The guys over at
Diffrent just sent me one of their latest releases. For those that don't know,
Diffrent is a DnB label that describe themselves as "
focusing on pushing the whole movement of their stripped back head-nodding drum tracks and big deep monstrous bass".
Clearly then this music won't appeal to eveyone, and that's kind of the point to keep in mind when listening to
Arkaik's EP 'Trauma'.
The tracks here aren't friendly and accessible, their dark and scary, resistant to being shoehorned into genres and lingering somewhere between 170 and 140bpm. For some it might be off-putting, but for others, like me, it brings back memories.....of 2006, of first big nights at
Fabric, dark grimey nights when Dubstep was just emerging, of long forgotten artists like
DJ Darkstep, Zomby and
Goth-Trad. This was electronic music before it was just mindless womps, music that played with wided spaced structure, deep and almost inaudible sub-bass that you could feel in your teeth, scattered but meticulous rhythms and drum patterns.
This was the music that first got me into bass culture, having the time of my life as I stumbled through the rabbit warren that is
Fabric on weekends.
It might not have a place on your iPod, but these are the tracks that DJs should be adding to their libraries. Bass music is heading back to it's roots, let's follow
Arkaik all the way back....down the rabbit hole...
Check the tracks below and see for yourself..
Arkaik - Trauma
Arkaik - Head Skill ft. MCXL
Arkaik - Vertebrae ft. Jekyll
Arkaik - Turncoat
Like it? Preorder the EP
here
edit - audio links removed by request, preview the tracks
here
