(August 2009) I should have known. After months of scouring dubstep radio shows, blogs, and reviews, I had begun to filter out all the stuff I didn’t like. I focused on anything 8-bit, off-kilter, and “wonky” (no matter how maligned the term may be). Soon I had built myself a colorful, protective wall of Zomby, Joker, Gemmy, and countless others, shielding myself from the rest of the dubstep world. I was cut off from what producers like Coki, Caspa, and Rusko, unaware of anything they were up to. So naturally, I didn’t know what to expect when I listened to N-Type’s latest mix, Rinse: 09.
Again: I should have known. This is what I was shutting myself off from. The kind of dubstep that possesses your subwoofer and makes your whole body vibrate. Rinse: 09 is full of it, and the pace doesn’t stop for almost 75 minutes.
Kryptic Minds’ “Badman” kicks off the mix, with a brooding intro, a vocal sample, and a slowly rolling drum part. When the bassline comes in, it dominates – demanding attention, throbbing and sulking as the loudest component of the song. After a few well-done transitions, “King Of Kong” by LD is introduced. It features tribal percussion and pan flute (fitting the title quite well), making it one of the best and most melodic tracks on the compilation. “Karma” by The Others is interesting, mixing dubby samples with a nicely-placed Think break.
The middle of the mix drags a bit, moving from one banger to the next. Most of the tunes here follow the same pattern: take a punchy, halfstep percussion part, find the darkest bassline or most in-your-face midrange wobble possible (choose one), throw in an ominous sample or two, and repeat. In fact, it’s not until Jakes & Joker show up with “Freaklane VIP” (a mashup of two previously released tracks) that any melody or brightness can shine through the thick layer of clouds that Benga et al. have conjured.
The rest of Rinse: 09 is similar – heavy, abrasive, and often repetitive. Coki, Trolley Snatcher, and Emalkay all offer up menacing tunes, all of which have a predominantly wobbly bassline and not much else. The last track, “Take You Back (Tease) / A Jungle Tribute,” a combination of Skream and Benny Page productions, offers a nice reprieve, switching things up a bit and steering the music clear into jungle territory.
The main thought I had in my head while listening to Rinse: 09 was, “Hasn’t this been done already?” I found myself wanting to skip to the next song altogether too often, moving from one uninspired filler piece to another. The constant one-upmanship among producers to create denser and deeper basslines has turned into a race to the bottom of the barrel, resulting in a no-win situation chock full of raw, suffocating, and grating sounds. All of the producers featured here would benefit greatly from letting their melodic sides out once in a while, instead of flooding the dancefloor with wobble. Until that happens, though, you can find me back in my wonky fortress.
Rinse: 09 is out now on Rinse.
