Around 12 or 13, I was heavy into the Brostep scene. Skrillex, Flux Pavilion, KIll The Noise, they were my jam. Skrillex, at the time (and still to this day), owns his own independent label subsidiary to Big Beat Records called OWSLA. OWSLA is kind of the hangout for the misfits and underdogs. It’s the place producers of experimental and fringe music go to share their work with the world.
One of those experimental artists was the duo of James Bastow and William Weeks: a.k.a. KOAN Sound. I remember the first time I heard one of their tracks. It absolutely blew me away.
KOAN Sound released their 2nd EP “Funk Blaster” on OWSLA in 2011, shortly after their debut EP “Max Out” on Inspector Dubplate. “Funk Blaster” was a massive success, blowing the stereotype of “dubstep/edm” out of the water at the time. Slower, swinging hip/hop like beats, booming sub bass, and ear tearing mid bass brought familiarity to the new genre, while jazzy chords and melodies, intricate polyrythmic detail, and beatuiful texture brought the experimentation. I was hooked for sure.
The track above: “Meanwhile, In The Future”, was just what the title suggests. A look ahead, a flash forward into what the future of EDM held for the next several years. Glitch and Neurohop/neurofunk would overtake the dark side of EDM like wildfire, and artists like KOAN Sound would be at the forefront.
I can safely say that hearing James and Will’s work changed my outlook and interest in music for the better. I kept looking for more and more music, and then I kept yearning to learn the secrets of production. “How did they make that bass? What kind of processing does that involve? How on earth do you mix this kind of song down?” Without hearing the Funk Blaster EP in middleschool, I very well may not have even kept an interest in EDM to begin with.
I will be reveiwing every peice of their work and posting that content here for you to see. If you have any suggestions on artists you’d like to see reveiwed, drop me a line at:
rdstepmusic@gmail.com
or through the Contact page here on my blog.
Hear ya later!
-N
