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He dubs thee
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In the past decade or so, the empire on which the sun never sets has introduced more subgenres of music than the first British Invasion could’ve ever conceived of. Consider it the newest Invasion. U.K. garage, drum & bass, grime and their own distinct variations have followed each other over the years, sometimes overlapping and always spreading to the rest of the world. Although they’re all variations on similar rhythms—fast-paced, late-night rave tempos—some artists have been able to break beyond the usual, providing music with more meaning and substance. DJ/producer Sukh Knight is one such figure. Within this evolution of genres that led to dubstep being the latest stage in the movement, the lines are often blurred. From London, via e-mail, Sukh Knight exclaims, “I get confused myself! “That’s the thing about dubstep. There’s so many different styles that each producer is bringing. Everyone is experimenting. It gets hard to explain. The main thing that I think is in all dubstep tracks is that they have a deep sub-bass line which has got to rattle your chest.” When it comes to chest-rattling bass, the young man doesn’t take things lightly. A child of drum & bass and garage, Sukh Knight knew what he liked before there was a word for it. “I’ve always been into the dubstep sound, before it was even called dubstep. I was always listening to all the early, dark garage sort of stuff. “I try not to listen to too much dubstep in my spare time. I get most of my inspiration from old hip hop tracks such as Mobb Deep, Wu Tang or Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Also, I listen to a lot of drum & bass, and I go to a lot of drum & bass raves if I’m not doing anything!” First on his Born Invincible EP from 2008 and also on this year’s Cheese Loueez EP, the mood tends to be dark and the bass is omnipresent. One would assume it’s the first element in all his production, but that isn’t the case. “I’m always looking for samples to use and that’s how I usually start a tune, with a sample. I usually dig through old Bollywood tunes and I have a lot of old records lying around. When I find a sample, I usually start building around that.” When asked what he wants to communicate with his music, the answer is direct. “I want people to feel like skanking out.” WITH KOMODO, DJ HOSTA, KARL |
