Feature 'Dusk + Blackdown - Rollagelive vol.1: Nightfall'
It’s been fifteen years since Dusk and Blackdown launched Keysound Recordings with their ‘Drenched/Submerged’ EP. Since then, the label has delivered close to one hundred releases that have championed some of the most forward-thinking low-end experimentalists of the post-Dubstep era. “Rollagelive vol 1: Nightfall” is a nod to those artists and platforms that helped define it.
Inspired by FabricLive CDs, grime & jungle “tape packs”, early Hatcha mixes and the duo’s longstanding twelve-year RinseFM residency, the release is comprised almost exclusively of tracks from the duo themselves, recorded live in one take and mastered by dubstep legend Jason at Transition before being chopped up into 21 dance ready tracks.
In their words, the mix is “an exploration of just how much could be possible at 130 BPM, from weightless to dense dubby halfsteppers, via percussive rollers, driving Jersey club kicks [and] jump-up bangers”, honing in on the more dark and uncompromising sounds for which they are known best while injecting glimmers of something lighter, drop vs groove and vocal vs instrumental.
In a time where nothing is certain and our collective future is unclear you have to look back to go forward, making “Rollagelive vol 1” a good benchmark for the new wave of younger producers and DJs, most notably homed in online community More Cowbell, that are pushing the boundaries of the sound Dusk and Blackdown helped create.
For anyone interested in the history of Dubstep, Grime and Garage, this one is for you.
Check out Blackdown’s remix of Keysound classic ‘Juicy Patty’ by Terror Danja feat. Jamakabi below.
Release date:
17 April 2020
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