Jungle Music: A studio session with Schematic

We sit down in the Lacquer Channel Mastering studio. “Well, what do you want to hear?” says Dan Dubois, also known as Toronto DnB producer Schematic (or by his House alter ego, Danny Woods).

I look around. We’re sitting in a room with paneled fabric walls.  In front of us is a mastering console - a deck full of knobs, used to process two channels of a stereo mix – the technological equivalent of gibberish to me.  A studio monitoring sound system is facing us....I think I’m about to be blown away.

Marky and S.P.Y.’s “Mystic Sunset” flows loudly from the speakers. The bass slightly shakes the floor as the sound waves hit your chest.This is the way drum & bass is meant to be heard.

After vibing on a variety of beats dark and light, liquid and grimy, we get talking about making music while Dan masters a few tracks.

“I think some people underestimate the importance of mastering," says Dubois. "The subtleties can definitely make or break a tune.” As a trained, freelance sound engineer, he has a keen (and biased) ear. But, I quickly see his point.

As he tweaks “Attack” – one of Schematic's newest and heaviest tracks - I can definitely hear the difference between the end product and the version he began with. Not only does it sound louder, but the bass was fuller and the vocal sample was much more balanced. The fine-tuning of a track is something the listener (including me) usually takes for granted.

To explain why hiring a good engineer is essential, Dan demonstrates that if the high hats in a tune are too loud, then they’ll distract you from enjoying the other parts of the composition. As much as I love bass, I wouldn’t want it to overpower the subtle add-ins or beautiful breaks, so I’m happy someone keeps all of this in mind during the post-production process.

After being schooled on the manipulation of sound, I ask him a few questions about his own sound:

How would you describe your sound?

"In general terms I guess my sound is on the smoother side of things. People tell me I have a sound, but I couldn't try to reproduce whatever it may be; it just happens." 

What puts you in the mood to make music?

"A good night's sleep and a hot mug of black coffee. I know a lot of drum & bass producers work really well when they've had a bad day or are angry about something, and they're able to let it out through their music. I'm sort of the opposite, I work best when I'm in a good mood and my head is clear otherwise I end up sitting around looking at pictures of cats or something."

Where do you get your inspiration while making andmastering tunes?

“For mastering, each track gets what that particular track needs. The inspiration is already in the track, from the artist. You can hear where it wants to be and it's my job to take it there."

“And as far as producing goes, Break is a god among men when it comes to technical DnB. How does he get his bass to sound like that??”

What about your favourite label?

“There isn’t really one label in particular, tunes are tunes.” he admits. “I’ve been really impressed with RAM lately, though. Obviously [newly signed, Toronto producer] Rene LaVice has been killing it for ages, and it's great to see him finally get the recognition. For the past few years though RAM has been on fire, pretty much every single release is top notch."

Why do you produce both House and Drum and Bass? Do youprefer any style in particular?

"Just for variety. It's easy to get too caught up in one genre and you end up making tracks that sound the same as what is already out there. I enjoy listening to other genres, so why not produce other genres too? I switch things up depending on my mood.” 

Give me a shameless plug.  

"Free Me is the big one, that'll be out on Blu Saphir Recordings in May with a great remix by FoxRox and Jay Rome on the B-side. I've also just signed an EP to All Street Recordings that will be out around the same time. Be sure to follow the Schematic & Danny Woods artist pages on Facebook, there will be more news and new, exciting stuff soon."

Enjoy this set of tunes mixed for the jsaltzz drum & bass podcast last month (click here to download):

Jsaltzz Podcast #2 (March 2012) by Jsaltzz on Mixcloud

Do we save Dubstep from Skrillex?

After reading Vulture’s article about why America loves Skrillex a few weeks back, I got to thinking about the dichotomy of Dubstep and ‘Brostep’.

I have to admit, I’m not really a huge fan of either genre. But Skrillex, in particular, turns me off... The fact is, MANY people love Skrillex and I’m not one to hate on a group of electronic music lovers just because I’m not on their vibe.

For some reason, Skrillex is so loved by America that he won 3 awards at this year’s Grammys!

There's no denying that this was a major achievement for electronic dance music, but my question is: Is this good for the overall Dubstep scene?

The marketer in me says yes

One could argue that artists like Rusko and Skrillex have opened the ears of the industry. The big 5 [music labels] have embraced the bass-heavy beats. This might change the face of future pop sounds...if it hasn’t already.

