Comment: Apparently the UK has moved on from low-end frequencies. We beg to differ.

On Sunday just gone, a mildly amusing list-style article entitled '10 Things People Say To Pretend They Know About Dance Music' was posted on the blog space of Mixmag's website by Bass Editor, Seb Wheeler. It is, for the most part, a fairly accurate run-through of gripes that might be levelled at, well, someone pretending to know about dance music, in fact the list might even be commended for its rebuttal of those claiming that "Deadmau5 can't actually mix" or that "Analogue always sounds better than digital". However where it falls down, and heavily so, is the point at which it is claimed 'that the UK has moved on from low-end frequencies somewhat' and that 'America has become the new home of bass.'

The problem here is firstly in the suggestion that, in a post-internet world, something as broad as bass music could be considered to have a home. Dubstep is probably the finest example of the way in which the internet has globalised music to a greater extent than ever before - it still astounds me to see the huge variety of countries checking in over on Hedmuk's Soundcloud page. That, though, is another conversation entirely.

The issue I really took with the piece, though, was the apparent ignorance of the UK bass music scene's current state of health, and the general terms in which it was stated. The assertion that the UK has moved beyond an interest in 'low-end frequencies' would suggest that anyone from Mungo's Hi-Fi to Iration Steppas to Unit 137 to Manchester's Dub Smugglers had decided to pack it all in and play out off a radio set. 'Low-end frequencies' is not a suitable replacement phrase for "what Youngsta plays on Rinse". Semantics aside, the UK's long-term obsession with everything low and bold is arguably seeing some of its finest days in years: dubstep pushes on, led by the inimitable likes of Karma, Thelem, Taiko, Wayfarer, Biome and Kaiju; grime as a whole is seeing a resurgence that had been bubbling away long before the recent war dubs spat stirred things up, Boofy's 'Since When' is hard as a brick is, and Asa & Sorrow are showing that grime needn't lack the production value of its Croydon cousin; UK funky, through Champion, Killjoy, Brunks and Beneath, is still laying a claim to club space; house music is the sound of the charts, let alone the underground; and that's before you even start talking about the breaks-driven experimentalism being peddled by Etch, Special Request and Tessela.

What's more, and as good a sign of the UK's continued progression as any, is that there are so many names that don't fit easily into any of the categories above but who are carving out their own lanes regardless, and taking an open-eared following with them. Wen, Circula, Troy Gunner, Sepia, Blackwax, Facta, Underclass and Akkord are just a handful of the many defying the journalists' pigeon-holes.

As with anything like this there will undoubtedly be people I've missed, but if anything that only serves to make the point more strongly: there are literally too many names to mention.

It may well be the case that what was really meant by the offending remark was that the US has seemingly moved beyond its excitement over face-melt mid-ranges and car crash snares, and that what remains is a crowd highly receptive to a more subtle sound - speaking with Innamind Recordings boss, Jeremy, he couldn't emphasise enough how inspiring it was to see people so passionate about the sound that he and others like him are currently pushing. The US is, for want of a better term, catching up and is doing so - as exemplified by the likes of the Reconstrvct crew mentioned in the article - in fine style, however it shouldn't require a misguided knock of the UK scene to express that.

W.

Competition: Win vinyl from Sully and Dub Mechz and 2x guestlist to the Methods launch night @ 512 Kingsland Road, Dalston

Not content with quietly turning the dubstep scene's collective head and scoring himself the second, hugely-anticipated release on V.I.V.E.K's System label, longtime friend of the blog, Karma, has decided to launch his own clubnight. Quiet though he is, we hit him up for a few words on the thinking behind the night and what people can expect from Methods in the future.

Hedmuk: Tell us a bit about the night: where did the idea come from, and what sort of sound and vibe are you going to be representing?

Karma: One of the ideas behind Methods is to showcase a variety of music that we're feeling; dubstep is our focus, though dub, garage, and grime are also high on our agenda. We want to avoid the night being just about the line-ups: sure it's important to have good established DJs and up-and-coming talent on the bill, but our resident DJs are solid and we're hoping that people will pay them as much attention as they do the headliners. We think there's a lack of homegrown nights in London right now with a communal feel, where people come because the vibe is right and not just because there's 5 big names on the bill playing in a club everyone's heard of. We want to keep it relatively underground.

H: How important do you think it is for the development of the scene to have outlets like this for up-and-comers to be able to showcase their music in a live setting?

K: I think it's very important. It can be very difficult for new artists to get their music heard, unless they have support from another DJ; often the only alternative is to use the internet, but things always get misinterpreted, or mislabeled, which can sometimes make people misjudge things in a way the creator never intended, which is very unfair. That's why it's a great opportunity to be able to play your music out live: the music comes straight from the artist to the listener, there's no bullshit between the two, and that allows the listener to make up their own mind. It's more honest.

