. Can you give the readers a little background about yourself? 

SM: A - I was born and raised about forty five minutes inland from San Francisco, California. My parents had a nice music collection built up over the years, so I was exposed to multiple genres at a young age. Their collection included Pink Floyd, Depeche Mode, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, and Charles Benson to name a few. When I was about ten years old I remember getting my hands on Dr. Dre’s infamous ‘2001’, which sparked my interest in hip hop and rap (it also earned me a lengthy detention sentence when I was caught showing it playing it to people at school). The first instrument that I personally owned was a sunburst Fender Jazz Bass, which landed me a spot in a couple of dead end jam bands throughout my teenage years. I was able to pick up a basic understanding of notes and pitches through playing bass, which transitioned nicely into piano. I studied music theory and took piano lessons at the two universities I attended, while simultaneously learning how to work in a DAW. I’m also left handed, I love craft beer (IPA’s mostly), and I’m a basketball fanatic.

SM: P - I grew up inland from San Francisco as well, Austin and I went to the same high school. I was the nerdy type growing up; lots of Counter Strike on the weekends and all that. It’s always surprising to me to look back and remember that in my younger life I actually didn’t enjoy music all that much. It wasn’t until I found a few bands I liked in elementary school (Metallica, Incubus, etc.) that I finally opened up to it. Ever since then, music has continuously grown as an integral part of my life.

TSD - You’ve been working together since 2011. When was the first time that you felt it was about time to get serious about making music? 

SM: P - DJ Crises (Mindstep Music label boss) played out a collaboration that we did with Civiliansound on a live Get Darker set around the middle of 2011. We realized then that if an established DJ across the pond was playing our music at a live, well respected Dubstep night, then we might actually be doing something right.

SM: A - I remember receiving an ecstatic phone call, either from Paul or Mike (Civiliansound), telling me about how our track had just been played at a live Get Darker event. I just about lost it haha. 

TSD - Can you tell us what ignited the spark in you to start producing and djing? 

SM: A - I picked up a bass guitar and started jamming with some friends when I was about 12 or 13 years old. Shortly after I purchased a four track cassette recorder, but it didn’t take long to realize how limited I was on that thing. A couple years later I stumbled upon Garage Band, which introduced me to the sequencing process. Next up on the list of DAW’s was Fruity Loops, where I created a number hip hop beats (most of which are lost forever unfortunately). While familiarizing myself with reason a few years back, Paul and our buddy Brandon (aka Supreme) were DJing Dubstep and Drum & Bass, so I was inspired by them to start creating some 140 stuff.

SM: P - I was a DJ before Subtle Mind came about. My friend Brandon (Supreme) gave me my first dose of dubstep and drum and bass when he got a pair of technics in….2009 or 2010 I think it was? It took me about a week before I finally asked if I could step up onto the turntables. I haven’t looked back since. And I have Austin to thank for inspiring and helping me get onto the producers side of things.

TSD - Where do you find yourself drawing most of your inspiration from? 

SM: A - Well, lately I’ve been listening to a lot of jazz fusion, dub/reggae, hip hop instrumentals, some obscure world music, and soul/R&B stuff. I’m constantly being inspired by whatever I’m listening to. Travel, change in weather, and exploring the outdoors also have a big influence on our sound. For example, we’ve used a few random field recordings that we’ve taken from different environments in some of our music (rain, riding on a train, walking around outside, etc).

SM: P - I really draw inspiration from what I’m listening to at the moment. I go through phases….right now its lots and lots of Dub Techno and Drum & Bass. 

TSD - Last year you guys mainly release single tracks / remixes and work in collaborations. Have the reactions to it been what you expected? 

SM: P - To be honest we never really have high expectations when releasing music. We try to make tunes that will sonically translate to a big sound system, while still being able to resonate with someone’s emotions. We understand that music sales, especially digital music sales, are hurting right now, so we never really expect much a financial return from our releases. That’s not what it’s about at this point.

