Bass Music Mix 16 - Caper
January 18
One name that started to creep into my conciousness over the last year or so has been Caper. I've been enjoying the way he's been fusing breakstep and dubstep influences across a range of labels, so it was an obvious move to hit him up for Bass Music Mix. From his early releases on Studio Rockers (including 'Hybrid', which was picked up by Sinden for his Fabric CD) he's spread his wings and also releases as part of Jellybass; whose forthcoming release on Air Recordings features remixes from Jazzsteppa and Borgore amongst others, as well as Caper himself on a solo tip. You can check that out here:
So, please introduce yourself - who are you and what do you do?
I'm a producer from Southampton going under the name of 'Caper'. I produce dubstep/breaks/breakstep/2step whatever you want to call it! I'm also one part of the duo 'Jellybass', which makes kinda wobbly hiphop/dub/breaks music
It looks to me - if I'm being optimistic -that the kind of garagey breakstep sound is making a return to the breaks scene - would you agree?
I hope so, I've always liked the choppy syncopated rhythms of a good 2step break and they always sounded best when using old breakbeats like Zed Bias, EL B etc used to do. I have certainly noticed more garage influenced tracks coming out of late. It seems like a lot of the older dubstep DJ's are looking to the early days of the dark 2steppers that inspired the scene originally & I've noticed more break beat producer experimenting with shuffled beats. Breakbeat seems to have got to a point where its almost indistinguishable from electro-house so I think its great that people are starting to experiment with a tougher more underground sound.
Which artists are you really feeling at the moment?
I'm loving the DJ Madd stuff, so deep and always excellently produced. Nero's less commercial tracks are great, MJ Cole seems to be doing more garagey bits again which is awesome. I'm also loving Jazzsteppa, SBTRK, Gella and a new guy to the scene called Flip Disc.
Finally, do you have anything coming up you want to plug?
I have an EP coming out shortly on Cut La Rocs label Rocstar Recordings called 'The Poker Ghost EP'.http://soundcloud.com/caperuk/sets/poker-ghost-epAs I mentioned I have lots of stuff ready to go so if any labels listen to the mix and like the sound be sure to get in contact! Three of the tracks in the mix are from an EP I've just finished with the very talented 'Flip Disc' which we are currently looking for a home for, so get in touch!If people want to contact me or find out more, they can at my soundcloud or on the following links:http://myspace.com/caperuk
http://twitter.com/caperuk
What were you trying to do with this mix - are you looking to showcase a sound?
Sort of, I guess "my sound" fits somewhere in between dubstep, breaks and garage. For this mix I primarily wanted to showcase some of my own productions and remixes to give people an idea of the different sounds I make but I also wanted to play some tracks by other people that I find inspirational or fit with the sort of stuff I'm doing at the moment.You had a track featured on Sinden's FabricLive - how did that come about?
That was a very unexpected result, both from my point of view and the label's. The track in question was called 'Hybrid' and was released on Botchit & Scarper's dubstep imprint Studio Rockers. I think my release was a bit of a gamble for them as it didn't fit squarely into the dubstep genre. Being part of Botchit & Scarper they did however have a lot of non dubstep DJ's on their mailing list who they decided to send the tracks to on the off-chance. Sinden was one of those and he seemed to love it, he supported it heavily in his DJ sets and the timing was perfect as he was compiling his tracklisting for his Fabric compilation at the time.I think ironically the'Hybrid' release was more popular outside of the dubstep scene, or with crossover DJ's, but was one of the best selling releases the imprint had had up to that point.Would you say you've changed your style since then? You've released on dubstep and breaks labels since...
I think it has developed, definitely. 'Hybrid' for me was always going to be a one of kind I think. It was an idea I had that I just needed to do, I've always loved the warping basslines of the Speed Garage sound and just knew it would fit well with a 4/4 dubstep beat. It was very much an experiment but I made that track for myself so it wasn't an issue if no one else like it, its just a bonus that they did!Has garage always been an influence? What else has?
I taught myself to produce by making 2step and garage so yeah I guess this is always going to show through in my productions. I just make music that I think sounds good, invariably that involves merging elements from more than one genre, for example dubstep with speed garage for 'Hybrid' or dubstep with broken beat/breaks for 'Jump Up'. I spend alot of time listening to alot of different music from past and present, I love to sample as well as it gives an authenticity to a track even if its just a single hit or a unidentifiable vocal snippet.I've always been inspired by soulful music, whether its laid back or heavy dancefloor I only really find it interesting if it has that soulful or deep element. I hope this comes through in my own productions, I think sometimes they are overlooked as not 'dancefloor enough' as the mainstream club trend at the moment seems to be for more cold clinical tearout tracks.It looks to me - if I'm being optimistic -that the kind of garagey breakstep sound is making a return to the breaks scene - would you agree?
Is that the kind of sound you're going for at the minute?
It's one of them! I was really please with the collaboration I did with Sweetie Irie, called 'Jump Up', it was a merging of dubstep, broken beat, garage & breaks and the end result could not have been closer to what I set out to do! I've also been working on a lot of deep tracks of late with a more repetitive detroit kind of influence and some bits that bridge the two styles completely. Each track is different and often changes shape during production but I definitely want to do some more bits like 'Jump Up' in 2010.Where next? What do you hope to do this year?
I'm hoping to have a lot more releases out this year, 2009 was a great year but releases were a little sparse! I managed to get the opportunity to remix for some great artists as well so I'm hoping that continues into this year.I've got so many tracks ready for release, some are awaiting the final vocal track from some outstanding vocalists and others are good to go as they are. Labels are stretched at the moment due to the current climate in the record industry so I need to find some new ones that share my musical tastes and visions in order to spread the load and get more of my bits released.Which artists are you really feeling at the moment?
Finally, do you have anything coming up you want to plug?
http://twitter.com/caperuk
Thanks to Caper - now here's the mix!
1) Flip Disc & Caper - Surface // Dubplate
2) DJ Madd - Someone // Black Box
3) Compound One - Perhaps The Darkness // Compound One
4) The Widdler - Alias // Dubstep Records
5) Flip Disc - Pai Nosso // Dubplate
6) Caper - Life // Dubplate
7) DJ Chix ft Resco - Broken Melody (Caper Remix) // Rocstar Recordings
8) Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo // Hotflush Recordings
9) Caper - Poker Ghost // Rocstar Recordings
10) The Widdler - Froggy Style // Shift Recordings
11) Jellybass ft Brother Culture - No Love (Caper Remix) // Air Recordings
12) Noah D & Babylon Soundsystem - California Style // Argon
13) Caper ft Sweetie Irie - Jump Up // 10 Against One
14) Emalkay - When I Look At You // Dub Police
15) Rhythm Section - Comin On Strong (Caper 09 Remix) // RSR
2) DJ Madd - Someone // Black Box
3) Compound One - Perhaps The Darkness // Compound One
4) The Widdler - Alias // Dubstep Records
5) Flip Disc - Pai Nosso // Dubplate
6) Caper - Life // Dubplate
7) DJ Chix ft Resco - Broken Melody (Caper Remix) // Rocstar Recordings
8) Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo // Hotflush Recordings
9) Caper - Poker Ghost // Rocstar Recordings
10) The Widdler - Froggy Style // Shift Recordings
11) Jellybass ft Brother Culture - No Love (Caper Remix) // Air Recordings
12) Noah D & Babylon Soundsystem - California Style // Argon
13) Caper ft Sweetie Irie - Jump Up // 10 Against One
14) Emalkay - When I Look At You // Dub Police
15) Rhythm Section - Comin On Strong (Caper 09 Remix) // RSR
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