Sekkle: a DMZ dubstep sampler

I posted this on the trusty but dance/electronica-shy Musicbanter forum a while ago, and I'm still rather proud of how it turned out. Enjoy!

Dubstep Label Sampler: DMZ
(click the banner above tracklisting for download)

DMZ is a label set up in 2004 run by producer/DJs Coki, Mala and Loefah (as well as MC Sgt. Pokes) out of Brixton, South London. DMZ is also inarguably the most influential dubstep club night and part of the bedrock of the scene's origins.

Coki and Mala are dubstep's most infamous producers under their pseudonym Digital Mystikz; the DMZ label being a platform for their music as a duo, as solo artists or the tunes of longtime collaborator Loefah.
They were present at the dubstep's beginnings in 2003 with producers such as Skream and Benga on the Tempa label, having a huge impact on it's direction with their incorporation of dub/reggae soundsystem aesthetics and values.

^Yes this a common reaction to 'darkstep' I imagine. Self-conscious shuffling
punctuated by the odd nutter who managed to sneak in some brownies.
This is a shot from the DMZ night at Mass, incidentally.

DMZ's speaker set-up has a fierce reputation. Before the England smoking ban, the sight of glowing spliffs protruding from the raised hoods of skanking bass-junkies was a common sight; and many of dubstep's most recognizable names made the pilgrimage here throughout the first half of the Noughties to experience the infamous sound and 'meditate on bass weight'.

Every budding 'scene' brings with it it's collection of pretentious arseholes and manifesto-writers and from what I've heard DMZ had it's share. These are the people that balk at the current state of the scene, where mid-range bass and a 'heavy metal'/ravey vibe have taken precedence... They probably have a point, but you can either move on and evolve or let the cement dry and stagnate, like grime did.
As the initial fervor of lost wanderers in virgin musical territory has diluted into hundreds of producers and releases every month, the DMZ dubs still take me back to the pure dread I cut my teeth on, sitting pressed to the wall of my flatmates room as he put the sub-woofer through it's paces practicing for the next set.
Their stuff is foreboding and deep in a way very few have imitated successfully... So here's the best of Digital Mystikz and the rest of the DMZ label for yooz to experience! All 12'' plates from the last 5 years.

Sekkle...


1. Intro
2. I Wait - Digital Mystikz
3. Spongebob - Coki
4. Haunted - Digital Mystikz
5. Triple Six - Coki
6. Twisup - Digital Mystikz & Loefah
7. Hunter - Mala
8. Anti War Dub - Digital Mystikz
9. Horror Show - Loefah
10. Learn - Mala
11. Mood Dub - Coki
12. Goat Stare - Loefah
13. Ancient Memories - Digital Mystikz

A number of iconic DMZ tracks made it onto the Dubstep Allstars Vol.2 CD showcase on Tempa, which was largely responsible for popularizing the genre, and elsewhere, but here you will find just tracks from their 12'' back catalogue I have accumulated over the last couple of years.
Except for the odd mid-bass one to break up the mood this is a sub-fest so, as always, make sure you can amp it up to hear everything.

Loadsa sets @ Get Darker

Grime 02

Some mixtape cuts from the last four months for the hype-deficient.
A bit of everything, some pure aggy, some bashment skankers, skewed beats, 'the youngers'... sick productions this year. Track one is cheating (late 2007) but Skepta demands a rep. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeelll!!!!

>>Grime music in 2008 so far...<<
Tracklist -


1. I Spy - Skepta ft. Jammer
2. Rude Kid - Badness
3. Inside Looking Out - Trim
4. Switch - P Money
5. Skankin' Ting - Jammer ft. Skepta
6. Mayhem Freestyle - Griminal
7. Par (Sending for Griminal) - Tempa T
8. Sorry U Are? - Tinchy Stryder ft. Chipmunk
9. Mountain - Ghetto
10. Breathe - Frisco ft. Cookie, Chipmunk
11. Taliban - Eskiboy (Wiley)
12. Kill Off Killy Pt 2 - President T
13. Badman Ting - Doctor
14. Zumpi Hunter (Freestyle) - Double-S

Wiley's 'Wearing My Rolex' not included... Support the scene, get it off iTunes now are you stupes???

