The term dubstep may just be a new branding experiment for illbient, but one of the genre’s most proficient enactors, Kode 9, lagging from a recent flight, shed some light on its dark contours when he spoke at length as part of the Red Bull Music Academy late last year. Kode described the music as a sideways outgrowth of the more reggae side of UK garage, which is to say music of choppy velocity that makes room for some dubby swing. The discussion is sadly lacking in many musical examples, but it’s rich with details, such as how much it costs to cut your own dubplate, who Kode’s working with, the pleasures in dispensing with 4/4 beats, and which British record stores are central to the scene. The file’s available as an M4A, which is, essentially, an MP3 with images embedded.
Current Activities
• October 13, 2016: This day marks the start of the 250th weekly Disquiet Junto project. • November 16, 2016: I'll be sharing the mic at Adobe Books in San Francisco with my fellow 33 1/3 author Evie Nagy for an evening hosted, from 7pm to 10pm, by Marc Kate (facebook.com). • December 1, 2016: A likely speaking engagement. Details to come. • December 13, 2016: This day marks the 20th anniversary of Disquiet.com. • January 5, 2017: This day marks the 5th anniversary of the Disquiet Junto. • Ongoing: The Disquiet Junto series of weekly communal music projects explore constraints as a springboard for creativity and productivity. There is a new project each Thursday afternoon (California time), and it is due the following Monday at 11:59pm: disquiet.com/junto. • My book on Aphex Twin's landmark 1994 album, Selected Ambient Works Vol. II, published as part of the 33 1/3 series, an imprint of Bloomsbury, is now in its second printing. It can be purchased at amazon.com, among other places.