Horsepower Productions

Last updated

Horsepower Productions
Genres 2-step garage, dubstep, dub
Years active2000–present
Labels Tempa, Turn U On, On-U Sound
MembersBenny Ill
Jay King
Past membersNasis (until 2002)
Lev Jnr (until 2002)

Horsepower Productions are an English electronic music duo, initially a larger musical collective who released experimental garage recordings, and helped pioneer the dubstep genre.

Contents

Lineup

The group was initially composed of Benny Ill (born Ben Garner), Jay King, Lev Jnr, Nasis and four other members. [1] The eight were closely associated with the influential drum & bass record label No U Turn, and its UK garage-oriented sister label Turn U On.

Garner has since collaborated on the seminal "Fat Larry's Skank" track, which has been remixed and re-versioned many times by producers including Kode9, [2] as well as collaborating with Hatcha on a number of tracks, DJing at FWD>>, and releasing more straightforward dub as part of the duo Bill & Ben.

After a five-year hiatus, Garner returned to Horsepower with new collaborator Jay King, with a 12" single, "Kingstep/Damn It" in 2009 and an LP in November 2010 entitled Quest for the Sonic Bounty, both on Tempa. [3]

Sound

Early Horsepower releases were resolutely UK garage in sound, but the mainly instrumental, dub versions which were often B-sides of these releases proved to be extremely influential; stripped-down, minimal re-versions, with the emphasis on shuffled, intricate, crisp percussion and subbass. [4]

Meanwhile, Horsepower Productions' 12 inches and other similarly minded music experimenting with the garage archetype were staples in Croydon's Big Apple Records, a record shop staffed and frequented by many artists later to become extremely influential in the dubstep and grime genres. In 2002, as interest in the dubstep genre grew, Horsepower Productions released In Fine Style, [5] a collection of earlier 12" releases on compact disc accompanied by six new tracks in a double twelve-inch pack. The LP has been described as the "origin" or "birth" of dubstep. [5] [6]

The duo's influence was acknowledged by the inclusion of several Horsepower Productions tracks on Tempa's 2006 Roots of Dubstep compilation. [5]

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Related Research Articles

Grime is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged in London in the early 2000s. It developed out of the earlier UK dance style UK garage, and draws influences from jungle, dancehall, and hip hop. The style is typified by rapid, syncopated breakbeats, generally around 140 beats per minute, and often features an aggressive or jagged electronic sound. Emceeing is a significant element of the style, and lyrics often revolve around gritty depictions of urban life.

Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken beat, grime, and drum and bass. In the United Kingdom, the origins of the genre can be traced back to the growth of the Jamaican sound system party scene in the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plastician</span> Musical artist

Chris Reed, also known as Plastician, is an electronic musician from Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon.

Tempa is a garage and dubstep music label founded in 2000 by Neil Jolliffe, who also coined the term "dubstep" in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital Mystikz</span>

Digital Mystikz are a dubstep production duo consisting of Mala, and Coki from the South London suburb of Norwood. Along with Loefah and SGT Pokes, who make up the group ASBO, they operate the DMZ record label and host the influential bimonthly nightclub DMZ, held at the Mass club complex in Brixton, London. BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel was an early supporter of Digital Mystikz, eventually putting them in his annual 2004 top 50 list at number 29. They are among the scene's most famous producers. Their song "Anti War Dub" appeared in the 2006 film Children of Men, although it wasn't included in the soundtrack. In the summer of 2008, Mala was chosen to headline the night portion of the Sónar Festival in Barcelona. In April 2011, Mala travelled to Cuba with Gilles Peterson who was returning to Havana to produce the second instalment in the Havana Cultura series. While Peterson recorded new material with local musicians, Mala began work on a new album Mala in Cuba, which was released in September 2012.

2-step garage, or simply 2-step, is a genre of electronic music and a subgenre of UK garage. One of the primary characteristics of the 2-step sound – the term being coined to describe "a general rubric for all kinds of jittery, irregular rhythms that don't conform to garage's traditional four-on-the-floor pulse" – is that the rhythm lacks the kick drum pattern found in many other styles of electronic music with a regular four-on-the-floor beat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skream</span> English electronic music producer

Oliver Dene Jones, known as Skream, is an English electronic music producer based in Croydon. Skream was an early and influential exponent of the dubstep genre. After producing several singles, he released his first full-length album, Skream!, in 2006.