SM: A - Yeah, it’s kinda cool to hear that our music has hit some charts or whatever, but ultimately, if our music is somewhat relatable and speaks to someone out there, then we’re happy with the results.

TSD - So in your opinion, who is the audience that identifies with your music? 

SM: P - People who wear yellow hats seem to identify the best with our music…no, but really I think we draw inspiration from a wide variety of things, both musical and non-musical, so we’d like to hope that we have somewhat of a broad audience.

SM: A - Damn, I thought it was only people who wear red hats haha. It’s hard to say who exactly identifies with our music and who doesn’t. Like Paul said previously, we try to make music that connects with one’s emotions while still translating on a massive system. So, those people haha.

TSD - I know that you have a new project ready to see the light of the day. Can you talk a bit more about that? 

SM - Unfortunately we need to keep quiet on that for just a bit longer.

TSD - How would you describe the 140 scene in the USA today? What producers are making your ears prick up, so to speak? 

SM: A -  Alive and well, hustling and bustling, all that. There’s a plethora of fresh and forward thinking material circulating in the USA at the moment, it’s awesome. Malleus, Djoser, Wulf, DMVU and Drew’s Theory are just a few of the many USA based producers that are catching my attention at the moment.

SM: P -  It seems everyone has something to say about dubstep at the moment…but to me, the only important thing is that there is a solid, new crew of American producers (and old of course) that are dedicated to the continuation of the sound and to pushing it forward. I’d keep an eye on: Oxossi, Saule, Jonah Freed, Dubbacle

TSD - If you were stranded on an island and could only keep with you the following things, what would they be? 1 vinyl, 1 DAW, 1 piece of hardware, and 1 sandwich. 

SM: A - Miles Davis - ‘Bitches Brew’, Reason 8, an MPC5000 chalked full of samples, and the Kryptonite sandwich from Ike’s Place.

SM: P - Rhythm & Sound with the Artists, Reason 8, my TasCam, the Menage Trois from Ike’s Place.

TSD - What can we expect from you next? 

SM: A - Definitely expect a good amount of new music from us this year. Collaborations and solo stuff. You can also catch us playing in downtown LA in couple weeks supporting the don K Man.

SM: P - Music.

TSD - Thank you for your time, any shout outs and special mentions?

SM - No problem! Out to our parents, Joe Nice, Ric Bakir, Theo and Leon of the Dub Mechz, Dubsworth & Tapa, the SpaceO boys, DJ Crises, Matt Deco, Rozi, Confidential (aka Ashley n Shelby), Mesck, Wulf, Ill Chill, Talabun, Rachel Mazer, Nate aka Nonfuture, Richie Dubfella, the labels who have trusted in and released our music, the promoters who’ve allowed us to play at their parties, and anyone else who has supported us along this brief musical journey. Apologies if we’ve missed anyone! 

Nothing like a freebie 174

Freebie de Fevereiro, mata o onzeneiro.

B9 - Texter Box 

Krimson - Blue Rhythm

Knowmad & Trisicloplox - Lifes Creation

Chad Dubz & C-Side - Redoubt / Absolution

Menik & Native - Mirage (Aaron Static Remix)

Big Bud - Just Can't Hold Me Down (Drew's Theory Remix)

J.Sparrow lança editora Navy Cut

Após quase dez anos de carreira no mercado editorial, onde se inclui passagens por editoras como Tectonic e Deep Medi, Jack Sparrow prepara-se agora para lançar a sua própria editora batizada como Navy Cut. 

Segundo o próprio a "Navy Cut promises to explore new territory in Sound System music by focusing on quality releases by some of the worlds talented producers". 

Com a primeira edição agendada já para o próximo dia 5 de Fevereiro, NC001 - "Speak Back" introduz um novo projecto entre Leo James (Ruckspin, Autor, Submotion Orchestra) e Ed Gooden (Quark), bem como um remix do Croatia finest Egoless.