RBMA Radio - Home
Interviews & Features
Massive Attack
Massive Attack
(Virgin, Bristol, UK)
Fireside Chat
From one of the first UK sound systems to international fame and acclaim. The original Wild Bunch from Bristol... still massive!
Richie Hawtin
Richie Hawtin
(Minus, Berlin)
Fireside Chat
Techno's guiding light in a special interview about his past, present and future. The original plastik technocrat.
Steve Reich
Steve Reich
(Nonesuch, New York)
Fireside Chat
True genius and post-minimalism alert with the greatest living American composer. Come out!
Friendly Fires
Friendly Fires
(XL Recordings, St Albans, UK)
Headphone Highlights
Friendly Fires with a selection of their favourite tour bus bangers. Post-punks can dance!
Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
(Dirtee Stank, London)
Fireside Chat
The boy in da corner, bonkers on top of the charts - this is Mr Dizzee Rascal kicking up a dirtee stank!
Picks Of The Day
Massive Attack Richie Hawtin Steve Reich Friendly Fires Dizzee Rascal
Live Recordings
Legowelt
Legowelt
(Strange Life Records, Netherlands)
On The Floor! - Live at Levontin7, Tel Aviv
The Hague's Bunker Records crew member Legowelt jamming and jacking live in Tel Aviv. A space force to be reckoned with.
2562
2562
(A Made Up Sound, Tectonic, The Hague)
On The Floor! - Live at Fabric, London
Made Up in The Hague! Four-not-four technosoul and deeper than deep dubstep fusions by the mighty 2562. Live at Fabric, London.
Roots Manuva
Roots Manuva
(Big Dada, UK)
Main Stage - Live at Splash Festival 2009, Germany
Big Dada's cool ruler Roots Manuva live at Germany's Splash fest.
Darkstar
Darkstar
(Hyperdub, London)
Main Stage - Live at Elevate Festival, Graz
Bombed out in space with a spaced out bomb! Hyperdub's Darkstar live at Elevate Festival, Graz.
Frank Nitt & Illa J
Frank Nitt & Illa J
(Frank-N-Dank, Digipop, Detroit)
On The Floor! - Live at Free Your Funk, La Bellevilloise, Paris
An exclusive live jam from Motor City MCs Frank Nitt (Frank-N-Dank) and Illa J. Nitty gritty rap music delivered from Free Your Funk, Paris.
Picks Of The Day
Legowelt 2562 Roots Manuva Darkstar Frank Nitt & Illa J
Mixes
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
(Honest Jons, Chicago)
Main Stage - Live at Blue Monday, Dublin
They've come a long way, from busking in the streets to performing with Tony Allen or Erykah Badu. Live from Dublin - get ready to be hypnotized!
Mock & Toof
Mock & Toof
(DFA, Tiny Sticks, London)
Train Wreck Mix
London boys and remix dons Mock & Toof with some deep dub disco house.
DJ Krush
DJ Krush
(Sony, Tokyo)
Train Wreck Mix
The Japanese master of abstract Hip Hop provides an exclusive mix for Red Bull Music Academy Radio. Sugoi ne!
Hot Chip
Hot Chip
(Parlophone, EMI, London)
Train Wreck Mix
The wonderful UK indie dance cohorts mix up all their influences to create postmodern pop. Hot, hotter, Hot Chip!
Rick Wilhite
Rick Wilhite
(Three Chairs, Detroit)
Train Wreck Mix
Detroit don and Three Chairs member Rick "The Godson" Wilhite with a full throttle mix of soulful grooves across the board.
Picks Of The Day
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Mock & Toof DJ Krush Hot Chip Rick Wilhite
Currently on the Live Stream
Live Stream Ticker Error
Open Live Stream in external player: MP3
 
Show Finder Global Network Newsletter
Red Bull Music Academyradio iPhone App
Weekly Spotlight

Hitek House

Future Garage Special on RBMA Radio

Hitek House

It's refreshing that going into this new decade, the legacy of UK garage and 2-step won't just be champagne, Ayia Napa, Dior sunglasses, and Shanks & Bigfoot. Especially during the last couple of months, a new wave of producers and labels has been reminding ravers that the deep, dark, breaky swing that characterised club sonics through the late ‘90s deserves an update, and a doff of the cap to the original 2-step originators.

