Dirty Basement

Despite being relative newcomers to the scene, Dirty Basement have been ripping it up in all the right circles. Describing their music as "face melting bendy basslines with cut up vocals, claps & monstrous beasts," you can see they don't fuck around. Thankfully their music lives up the momentuous expectations they set with such a statement, delivering some seriously heavy beats that grind, shake and destroy any potential preconceptions. Although they are monthly residents at the Soundhaus club in Glasgow, their productions have only had limited releases in the blog sphere, preferring instead to be released on the commercially and slightly invulnerable Beatport. Even with this in mind, that isn't to say that they haven't embraced the blogging community because there are at least four releases out there in the great unknown. I just don't think the majority of blogs have caught on just yet, which is understandable given that they haven't quite hit the point of exploding.

Whether or not the community encompasses them into their playlists is irrelevant, however, because they have already proven what they're capable of within a handful of releases/remixes. As far as I'm concerned, they have already accomplished what it takes most established DJs/producers years to build up and establish. Their medley of remixed renditions of their single Get Messy serves as a exemplification of this because while it starts off with slow breaks that progress into some sort of twisted dubstep, when it kicks off it does it with an insane amount of flair and energy that you almost don't know how to react to what you're being subjected to. It is only up from here, with excess amounts of dirty synths and a frenzied dubstep climax, which determines Dirty Basement's ability to build up at the right times, a focus which has become misaligned by many DJs in recent times in favour of dropping bombs at any given opportunity. The fact that they present the often contrasting segments in this order shows that they know how to construct a set and demonstrates their ability to mix. It is rare that you see medleys of this type of music and it is definitely a breath of fresh air.

Another song I intend to post is their remix of AC Slater's Hello. I was going to save this one for the inevitable AC Slater profiling post but I decided to focus on it now as there are plenty of Mr. Slater's tracks to go around. What I like most about this track is that it doesn't descend into the wobblefest which the likes of the previously mentioned artist, Jack Beats and to a lesser extent Hostage have succumbed to. While I personally have nothing against dropping wobbly basslines, a heavy reliance on them can kill a song. Appreciatively, this remix doesn't quite go that way, instead dropping hints on a small scale at the conclusion of the song, and sounding like what I imagine a three way between MSTRKRFT, Mr. Miyagi and Groove Armada would sound like, hitting all the right tempos and placing the focus on characterizing and supplementing that MSTRKRFT-esque grinding synth. The last track I'm gonna throw up is Dirty Basement's take on Jape's Floating. Out of the three, I'd say this is the weakest track of the bunch, not because it is any way bad but because it doesn't offer quite as much as the rest. The track itself, Floating, is difficult to remix because it constantly has those recognisable vocals, irregardless of whether they're being cut up or sampled, meaning it is more difficult for producers to distinguish themselves on this front. Even D.I.M's remix was fairly lacklustre and while Dirty Basement prove there is life left in this track, it doesn't quite hit the pinnacles of Get Messy Medley or Hello. Either way, with Jape being from Ireland, we gotta represent.

Dirty Basement Ft. Mc Freeflow - Get Messy Medley
AC Slater - Hello (Dirty Basement Remix)
Jape - Floating (Dirty Basement's Less D.I.M Edit)