- There's a trend among fans of dubstep to blame recent converts from DnB for the loss of dynamism from much of the music. One such DnB convert about whom that could never be said is Martyn, the Dutch producer whose first releases appeared on Marcus Intalex's Revolve:R label. He now makes deep and detailed dubstep, and here he presents us with the first release on Appleblim's new label Apple Pips.
Both sides here eschew the bass drop structure that is increasingly standard for dubstep. ‘Suburbia’ is made from some of the same sound sources as ‘Broken’: it builds up from clanking hi hats, gradually adding more and more reversed Rhodes and shards of breakbeats. There's a real sense of self assurance and idiosyncrasy here: there's not a harsh sonic in sight, nor a crushing third beat snare, yet this bumps along with all the discombobulated funk of the best of the genre.
‘All I have is Memories’ is my favourite of the two sides. Again this is built from breaks, bleeps and chords, but there's some absolutely gorgeous vocal samples thrown into the mix. The male and female lines descend together and intertwine, gradually revealing more of their beauty.
Martyn has managed here to evoke the best bits of Detroit, jungle, 2-step and early dubstep without ever making it sound re-hashed. Instead, this sounds undoubtedly like the future.
TracklistA All I Have Is Memories
B Suburbia