Appleblim: Dubstep is a feeling

Words / Richard Carnes for ResidentAdvisor.net
Published / Fri, 18 Jul 2008

Richard Carnes catches up with Laurie ‘Appleblim’ Osborne in Bristol to talk about his roots, the impending death of Skull Disco, and what the future holds for him and his new label.

With their speaker-bothering basslines and rattling African percussion, the Skull Disco lads have made quite a name for themselves all over the globe. From their first release they’ve turned heads, with Appleblim’s heavy, metallic sound providing the perfect counterpoint for Shackleton’s more ethnic and polyrhythmic style.

Their popularity, especially in techno circles, has been helped greatly by none other than Ricardo Villalobos, who has championed their records and famously provided a remix of Shackleton’s ‘Blood On Our Hands’. “He did it for us for nothing’, Laurie informs us. “He just loved the music so much that he wanted to remix the record”. A weighty endorsement, indeed. But it’s not just Shackleton that's been getting his tracks remixed by techno heavyweights. Osborne’s ‘Vansan’ has been given the remix treatment by Chain Reaction legend Torsten Pröfrock (aka T++), and is due for release later in the year. Inquisitive ears can check it out on Appleblim’s April podcast for Rinse FM here.

Whilst Shackleton has stepped up a gear and started to play Ableton-aided live sets, Appleblim has kept his focus on DJing, showing his skills to full effect on last month’s Dubstep Allstars mix for the Tempa label. A total departure from the series’ previous instalments, Osborne finds time to showcase the deeper, more techno-influenced side of the genre, alongside proven dancefloor bombs such as the post-junglism of RSD’s ‘Pretty Bright Light’ and the menacing bass pressure of TRG’s ‘Decisions’. As last week’s RA podcast proves, the quality of the Tempa mix is definitely not a one-off.

[read the full article/interview HERE]


















2562: Dubstep in the area

Words / John Citizen for ResidentAdvisor.net
Published / Mon, 21 Jul 2008

Dubstep may still be a local thing, but it's no longer local to just one place. RA's John Citizen catches up with Dutch producer 2562 to talk scenes, sounds and area codes.

Owner of perhaps the most nondescript moniker in dubstep, Dave Huismans created a stir when his debut for Pinch's Tectonic Recordings first surfaced. 'Channel Two' marked the point at which an emergent sound became increasingly identifiable, a locus point for the growing cluster of producers smearing the edges between the formerly distinct realms of techno and dubstep. Nowadays, it's a full-blown movement, as artists like Peverlist, Martyn, Appleblim and Pinch have been putting out numerous releases in this fertile area between the two genres.

With a trademark percussive style which offsets precision beat edits with generous swathes of melody, 2562's own fusion of techno, garage, broken beat and dub has rapidly found favour across a wide spectrum of listeners. Performing under the dual aliases of 2562 and A Made Up Sound, Huismans now finds himself booked to play at events as varied as the influences from which he draws his inspiration. That trend is one that should continue with the recent release of his full-length debut, Aerial.

[read the full article/interview HERE]

check out 2562's recent remix of Martyn's Vancouver, forthcoming on 3024 003 on his Myspace.