Very pleased today to up this latest Bass Music Mix from Bristol's own Dub Boy.  He's slowly been making the transition from local hero to being more widely recognised - anyone in Bristol will tell you he's one of the best DJs you're likely to hear, but DJs who don't produce can find it  difficult to make an impact outside of their hometown.  So it's handy, then, that Tim also runs some massively respected parties, is one part of Steakhouse Recordings, and makes his DJ sets stand out with an impressive array of dubs, white labels and specials - this mix even starts out with a shout from Dawn Penn!  

So, click 'play' below to get some bashment sunshine into your life, or go here to download, and have a read of the interview.  Tracklist is at the bottom of the post.

Hi Tim. It's been a while since we last spoke, what have you been up to lately?

Yea it’s been a minute. I’ve been busy. Day job, DIY, putting on parties, playing gigs.... wishing there were more hours in the day!

Can you tell us a bit about this mix? Is it like one of your club sets at the minute?

Well I wanted to put something together that wove together soca, bashment and funky. My sets often include this stuff cos it usually creates a great vibe in the club.... it’s pure dancing music!

This sounds more house and soca influenced than some of your other mixes - are you shifting your sound a bit?

The last couple of years I’ve been playing a lot more electronic dance music alongside bashment & soca. Rhythmically loads of it blends brilliantly with UK Funky and tropical house or global bass or whatever it’s called. So it’s been really fun to explore that and it’s been great to help push and create a little vibe with this style in the UK alongside people like The Heatwave & Smutlee. 

But I wouldn’t say my sound is shifting, it’s just expanded. I still play plenty of dancehall, roots and dubstep and try and push a Bristol vibe with my style. I’m always rooted in soundsystem styles.... I think if I can close my eyes and picture it being played at St Pauls carnival, then it’s gonna work with me. This mix would sound great at carnival, I reckon!

What else are you playing at the minute?

It depends on the gig and the crowd of people in front of me. I’ve been lucky enough to have been playing at all sorts of different parties recently. Some nights I’m playing straight dancehall and reggae, some will be uk funky, bashment & soca, and some will be dubstep, roots & steppas. I’ve also had some fun playing Ragga Jungle of late. If the set is long enough I’ll try and get all of those styles into it.   

We've been getting the feeling that a lot of 'tropical bass' (or whatever you want to call it) has been getting a bit more overtly ravey lately, what with all these balkan, funky, and moombahton tunes and their big build-ups, Dutch-house leadlines and so on... what's your take on it?

Yea agreed. The definition I have of tropical in my head is quite different to what I hear get described as tropical music by a lot of people. Jump up ravey vibes isn’t doing it for me. I’m much more about getting down low.... proper waistline vibes. I like playing rowdy music, and energy music y’know, but I don’t think you need to hit people over the head with it. I like to play music that invites you to dance, not stuff that assaults you.

We hear you've stopped one of your nights. Why is that?

It had gotten to the stage where we had Ruffnek Diskotek putting on little monthly nights as well as big raves, plus the Monster Bass event we put on twice a year with the Mungos Hi-Fi Soundsystem, and Karnival. It was all getting a bit muddled and time consuming.... I didn’t have enough time for music! So we decided to just do Ruffnek Diskotek bi-monthly at Cosies, plus occasionally hosting second rooms at larger parties, and Monster Bass twice a year. Easier for us, easier for the ravers. Simples.

How are the rest of your projects going? Any plans to build your own Dub Boy beats? Wagwan with Steakhouse?

I’m working a number of mixtapes which should be coming out over the next few months. We’ll have a Monster Bass coming up on 18th March at the Blue Mountain and Ruffnek Diskotek sessions at Cosies. It never stops really ha ha. I’ve been working on a few edits and remixes for DJ-ing y’know, but I only really dabble in making beats from time to time. I’m foremost a DJ, selecting music for the people is what I love. 

Regarding Steak House we’ve had a little break from it over the last few months, but will be rolling again later in the year with more releases.

Whose your tip for artist to watch in 2011?

I’ll give you three:

Kahn (and his side project Gorgon Sound alongside Neek). Top quality bassmusic across the spectrum and Bristol’s most exciting talent right now.

Kenyatta. I highly rate this young Jamaican dancehall artist. His voice is incredible. Check ‘Clarks’... anthem right there.