H: Can you see the Methods nights becoming a regular fixture, or are the dates likely to be more sporadic?

K: Yeah, we'd like to make it a regular night - how regularly we're not sure, monthly or bi-monthly would be great but we're willing to see how this one goes first.

H: And can you give any hints as to who might be appearing at future events?

K: We have a few ideas, but we don't want to reveal anything just yet...

To support the launch of Methods - which features Keysound's inimitable Sully topping the bill along with Deep Medi favourites Dub Mechz and Karma himself, supported by the Methods residents - we're offering two places on the guestlist along with vinyl copies of 'Broken LFO' / 'Change of Direction' by Dub Mechz and Sully's 'Reminder' / 'Jackman's Rec' and 'Toffee Apple' from Frijsfo Beats. To be in with a chance simply head over to the Hedmuk Facebook Page and Like and share this photo.

The competition will close on the 5th of July, the day before the event, and a winner will be selected at random by an independent third party before being announced via Facebook and Twitter.

For full details on the event, including how to claim free entry, head over to the event page here.

W.

Featuring: Facta

Photo by ShotAway.com

A young producer who's been fairly firmly on the Hedmuk radar since first hitting us up with a pack of beats a few years back, Facta has, since then, been steadily carving his own niche into the UK underground's ever-shifting sound map. With one foot held steady in his '06-dubstep roots, the other treads through garage, grime, UK funky, hip-hop and the trippier side of experimental electronic and what results is sturdy, rough-edged and system ready. This broad approach is what makes the East Londoner's beats so captivating: whilst one might be swinging out off tough kicks and snappy snares, the next will be all tucked grooves and slinky hi-hats, and the next still will just have you sat bewildered at how he's managed to fit every bit of it together to make something that moves so slickly. It's not worth simply saying he's one to keep an eye on; it would be more accurate to just wish anyone luck in predicting which direction he might lead that eye in next...

Hedmuk: By way of introduction, what's your name, where do you hail from and how would you describe your sound?

Facta: My name’s Oscar; I grew up in Hackney, East London, and currently live between there and Bristol, where I’m living and studying most of the year. In terms of my sound, I tend to see everything I make in terms of dubstep as that’s where I initially found my roots – realistically, though, I produce a variety of styles that draw from garage, grime, dubstep, techno, hip-hop and breaks to varying degrees.

H: Would you consider yourself as being from a musical background, or is it an interest that you've developed yourself?

F: Well it wasn’t as if my parents were playing in bands or singing in choirs or anything, but like most families there was always music about in the house and from a young age I was slightly obsessive about finding my own path within music, which was something that my family always encouraged. When I was 9 I was convinced that I’d be in a world famous punk rock band touring the world by the time I was 16 – I’m ashamed to say that I’ve let my kid-self down in that respect, but I guess I’m still driven by the same ambition to create stuff now as I was then.



H: In terms of your actual production, you seem to take a mostly sample-based approach; do you feel like having a wide sphere of influence helps with this? Where, or from whom, would you say you take most influence from?

F: Yeah, well that’s definitely the key characteristic of my sound – I work almost entirely from samples; it’s partly due to an inability to programme synths very well and partly down to a deep respect of the whole culture and procedure around sampling. I listen to a lot of hip-hop and experimental electronic music, from which I have developed a love of rough, fast sample work. I’m also heavily influenced by non-electronic music – most recently jazz in particular. For this reason I’m always hesitant to make music that sounds overly polished or fine tuned; when I produce a track I like to cut up the samples right on the grid, trying not to quantize things too heavily or cut the clips too precisely: I tend to leave in trails and imperfections so as to maintain as many of the nuances of the original source material as possible.

H: A lot of people from the city talk about Bristol as being a great creative environment to live and work in: is this something you would agree with? How important is the sense of existing within a creative community to you?

F: Bristol is definitely a special place. I could talk on for hours about it, but anyone who has spent any length of time here will agree that there is something about the city and the scene here that just feels distinct from the rest of the UK. It’s always had its own path and it continues to develop on its own trajectory: Bristol Dub and Reggae, Bristol Jungle, Bristol Trip-Hop, Bristol Dubstep and Grime, Bristol Techno – these have always been special, unique pockets within their relevant scenes and all have a unifying trace running through them. It’s a constant source of inspiration and motivation to work and play out here, not only is there a huge audience for forward-thinking, experimental music but everybody is willing to help one another out and collaborate in a way that I never see happen in places like London.

