All Things Bass..
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Culture System Reviews Carib - Deep Bass Exploration..
‘Sub-soca’ is certainly a fitting title for the majority of Marcus Visionary’s Carib, a crazy long double LP full of carnival hype that often shifts into overdrive jump-tempos. But it sounds like soca enjoyed through salvaged radio waves discovered by a distant space ship partying as it drifts helplessly in wait for their enemy’s final blow. The speed of the album also hints as much at Visionary’s drum n bass background as it references soca. And like many of the dubstep producers with visible roots in the dnb scene, homie populates the album with dark sci fi aesthetics, albeit tempered with Caribbean, dub, and house influences. This massive release also jumps far into most reaches currently being explored in deep bass, covering the range of future roots to dubstep and tropical tech-house to UK funky. Most of the tracks are rather simple, never introducing anything new beyond the two minute mark, but there’s something in the basis of nearly every track to enjoy.
The Jahdan remixes, the reggae cuts like ‘Nightfall’, and even the rapid paced, destructive wobblings of “In The VIP” are all tuff. The album wouldn’t be what it is without them and the diversity they lend it. But it’s the heavily syncopated, techy tropical stuff and grimey UK Funky that really make this album special. That sub-soca if we’re gonna keep with that. Of them, the ghosts of useless sirens that haunt the ‘London’ soundscape makes it nearly the most gripping. But the identifiably Caribbean track, ‘Pepper Pot,’ is the standout track of them all. Made up of almost entirely percussive elements, the track plows through a diverse array of drums, flips numerous polyrhythms and switches up the main beat over and over again.
You might’ve already heard a lot of this album, since 10 of its 27 songs were already released on two EP’s bearing the Carib title. Listening to these previous releases would mosdef have helped to digest the full length. Although the songs cover a range of styles, and often push into new realms, many sound very similar to each other. When listening, you can tell Visionary was thinking about offering deejays a choice within each style pushed here. “This LP is a collection of dubs compiled and made for DJs with the clubs in mind,” he said in the release notes. This probably also accounts for the brevity of composition in most of the songs, since they’re expected to be blended with other joints.
It drops on NYC-based LionDub International on May 2nd. Read up on label founder Liondub in this Knowledge Magazine Q&A.
Jahdan Blakkamoore — “The General (Marcus Visionary RMX)”
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Knowledge | Marcus Visionary - Carib LP
Marcus Visionary is a DJ, producer and event promoter from Toronto, Canada. He's a member of Shy FX's Digital Soundboy camp and also co-runs the Liondub International imprint. He's releasing an album soon so we tracked him down to get the latest...
Tell us more about the album you're releasing...
Carib is a collection of dubs that Benny Page and I have been playing in the clubs over the last two years. Most of the album is made up of party tracks for DJs. We realized that the tracks worked really well so I made ten fresh tracks over the last few months on a similar vibe to complete the project. There are 27 tracks in total. The concept is basically getting back to the basics. Four to the floor foot drums and sub bass. Combining all of my musical influences into a melting pot.
What's the thought process behind the title?
I chose the word Carib to describe the sound of the record because there are so many Carribean elements that can be heard in my music. My family is from Guyana and the culture is from the Carribean. I grew up on reggae, soca and dub music so this was the music that comes out of me naturally. I also wanted to include elements from kuduro, house, broken beat, funky and techno as these are all types of music that are constantly influencing me. Ironically Carib is also the word used for the nine tribes of native indians who live throughout the Carribean and South America. My father is black but also has Amerindian blood in him. The Amerindians are the native indians who live in Guyana and I also have their facial features which made the title even more fitting.
What did you set out to achieve with it?
When the dubstep sound hit I started experimenting with the 140 bpm tempo. I started making tracks that I wanted to hear in a club. I love the whole half time / double time thing that can happen with dubstep as it's very similar to jungle. I've always played party music so I wanted to make music that would work well on the dancefloor. I tried to give the tracks more energy in the drums and keep the bass stripped down to the sub. I will add some LFO here and there but for me I always gravitate to tracks with stripped down sub bass and drums.
How does working on albums compare with of singles?
This was my first concept album that funnily enough started off with a collection of singles. I really enjoyed coming up with the concept and following it through to the end. By the time I finished the last track which was London, I knew the LP was complete. With the new digital format it allowed us an opportunity to include many tracks opposed to the regular 12-14 tracks of most LPs.
Can we expect anything different on it?
I've been told that it doesn't really fit into any genre categories so you'll have to listen to it to find out! I'm really happy with all of the DJ support I've recieved so far. Many dubstep DJs have been giving support and I really appreciate it. I hope that more people will enjoy it once it's released May 1st.
Who have you collaborated with on it?
I was fortunate enough to remix the likes of Johnny Osbourne, Luciano, Jahdan, Satori, Shadetek ft. 77 Klash and Noble Society. Coffee and Tea is one of my favourite tracks that I've ever had the honour of working on. Johnny Osbourne is a reggae legend and is also someone that I really admire. Liondub, who played the track for Johnny, said he listened to it in his car for an hour straight. That blew me away! Since then I've worked on quite a few Johnny Osbourne remixes which will be coming out later this year.
What's the next challenge for you?
Creating a single for Digital Soundboy. Shy pushes us to our limits and I appreciate the challenge. I'll also be putting together a jungle LP for my label Liondub International. It has a trailer load of reggae legends on it so I'm really excited about getting it out to the public.
Anything else you want to tell us about?
Watch out for the Humble LP coming soon. Big up the whole Digital Soundboy camp as well as Liondub NYC.
Knowledge | Marcus Visionary - Carib LP
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