Two outlets which can claim to take the original garage rhythm and 2-stepping into tomorrow are Hotflush and Hessle Audio. Producers like now Berlin-based Scuba or TRG from Bucharest effortlessly mix dubby garage and techy steppers, with plenty of lush Detroit leanings, rave signals, and weighty low end characterising their tunes. While Scuba continues to host his popular Sub:stance nights at Berlin’s infamous temple of boom, Berghain, 2007 Academy participant TRG has recently been lending his ‘Hitek House’ sound to remixes for Moderat, Greymatter, and L-Vis 1990, and has now found a home on legendary label Tempa for his forthcoming LP.

Another label flying the flag for an update of the garage template is Night Slugs, from producers Bok Bok and L-Vis 1990. Only launching recently, the East London-based collective can already claim a massive London anthem with their 001, Mosca’s Square One. Blending soca, funky-infused tribal house, r'n'b vocals, and carnival-minded rave-step with supernatural ease, the tune got plays a plenty from industry bigwigs like Kode9 as well as a devastating remix from funky’s cool ruler Roska, and the Sub FM regular has a more future hits packed in his crate.

There's also Dutch expat Martyn, who splices his own mutation of Detroit techno, deep dubstep, and rolling drum 'n' bass to create whole new vistas of raver’s delights. Using platforms like his label 3024 or, even more notably, his celebrated Fabric 50 mix compilation, he stands head and shoulders above the pack with his ability to fuse styles and maintain a highly emotive core running through his tunes. Meanwhile Hyperdub's first lady Cooly G crafts her own version of dubby tribal house and deep funky riddims, and sends dancers into a frenzy with only a handful of releases like Weekend Fly, and her essential tune of last year, Love (Dub).

Currently leading the pack though is Jack Dunning aka Untold whose Anaconda was a sure shot in both open-minded dancehalls and the critics’ best-of lists in 2009. Releasing on both Hotflush and Hessle Audio, as well as his own label Hemlock Recordings and Fabric’s Elevator Music, he channels 15 years of studio experience and influences ranging from US garage to grime, to bring a truly unique, percussive bass sound that’s causing dancefloor mayhem around the globe.

While some look to twist the original blueprint into a whole new beast, some producers to emerge from this scene are more than happy to keep dancing in the garage of Eden. Especially funky bubblers like Fuzzy Logic’s In The Morning or Deadboy’s U Cheated clearly owe to the original creations of pioneers like Wookie, Horsepower Productions and MJ Cole. Wookie emerged from Jazzie B's Soul II Soul fold, and has a ridiculous number of club anthems to his name, from Scrappy and the spiritual masterpiece Battle, to remixes for everybody from Jill Scott to Justin Timberlake. Likewise, MJ Cole displayed a similar talent for mixing soulful vocals, heart-melting pop melodies and pizzicato arpeggios with rude, bouncing basslines. While hits like Sincere might have defined an era, the Mercury Prize-nominated producer hasn't rested on his laurels, and has been tearing up clubs with an updated spin on his sound recently.

There's plenty other pioneers that wrapped scattered snares around the garage tempo. Both Dave Jones aka Zed Bias and DJ Zinc found a way to re-route the frantic energy of drum 'n' bass around a more measured 135(ish) bpm. Zed Bias burst onto the scene with his early releases on labels like Locked On and Sidewinder, and later helped mould a deeper garage sound under his Maddslinky alias – just check the ’09 remixes of his notorious signa-tune Neighbourhood to get an idea of how influential Dave has been to the new school of UK bass producers. Just like Zed Bias, the ever-solid deck-wrecka and former jump-up jungle don Zinc scored one of the biggest tunes of his decade-spanning career in 1999, with the aptly titled 138 Trek (which funnily enough also featured a Zed Bias remix). And he’s been updating and tweaking his sound ever since, most recently spearheading a whole new house ‘n’ breaks movement with his Crack House EP.

But the UK wasn't the only place where the new Londonbeat took stems from. New Jersey native Todd Edwards pushed house beats to a breaking point with a vicious swing, and his trademark melodic approach to cut-up sampling and collage. Deftly meandering between a chunky house beat, disco-flavoured bass lines, and that ecstatic energy behind his samples that would later become a characteristic feature of the UK garage sound, Todd The God (as he’s commonly referred to inside the RBMA Radio HQs) has had a huge influence on generations to come.

Even though this list is just the tip of the iceberg, it shows something's clearly afoot in clubland, as genres and styles become mixed together at lightning pace. More and more producers with access to cheap production technology can blend their favourite sounds past and present, with dizzying inventiveness. But while the sounds and templates can be updated ad infinitum, it's the creativity that remains a constant… bo’ selecta!

Previous Spotlights