H: Your tracks have featured heavily on Dusk & Blackdown's Rinse show in recent months, how does it feel to have that kind of backing? How far would you consider this idea of a musical community to extend to the tight group of artists being represented on the show?

F: It’s been a massive honour to receive recognition from figures that I have looked to and respected for years and years, and it’s been particularly great to be involved with the pocket of artists working within the Keysound sphere over the last half a year or so: it has the perfect combination of feeling like a tight, cohesive movement whilst still remaining totally undefined and uncontained. There’s a massive variety in sound from producer to producer: nobody feels like they’re stepping on each other’s toes. We’ve all got our own room to breathe within a collectively-occupied space and that’s a very inspiring thing to be a part of.



H: You've also recently started a night in Bristol: can tell us a bit about your reasoning behind it, and what sort of ethos you're aiming for?

F: The night in Bristol developed as a result of me and two friends deciding we wanted to throw no-nonsense parties at some of the cooler, smaller venues across Bristol: you can’t move for great, cutting-edge line ups at big clubs in Bristol, but we did feel that there was room for a party where the emphasis was taken off new music and reinvested in location and atmosphere. So we hatched the idea of throwing house party-esque events at cool locations where we’d just ask friends and DJs to come down and play sets that they wouldn’t be expected to play, giving them the chance to draw strictly for their favourite party jams. We called it Elephant 'cause that’s a dumb name for a dumb club night. It’s going to be sweet.

H: Take us through how you approached the mix you've put together for us.

F: Well I’ve recently been lucky enough to get to know a bunch of stupidly talented producers – both in person and through exchanging tunes online – and so I wanted to throw as many of them in as possible, plus include a few of my own. The mix sits somewhere between what I’d consider to be home listening and the sort of thing I’d play in a club. Normally when playing out I tend to get carried away dropping fruity old garage tracks and golden era dubstep and grime; I’ve reigned that in a bit for this mix, although couldn’t help but slip a few percies in.

H: Finally, are there any forthcomings lined up or anything else in the pipeline that you'd like to put the word out on?

F: I have a vinyl-only 12” EP coming out this summer which will feature 'Montpelier', 'Kobra' and 'Upsetter'; I have a track with K-Lone that's just come out on the unbelievably-good debut 'Chord Marauders' compilation [now available exclusively from the Chord Marauders website]; I’m in talks about a few other 12”s, although nothing is set in stone; I’m working on collaborations with a bunch of producers including Gantz, Wen, Rabit and B9. I’m going to be playing at Summer Saturnalia festival in July alongside Pinch, Elijah + Skilliam, ∆kkord and Gantz, and that’s about it on news. Thanks a lot for having me on – been a pleasure to get involved.



Download: Facta - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix



Tracklist:


$tush - Dollar Sign [Social Circles]
E.M.M.A - Cherry Favour [Dub]
Facta - Montpelier [Forthcoming]
Beneath - You & Me Remix [Forthcoming]
Dizzee Rascal - Strings Hoe (Wen Remix) [Dub]
Facta - Kobra [Forthcoming]
Brunks - Steppin' [Dub]
E.M.M.A - Untitled [Dub]
Facta - Hieroglyph [Dub]
Epoch - Gun Talk - [Egyptian Avenue]
Gantz - Free Focus [Forthcoming]
Sepia - Outbreak [forthcoming Redshift One]
James Fox - Put It Back (Ramadanman Remix) [TAKE Records]
Etch - Lost Methods [Dub]
Karma - Armshouse Dub [Dub]
Wen - Galactic [Dub]
Bloom - Quartz [Gobstopper Records]
Facta - FWD [Dub]
Amoss - Tangent (Geode Remix) [forthcoming Horizons X]
Facta & K-Lone - Voodoo [Chord Marauders]
Solwork - L Town [Dub]
Geode, B9 & Congi - Scrumpy [Chord Marauders]
Facta - 36th Chamber [Dub]
Kode9 - Addiction - [Hyperdub]
Rabit - Wolf Spider [forthcoming Glacial Sound]
K-Lone - Melt [Dub]
Mark Pritchard - Heavy As Stone [Deep Medi]

Facta - HEDMUK Exclusive Mix by Hedmuk on Mixcloud

W.

Competition: Win guestlist entry to the GetDarker Outlook Send-Off Party @ Cable, London & a fresh Hedmuk Tee #002

So with just over a week to go until we host the second room at GetDarker's Outlook Festival Send-off Party at the renowned Cable, in London, we're offering the chance to win plus-one guestlist entry to the event as well as a brand new Hedmuk t-shirt in the size of your choice and some stickers to boot; two runners-up will also receive plus-one guestlist entry to the night.

