“You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge”. If you've attended any dubstep night in the past twelve months, chances are you've heard this classic sample resonate in the room. Gaining support from the likes of Mala, Pinch,J:Kenzo, N-Type,Sleeper and Tunnidge, to mention but a few, “Street Knowledge” has been one of those dubplates that still echoes in memories of past nights. The tune finally gets a release on Chestplate, District's usual home, alongside two heavy numbers that sit well in both District's and Chestplate's discography.
Opener “Drowsy” is an aggressive assault that doesn't wait long to bring in its distorted leads and manic growls, splattered over layers of trappy hi-hats and round kick drums. Following this destabilizing outburst, “Street Knowledge” almost sounds soothing: though each percussive sound seems chiselled to mount heaviness, the track is a dive into a world of minimal subfrequencies that ascend and descend, leaning itself towards introspection just as much as it can cause damage on a dancefloor.
It isn't hard to get why these tunes have been doing the rounds: finely crafted and surrounding the listener in their atmosphere, they make up for another great release to add up to Chestplate's canon.
As one of the finest imprints in dubstep, it’s always an excitng me when fresh Chestplate material arrives. And, with its focus on quality rather than quantity, the latest release from Distance’s label marks the return of its first American artist. Never one to shy away from his responsibilities of demonstrating just what the USA is capable of when it comes to the deep and dark 140bpm, LA native Mesck is back with CHST037. And like his debut ‘Conquista’ EP, this release has something for everyone…
The ‘Dead Language’ EP opens with the title track: 05:39 of menace with its tight, clattering percussion and rolling sub wizardry. As far as the Mesck signature sound goes, this track has it all. Be warned - ‘Dead Language’ will go off in the dance.
Track 2 ‘Anti-Social’ stays true to its title - and doesn’t hold back on its message. It’s an unsurprisingly scary exploration - the snare and kick are particularly aggressive - with Mesck reaching into the darkness to create something that lurks just out of peripheral vision. This might just be some of the producer’s best work to date.
The release ends with ‘Undertone’. It’s the most essential inclusion on the EP - a track that says everything you need to know about Mesck’s abilities as a producer. It starts with the bare essentials, stripped to the bone, before rolling into the meat of the track with a hypnotising groove on the first drop. Empty space - full of fear and loathing. Absolutely stellar work from both Mesck and Chestplate.
The release has seen support from the likes of Distance, JoeNice, Sleeper, Icicle and more.