<i>Skream!</i> 2006 studio album by Skream

Skream! is the self-titled, debut album by dubstep producer Skream. It was released in 2006 on the Tempa label. The album is considered to be an important stepping stone for dubstep. BBC Music described it as having "accelerated dubstep’s transformation from hyped underground scene to [a] sort of influential [genre]", as it fuzes more "old-school rave" sounds with more accessible "pop" sounds. The album predates the highly popular and influential dubstep works by producers such as Skrillex, sometimes disparagingly referred to as "brostep". It essentially serves as an accessible entry into "classic dubstep".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kode9</span> Musical artist

Steve Goodman, known as Kode9 is a Scottish electronic music artist, DJ, and founder of the Hyperdub record label. He was one of the founding members of the early dubstep scene with his late collaborator The Spaceape. He has released four full-length albums: 2006's Memories of the Future and 2011's Black Sun, Nothing (2015), Escapology and Astro-Darien (2022).

Skull Disco was an independent dubstep record label, based in Bristol, England. It was established in 2005 by Sam Shackleton and Laurie "Appleblim" Osborne, and ended in 2008. Releases on the label prominently featured African and post-African percussion, as well as "ethnic" samples. Zeke Clough contributed distinctive artwork for the label, drawing on both Egyptology and heavy metal imagery.

Lewis Beadle, professionally known as El-B, is an English record producer, songwriter and DJ. He was an original member of the UK Garage duo Groove Chronicles, and is commonly seen as one of the pioneers of the dubstep genre. He runs the Ghost Recordings label and is also part of the duo El-Tuff. Upon the release of his album The Roots of El-B in 2008, El-B has regularly toured and performed live as well as having released digital and vinyl formatted music.

Dave Jones, better known as Zed Bias, is an English electronic musician based in Manchester, who operates within the UK garage/2-step, broken beat and UK funky genres, as a producer and as a DJ. He has also released material under various pseudonyms including Maddslinky and is half of the Phuturistix duo.

Geiom a.k.a. Hem, is a Nottingham based producer, live electronic musician and DJ. He is also the owner of the Berkane Sol label. He was known for being part of a group of producers along with 2562 and Shackleton who blended techno, garage and dubstep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post-dubstep</span> Electronic music genre, British development of dubstep

Post-dubstep is an umbrella term applied to a range of musical styles that have been influenced by the sparse, syncopated rhythms and heavy sub-bass of the UK dubstep scene. The breadth of styles associated with the term post-dubstep precluded it from being a specific musical genre in the early 2010s. Such music often references earlier dubstep productions as well as UK garage, 2-step and other forms of underground electronic dance music. Artists producing music that has been described as post-dubstep have also incorporated elements of ambient music and early 2000s R&B. The latter in particular is heavily sampled by two artists described as post-dubstep, Mount Kimbie and James Blake. The tempo of music typically characterised as post-dubstep is approximately 130 beats per minute.

<i>Geidi Primes</i> 2010 debut studio album by Grimes

Geidi Primes is the first studio album by Canadian musician Grimes. It was released through Arbutus Records on January 10, 2010. In 2011, the album was released in the United Kingdom through No Pain in Pop Records on CD and LP, containing a slightly different cover art. Geidi Primes is a concept album based on Frank Herbert's novel Dune and David Lynch's 1984 film adaptation of the book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Hatcha</span> British producer and DJ

Terry Leonard, better known as DJ Hatcha or simply Hatcha, is a South London producer and DJ notable for his seminal work in the musical genre dubstep. He is divorced from defected DJ Sam Divine. He had a regular show on the prominent pirate radio station Rinse FM in the early 2000s, before bringing dubstep to a wider audience with his regular show on mainstream radio station Kiss FM.

UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It is defined by percussive, shuffled rhythms with syncopated hi-hats, cymbals, and snares, and may include either 4/4 house kick patterns or more irregular "2-step" rhythms. Garage tracks also commonly feature 'chopped up' and time-stretched or pitch-shifted vocal samples complementing the underlying rhythmic structure at a tempo usually around 130 BPM.

Mark Taylor, professionally known as Royal-T, is a British UK garage, bassline and grime DJ and music producer from Southampton. He is signed to Butterz and Rinse Recordings.

Solomon Rose, known professionally as Silkie, is an English dubstep and grime record producer and DJ from Hammersmith, West London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyph Mngo</span> 2009 song

"Hyph Mngo" is a 2009 song by Joy Orbison. His debut single, it was influential in the dubstep genre and was included in a number of "best of" lists.

References

  1. "Benny ill (Horsepower) interview - YouTube". YouTube . 28 July 2013. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  2. Clark, Martin (25 January 2006). "The Month In: Grime/Dubstep". Pitchfork Media . Archived from the original on 8 March 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
  3. "Horsepower Productions on a Quest for the Sonic Bounty". Resident Advisor . 18 October 2010.
  4. "The Primer: Dubstep". The Wire (279). Archived from the original on 6 October 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 "Various Artists: The Roots of Dubstep". Pitchfork.com.
  6. "Dubstep 101". Resident Advisor .