Forget the industry, if consumers embrace Dubstep with open arms, maybe the new fans will seek out U.K. (or other underground) sounds. Lesser known producers might actually make some money for a change! 

On the other hand...

This may not happen...the American Dubstep market may become oversaturated with the screechy, unstructured noises that overlay the ‘wob wob waas’, and the genre’s true diversity could be lost to the underground.

If you didn’t already know, a similar thing happened in the early ‘90s to Jungle Music.

In ’93 – ’94 Ragga vocals had virtually taken over the mainstream Jungle scene. The quick rapping complimented the repetitive beats and rave goers loved the vibe. It was all good until the violent, derogatory ‘Rude Boy’ mentality of  ‘90s Ragga infiltrated rave culture.  This attracted the media’s attention and the scene was thrust into a misconstrued, negative light.

In ’94 General Levy’s Incredible blew up (with other Ragga Jungle tunes to follow).

“When that thing blew up, it blew up for the wrong reasons. General Levy came in and gave Jungle to the wrong people. It wasn’t the people who initiated or instigated it. It was people who didn’t have a clue what Jungle was … Obviously some of the DJs were playing Incredible. And before you knew it, it blew up as the face of Jungle.” Sarah, Groove Connection, taken from All Crews (p.19)

To keep Jungle from becoming a ‘Ragga hybrid’, a group of influential Jungle DJs decidedly stopped playing any tracks featuring Ragga vocals. This movement shifted Jungle into the Drum & Bass era we know today.

People are already talking

I recently heard an interview with High Contrast on Fabio’s show last Sunday. They discussed the different sounds of the Dubstep genre on both sides of the pond. High Contrast commented on how Americans have shaped the sound to make it their own:

“It feels as though in the U.K. people are looking beyond Dubstep [there’s been a lot of talk on] post Dubstep or future Garage, but in America, they’ve really embraced it and have made it their own...it’s nice to see such a strong electronic scene over there.” – High Contrast with Fabio, BBC Radio 1

Interestingly enough, Fabio talked about a re-naming of the new American flavour and how the original founders of Dubstep, like Mala, tend to shy away from being associated with artists like Skrillex. He also noted that oftentimes, they’ll stay true to their own style and try to direct the sound in their own way... or they’ll move onto a another genre altogether. 

Sounds familiar. Will history repeat itself? We’ll have to wait and see. Although Drum and Bass fell off the pop charts after the Ragga influx, the genre evolved into many different flavours which included Reggae inspired tunes. Maybe the same will happen with Dubstep?

One thing can be said about the musicians who dare to be different though: their fans love to love them, and everyone else tends to hate them.  

I leave you with one of my favourite Dubstep mixes. It's true to the genre and features many different sounds at a 140 bpm tempo. Enjoy!

Die Antwoord releases the Ten$Ion...

I've never been easily bothered by offensive lyrics. Music is music. In my opinion, art shouldn't have boundaries...and boy, it's clear that the members of Die Antwoord would agree with me. That’s why I like them.

Offensive or not, you can't deny that their tracks are catchy as hell! 

Their second album, Ten$Ion dropped today worldwide. It was a digital release so the vinyl lovers will have to wait 7 more days until this hot shit is in their hands. 

I had the pleasure of buying (and listening to) the long-awaited LP this evening. 

Ten$Ion is by no means $O$ (the groups' first album), but it is still hella good...especially for those into the ravey/club sounds from the last album featured on tracks like Wat Kyk Jy and Beat Boy. It’s just as offensive and captivating as the previous, but with a completely unique feel.

Although different than it’s predecessor, Ten$Ion still features the Die Antwoord essence we all know and love. Ninja's quick, aggressive rapping and Yolandi's cartoonish vocals are staples of the band, and both elements are clearly here to stay.

Why I love it:
- They kept their Die Antwoord sound
  but are clearly evolving musically.
- Playful lines referencing pop
  songs of old
- Afrikaan
- The strange “Uncle Jimmy” skit
- The Zefside Zol interlude.

What it’s missing:
- I wish this album was longer…but
  what you get is good.
- More dialects (this album is  
  definitely more Americanized
  than the last.
- A dnb track (What? there is
  dubstep on this album. Give the
  junglists some love!)


Check out this four minute preview for a ride on the ZEF side: