Sunday Sept.21 2008 - The Bug & Warrior Queen LIVE!
Edmonton AB Canada
Starlite Room
Doors at 9pm
Tickets $10 at the door
This is easily one of the most exciting shows this year for me. I have been a big fan of both The Bug and Warrior Queen for sometime. All I can say is dont miss this event and if you dont know then seriously, please, READ ON!
Kevin Martin, under a dozen-or-so aliases and across numerous genres, has been screwing around with deep bass for well over a decade. It was only upon digging a bit deeper I found that 1997's Tapping the Conversation-- a concept album conceived as a surrogate soundtrack to Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation-- was his first release as the Bug. Although not quite The Bug we know today.
I was introduced via his 2003 follow-up Pressure. I was impressed by how aggressive, yet danceable The Bug’s tracks were. Being a long time fan of dancehall and reggae I found myself intrigued by this rougher, grittier, heavier dancehall sound. At that time dancehall was receiving mainstream hype thanks to Sean Paul and others, but here was something infinitely more grimey, and with so much more bass. It sounded similar to pop dancehall, but only if it were created in some kind of post apocalyptic bombed out world, where the “Everyting be irie” vibe of reggae had completely died out. In it’s place stood the sound that would become dubstep.
Dubstep pulls from grime, dancehall, drum and bass, techno, speed garage, ragga, and most importantly dub, that bass heavy, rhythm-centric creation of Lee “Scratch” Perry and his aural ilk.
Fast forward to 2008 and The Bug is releasing his "London Zoo" LP on Ninja Tune recordings. This release not only signifies the permanence of Dubstep but also shows blinding diversity within a sound just old enough to be called a genre. The Albums many highlights include appearances by Daddy Freddy,Roll Deep's Flowdan, and the Warrior Queen. The latter of which takes the cake on London Zoo, takes the whole bakery really. The Bug and Warrior Queen's “Poison Dart” hits so fucking hard, there’s just no other way to say it. The bottom end puts any drum and bass track to shame. Warrior Queen spits out violent rhymes over The Bug’s booming riddim. Warrior Queen doesn’t bring a gun to the fight, but packs instead a precise poison dart. The video for the track only furthers the feeling, following the sonic battle of Mad Max-esque sound-system nomads.
Overall this is a primer for the world of dubstep, introducing many to some of the key MCs in the scene. Seriously listen to this album, but only on the biggest speakers you can find. It’s a Dies Irae for the post-industrial urban landscape, but this time in Patois rather than Latin, and the Tuba miram booms out of the sound-system subwoofer, not the brass section.
THE BUG feat. Warrior Queen - Poison Dart
MP3: The Bug & Daddy Freddy - Run the place red (AFX mix)
MP3: The Bug feat. Flowdan "Stampin" {Poison Dart Riddim}
MP3: The Bug feat. Warrior Queen "Poison Dart" {Skream Remix}
MP3: The Bug feat. Warrior Queen "Poison Dart" {original Mix}