Grime 01

Each Grime posting will include a set of classic radio merkage (see below, virgins) and all manner of glittering shit.
Grime, despite mainstream air, is very much alive.
If you're at all curious, please visit the rather magnificent >>Grimepedia


Eedyat's Guide to Grime Slanguage~

air: if an MC's bars get air, he's not doing his job properly
badman: a skilled MC
bait: shoddy, below-par. 'That tune was bait hip hop, not grime areyaMAD?'
bare: in excess, alot: 'Bare MCs wanna chat shit'
beef: or war; a feud between MC's or crews usually precipitated by musical differences or disagreements. Some MC's are magnets for it: Wiley's position at the top of the pile (the eldest grime MC at 29 and 'Father of Grime') has singled him out for every ambitious younga ; though many feel no need to usurp their fellow MC's. Few have ever carried out their threats and despite being an aggressive sound grime is not intrinsically violent. There are exceptions, once-prolific MC Crazy Titch is currently serving time for murder
blud: term of affection, mate, brother. Fam is used to refer to close friends or is just used when being friendly
'brap': sound made in approval of a heavy tune or MC, used to big someone up. Usually accompanies 'gun fingers'
bumbaclaat: Jamaican derogatory, meaning arsewipe
cheddar: money. 'P' is also used, standing for paper: 'I'm makin P like Diddy'
clash: an MC stand off over beats. Like a hip hop 'battle' on speed. Only recently, it has been thought that some clashes are rigged in order to gain publicity for the participants, others are deeply personal and heated.
dubplate: not strictly a grime term but referring to an exclusive, never-before-heard tune usually played out at the beginning of a set that distinguishes the DJ
endz: neighbourhood, East End etc. most are distinguished by postal codes. Bow E3 is the most notorious starting point for most of the best East MC's since 'grime' began in 2001.
gash: in hip-hop this is the oft-referred-to pussy and refers to women in general
gully: raw, real
hype: a hype MC or tune gets people moving, and is fast and intense
lemon: marijuana
man dem: group of friends or homies
mash: gun, 'draw for the mash'; strap and tool is also commonly used (though few MC's actually own one)
merk/murk: to kill, to beat somebody in a clash, an MC can merk a tune with his/her rhyming ability
mixtape: term for an independently produced and released album used in underground music since the 90's. There are few grime albums proper, and in 2005 mixtapes became a popular format on which MC's released music. Mixtapes have been accused of shifting the focus away from DJ's and raves to producers and 'studio rats'. Typically comprising 20+ tracks, quality control is not always on the agenda, but they retail around the £6 mark on specialist sites, such as uptownrecords.com, avalanchemusichut.com and the swag UKRecordshop (however bootlegging is commonplace so there is strong emphasis on supporting the scene whilst not pandering to mainstream standards)
'no long ting': no hassle, no fuss, no bullshit
pies: see gash
riddim: Jamaican, rhythm or beat
roadz: the streets, the ghetto, residential areas
rudeboi: weed smoking, hood-wearing bloke
send: to send for an MC on a track or on radio is to challenge them to a clash
shank: a crude, homemade knife carried to make pincushion out of / defend from enemies; to stab.
shoogz: another term for a grime/dancehall/dubstep rave
shower: as in showerman; meaning of superior skill, quality MCing; 'Tinch was shower on Rinse last night'
skeng / skengman: dangerous/hardcore, see badman
slew: similar to merk, to cut somebody down in their prime with lyrical prowess
spit: to rap, an MC spits or sprays bars over beats
sublow: another type of grime music, also known as 8 bar or mucktion, 'accompanied by grinding basslines and electro clap noises'
swag: poor quality. Can refer to fake MC's and swag tunes alike
sweetbwoy: from dancehall, refers to slower tempos and female vocals in tunes. This is the opposite to hype and is considered by many not to be proper grime, and is more reminiscent of chart-friendly hip hop.
wasteman: diss meaning a slacker, somebody who wastes their and others people's time
'whagwan?': greeting, 'what's going on / what's happening?'
wifey: girlfriend
Yardie: not original grime slang, old term meaning Jamaican. In grime refers to a yardie flow - stylised ragga-esque vocals. MC's notorious for their yardie flows in grime include Riko Dan (a raggamuffin since his jungle days), Flow Dan, God's Gift, Badness, etc
younga: a young MC. The grime youts, especially in the last year, have become very prolific and dominant in the scene as anybody under 18 on London estates has grown up surrounded by it.
16's, 32's, 64 bars: number of bars spat over a beat. In a regulated clash (such as those on live-video webcast Axe FM) each MC is given a limited number of bars to spit.

Anything I have left out is either because
a) I'm being a mug
or b) the phrase is an affected catchphrase of a particular MC, more on these later possibly

Classic set:

Meridian Crew ripped off the Logan Sama show (Kiss FM) 29/07/2005
http://www.mediafire.com/?9xkxannzevd

Featuring, in order of initial appearance: President T, JME, Big H, Skepta
Set is fucked. Each of these MC's have unique flows, classic bars and great hooks.
A history lesson on the late, great Meridian can be found here

~

'Kill of killy!' - Prez T