Mr Benn. He’s been working on an album for the last 3 years which features a host of dancehall vocalists and what I’ve heard of it is great. If he can get it out this year it’ll be one of the best UK Dancehall albums for a good while.

You recently made the switch to serato, complete with natty custom 10" control plates... How have you found the change?

I love vinyl and still buy records every month, but I have to hold my hands up and say Serato is amazing. I still always have a few records in my bag when I’m DJ-ing which I like to play, but the options and possibilities Serato gives you are incredible, and are great for a DJ as eclectic as myself.
 

We were chatting recently about the changes dubstep is going through -are you finding more stuff to play recently?

Yep. I like dubstep that focuses on rhythm and bass and is steeped in soundsystem vibes. The ‘dub’ in dubstep is what always appeals to me. I‘m hearing plenty of really good stuff that kinda fills that remit again. It reminds me of those early 2004/05 vibes. My ears are very open to dubstep at the moment.

 
Listening to the mix, something that really strikes me is how joyful a lot of this music is - and 'joy' can sometimes feel like a quality more 'serious' dance music avoids... Is that something that attracts you to this sound?

Yea for sure. This music gives me joy ,makes me grin y’know, and in turn I want to share that feeling with others. That’s what DJ-ing is all about for me. 
 

Can you talk us through the process for getting specials done? Which ones are you most hyped on, and what would your dream special be?

The two main ways I’ve used are either approaching the artist direct, or dealing with a producer or soundsystem who have artists passing through their studio regularly. Usually you will get an artist to perform one of their hit songs on either the original riddim they recorded it on, or one of your choice. They’ll change and adapt the lyrics to bigup you and your sound. The best I’ve heard recently have been by Firehouse, who are a sound from Denmark. They have some amazing specials!! Lots of classic 90’s tunes I grew up with. Those guys are on it bigtime. I think my dream special would be Ring The Alarm by Tenor Saw. Considering he passed away in the 1988 I don’t see that one ever happening.
 

From the outside it feels like your DJing has ramped up over the last year, particularly in terms of gigs outside of Bristol. Are you finding audiences receptive to what you do? and is it ever tricky playing such vocal-led music to non-English speaking crowds?

Yep the last year or so has been excellent. I’ve been playing all over the UK and playing various festivals including Glastonbury last year which was a lifetime ambition achieved! I’ve found that I’ve been able to adapt myself to all the parties I’ve played at, and certainly outside of Bristol the crowds seem to enjoy what I’m doing. They dance anyway so I must be doing ok ha ha.

With regards to non-English speaking crowds, I’ve been to French-speaking Canada and have had some shows in Europe. I’ve found so far that the people I’ve played to have had an appetite for reggae so it’s been fine. I’ve had requests for Drum and Bass but thankfully not electro yet! Hopefully I’ll get more opportunities to find out.

 
Do you think that there will be a kind of feedback loop happening soon, in the sense of people like you and the Heatwave are putting JA
accapella's over Funky riddims... When will we see JA making funky type riddims directly? Or is this already happening?

I doubt it. Jamaica never got Jungle, they don’t get Dubstep or Garage, why should they look to Funky? I don’t see it happening to be honest. Jamaica looks to the US more, so there are plenty of riddims that have that electro sound that is so ubiquitous. Some UK artists have been making waves in Jamaica such as Gappy Ranks, but the successes he’s been having over there are on Hip Hop style riddims. A lot of bashment and soca riddims sound pretty close to UK Funky anyway so that movement in style isn’t something that seems necessary I guess.
 

Who's the next big thing in dancehall? Vocally and production wise?  And who's doing it from the UK?

Well personally I’m hugely excited by Dave Kelly’s return to production. I hope Stronger and Turn It Up are a taste of things to come.

In terms of vocalists, big guns such as Vybz Kartel, Beenie Man, Movado & Busy Signal still dominate, but I reckon Kenyatta, Timeka Marshall, ZJ Liquid and Versatile are all excellent talents who could make a big impression in 2011.

When it comes to the UK Gabriel Heatwave’s definitive roundup is well worth reading: http://largeup.okayplayer.com/2011/01/11/cockney-yardie-heatwave-2010-uk-bashment-update/. It’s definitely an exciting time to be a UK dancehall fan.

 
Biggest riddims for you recently and for the next few months...

Ninety (aka Bad Boy)

Dancehall EFX

One Day (aka Rum & Red Bull)

Exit 21

Jam 1

Turn It Up 

Tracklist:

=====

i.d.