 British dubstep producer Skream is the latest dance artist to have been tapped by Nike for a 30 minute track for their ‘run’ mix series.
Skream follows a long line of electronic music producers who have been asked by Nike to produce 30 minute workout pieces to help market their Nike Sport Music campaign including LCD Soundsystem, Cassius, The Crystal Method and Simian Mobile Disco.
Skream was the first name to come to me in regards to the dubstep movement, which seemed to emerge from the grime scene but most people seem to see it as another splinter of the UK garage scene of the early part of this decade. Whatever, it's one of the most exciting things going today, its sparse rhythms, massive bass and dark vibe fit today's world a lot better than most of the stuff I put up (and LOVE!). Skream, amazingly, is only 21-year old, based in the Croydon area of South London, who has been producing tracks since he was a teenager. He found himself working at the Big Apple Records shop, which was an early epicenter of dubstep. We'll have more to say about him as we put up some of his tracks, but for now, it seems important to note that Skream was perhaps the first to bring a melodic sense to the genre in 2005 and 2006, while maintaing its distinctive syncopated rhythms and dark basslines.
You get a great chance to hear this on the 2-hour mix he did for Pete Tong's radio show. Amazingly, dude almost exclusively uses tracks by himself or his mix of someone else's song, as he clearly does not lack for confidence. Why shouldn't he, though, if he's responsible for so many excellent tunes? A few quick observations, before you download - I had never realized how much dancehall/reggae influenced and overlapped with dubstep, it's one of the few genres that works just as well without vocals as with and the basslines, oh the basslines you will hear. More to come on this front, this is a good intro if you'd like to jump in and a really great mix for those of you who've been following this scene closely.
Check out Skreams Radio 1 Essential Mix here!
Skream, BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix June 17, 2007 (YSI link) (Sendspace link)
tracklist in commentsLabels: Cassius, LCD Soundsystem, Nike, Simian Mobile Disco., Skream, The Crystal Method |