The lineup speaks for itself: with Pinch, Youngsta, Author, Chef, Jakes, Swindle and Darkside all taking to the decks in the main room, we'll be holding down room 2, proudly presenting our own carefully-selected ensemble of Ruckspin, My Nu Leng, Thelem, Versa, Crises playing a very special old skool set, Karma and Preacha. For more information on the event, including how to purchase tickets, head over here.

To be in with a chance of winning simply head over to the Hedmuk Facebook Page and share this image, leaving a comment with what size of t-shirt you would like to receive should you be chosen as the winner.

The competition will close on the 1st of August, on which date a winner will be selected at random by an independent third party before being announced on the Hedmuk Facebook Page, Twitter and notified via direct message.


.Preacha.

Featuring: Karma

Karma is a rising talent we've had our eye on for a while here at Hedmuk as he brings something genuinely unique to the table in terms of his production. With a background in making hip-hop beats and drawing influence from a wide spectrum of bass-led music, Karma blends laid-back melodies with carefully constructed, weighty basslines and tight rhythms to make music equally at home in headphones as on a big club system. We caught up with him for an interview to discuss all of this, aswell as his recent move in signing to MindStep Music and got him to put down a mix for our ever-expanding series.

Hedmuk: To introduce yourself, what's your name, where are you from and how would you describe your sound?
K: Hi, I'm Corin (AKA Karma), and im from Penge, South-East London. I would describe my sound as sub-heavy bass music ranging between 130-150Bpm. I try to make captivating music, which could go off in a club, or be listened to at home.

H: Are you from a musical background, or is it something that you have picked up yourself?
K: Fairly, I've always been fascinated by music from a young age and I've been playing the drums for about 8 years now. My granddad worked for UNESCO back in the day, recording tribal music around the world, and he left me a huge archive of records he recorded which I've made much use of in my music since.

Tunnel vision by KarmA

H: Where, or from whom, do you take your influence when it comes to making a tune?
K: Alot from Dub/Reggae, which was sort of my gateway into Dubstep at first, but also Jungle, and 90's Hip-Hop. The thing is, I find inspiration comes from everywhere, not just music. It can come from the city I live in, the places I go, people I meet, even the colour of the sky!

H: Does being from London, the city responsible for such an influence on the dubstep sound, bear a particular significance to you in terms of the music you make?
K: Most definitely. London is without a doubt the central hub for almost all genres of dance music which have influenced and helped create what Dubstep is today, from Acid House, to Jungle, to Garage. London therefore has that atmosphere/energy to it. I admire the evolution and roots of these genres, which I try to incorporate into my music, so that whatever you're into you can find that little hint of Jungle or Garage, or whatever may suit you.

H: You've recently signed to MindStep Music: how did that come about?
K: Well, I'd been making music for roughly 5 years and was getting really frustrated just sitting on tracks, so I started sending them out to people. It was hard getting noticed at first, Crises was one of the first DJs who took an interest. I then bumped into him down at FWD>> one time, and we got chatting about where we could go from there. I kept sending him tunes after that, and well.. here we are now!

H: You make a wide variety of beats, taking in hip hop and some grime: is this something that comes naturally? Do you plan to work with vocal artists in the future at all?

K: I used to make Hip-Hop before, so have worked with quite a few vocalists/MCs in the past. At this stage, with the music I'm making, and pushing, I'd like to keep things instrumental but I do have plans and ideas for the near future to work with vocalists, but not just yet.

Amnesia by KarmA

H: Tell us a little about how you went about putting together the mix you've done for us.
K: The mix I've recorded is sort of a showcase of my interpretation of the sound. Plenty of dubs from myself and a few other artists who I feel are pushing a similar sound, and have a similar perception of the genre.

H: Finally, is there anything forthcoming or in the pipeline that you'd like to put the word out on?

K: I have a forthcoming EP on Mindstep. No dates yet, but keep a look out!
Peace, and thanks for all the support: one love!


Download: Karma - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix


Tracklist:

Karma -Tunnel Vision (Dub)
Dubtro - Fast Craw (Dub)
Karma - Ronin (Dub)
Karma - Ginza Line Dub
Kromestar - Thru The Blinds (White)
Karma - 176 To Nowhere (Dub)
Legend4ry - Detramental (Forthcoming Orientis)
V.I.V.E.K - Spread Love (Deep Medi)
Karma - Critical Jack (Dub)
J:Kenzo - Protected (Tempa)
Pressa & Crisp - Monitored (Mindstep)
Karma - Next Men (Dub)
V.I.V.E.K - Roots (Deep Medi)
Thelem - Lucid Dream (Forthcoming Orientis)
Karma - Amnesia (Dub)

Karma - HEDMUK Exclusive Mix by Hedmuk on Mixcloud

W.