Dubstep Fans Skream For More Of The Same

The Age

Thursday January 1, 2009

Andrew Drever

THE "rewind" is an established part of reggae and drum'n'bass DJ culture. If a crowd-pleasing record is played, the audience will call for the DJ to rewind and restart the track. It's also part of London's ultra-cool dubstep culture, although dubstep punters will just run up to the decks and press stop on the turntable themselves.

DJ/producer Skream (aka Ollie Jones), of Croydon, South London, who is dubstep royalty and one of its ambassadors, swears it's true. In fact, the 21-year-old claims it was he who started this DIY reload craze, but says not everyone can get away with it.

"It's generally people within the circle," he explains. "But sometimes you get a drunken party or someone with no sense and they end up f---ing your record up and you get really pissed off. It needs to be the right moment and it needs to be the right person.

"I'll take all of if it in good nature, but sometimes people bump beer on my belts or cause damage."

This laid-back attitude is typical of the dubstep scene, which harmoniously brings together mixed race, urban music fans, largely free of the machismo and violence that colours other British urban music such as grime or hip-hop.

"Everyone's got a great connection with this thing that is dubstep," Jones says. "I still can't believe there's no trouble. Dubstep's just become somewhere that you can go to enjoy yourself."

Alongside Benga, Burial, Digital Mystikz and Kode9, Skream is one of dubstep's stars. Making his first tracks at the age of 14, he finally broke out in 2006 with dubstep's most recognisable and definitive crossover anthem: Midnight Request Line. This single's phenomenal success, as well as a timely dubstep special on BBC's Radio 1, catapulted Jones forward as the face of dubstep and its best-known artist. His brilliant and accessible self-titled debut album sealed the deal.

Since then, he has had his weeklyradio show on London's Rinse FM, released EPs in his Skreamizm series and, in October, released a compilation mix album, Watch the Ride.

Dubstep, meanwhile, has continued to ferment tantalisingly out of reach of the mainstream.

"I can't see dubstep getting bigger," Jones says. "In the UK at the moment, it's just as big as drum'n'bass, which is huge, but I can't really see it getting any bigger until someone's got a track in the charts." -- ANDREW DREVER

Skream and Benga play the Hi-Fi Bar on Saturday.

© 2009 The Age

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