Steppas' Delight

Last updated
Steppas' Delight
Steppas-delight-cover.jpg
Compilation album
ReleasedMay 19, 2008 (2008-05-19)
Genre Dubstep
Label Soul Jazz
CompilerEmma Warren [1]
Steppas' Delight chronology
Steppas' Delight
(2008)
Steppas' Delight 2
(2009)

Steppas' Delight is a 2008 compilation album by Soul Jazz Records. The album is a compilation of dubstep music from various artists.

Contents

Background

Brandon Ivers of XLR8R declared that during 2008 "seemingly everyone is releasing some sort of compilation [about dubstep] before the current run of self-mythologizing has had a chance to stick." [2]

Release

Steppas' Delight was initially announced as being released by the end of March 2008. [3] It was released later on May 19 with a release party on May 17 with Kode9, Hatcha, Crazy D, Chef & LD, Geiom, Ikonika, and the Soul Jazz Soundsystem performing at Electrowerkz in the UK. [4] The album was released on compact disc and vinyl record. [5] A follow-up, titled Steppas' Delight 2, was released on September 28, 2009. [6]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]

Alex Macpherson of The Guardian declared the album to be a "beautifully packaged dubstep compendium" that showcased the music as "living, breathing music" that "perfectly captures the intense physicality at the heart of dubstep." [7] Ivers found that Steppas' Delight felt he did not know the audience for the album, stating "if it's meant to educate dubstep novices, 19 unmixed tracks make for an awfully monotonous listen." noting that "great tracks" such as Shackleton's "Blood on My Hands" "wears thin when not used as a mixing tool." [2]

Track listing

  1. Kode9 – "9 Samurai" (3:40)
  2. Benga – "Evolution" (5:14)
  3. Search and Destroy – "Candy Floss (Loefah Mix)" (5:17)
  4. Plastician featuring Skepta – "Intensive Snare" (3:48)
  5. Uncle Sam –"Round The World Girls (Tes La Rok Mix)" (5:43)
  6. The Bug and Warrior Queen –"Poison Dart" (3:51)
  7. Goth Trad –"Genesis" (5:29)
  8. Seventeen Evergreen –"Ensonique (Bi-Polar Man Mix)" (4:36)
  9. Martyn –"Broken" (5:24)
  10. Shackleton –"Blood On My Hands" (7:30)
  1. TRG –"Broken Heart" (5:43)
  2. Joker –"Gullybrook Lane (Instrumental)" (4:18)
  3. Quest –"Hardfood" (5:11)
  4. Ikonika –"Please" (4:38)
  5. Silkie –"Dam 4" (4:39)
  6. Geiom featuring Marita –"Reminissin'" (5:38)
  7. Shonx –"Canton" (6:27)
  8. Gatekeeper – featuring Grizla –"Shade Darker" (6:10)
  9. Peverelist –"Roll With the Punches" (6:44)

Related Research Articles

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">Hyperdub</span> British electronic music record label

Hyperdub is a British, London-based electronic music record label and former webzine, founded by Steve Goodman, a.k.a. Kode9. The label was formed in 2004, and grew out of the UK's early dubstep scene. Artists signed to the label have included Burial, Cooly G, Dean Blunt, DJ Rashad, DVA, Fatima Al Qadiri, Ikonika, Jessy Lanza, Klein, Laurel Halo and Zomby.

<i>A Tom Moulton Mix</i> 2006 compilation album by Tom Moulton

A Tom Moulton Mix is a 2006 compilation released by Soul Jazz Records. The album contains disco music that had been mixed by Tom Moulton, ranging from artists from such as Eddie Kendricks, Andrea True Connection, Isaac Hayes, and Grace Jones. The tracks are predominantly pulled from unreleased, acetate and promotional singles of several artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burial (musician)</span> British electronic musician

William Emmanuel Bevan, known by his recording alias Burial, is a British electronic musician from South London. Initially remaining anonymous, Burial became the first artist signed to Kode9's electronic label Hyperdub in 2005. He won acclaim the following year for his self-titled debut album, an influential release in the UK's dubstep scene which showcased a dark, emotive take on UK rave music styles such as UK garage and 2-step; it was named the album of the year by The Wire. Burial's second album, Untrue, was released to further critical acclaim in 2007.

Soul Jazz Records is a British record label based in London. Outside of releasing records, the label also publishes books, occasionally films and performs as a DJ set. The music releases labels from a variety of genres, including reggae, house, hip hop, punk rock, jazz, funk, bossa nova and soul.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rinse FM</span> London-based radio station, critical in the emergence of dubstep and grime

Rinse FM is a London-based community radio station, licensed for "young people living and/or working within the central, east and south London areas". It plays garage, grime, dubstep, house, jungle, UK funky and other dance music genres popular in the United Kingdom.

Georgina Cook is a British photographer, artist and writer based in South London.

Rob Ellis, better known as Pinch, is a British dubstep artist from Bristol, England, noted for his fusion of styles such as reggae, World music, and dancehall with dubstep. He released his first album, Underwater Dancehall in 2007, on Tectonic, which he founded. One of Pinch's most well-known tracks is "Qawwali", released on Planet Mu records, which references the devotional singing of the same name, and featured samples of harmonium and singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His songs appear on compilations such as Box of Dub: Dubstep and Future Dub 2, Science Faction: Dubstep, 10 Tons Heavy and 200. More recently, he has moved away from dubstep towards the UK bass scene, working with producers such as Mumdance and Adrian Sherwood.

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.

Sara Abdel-Hamid, better known as Ikonika, is an electronic musician, producer and DJ often associated with Hyperdub Records and London's Rinse FM.

<i>Of Cities</i> 2009 studio album by DJ Signify

Of Cities is the second studio album by American hip hop producer DJ Signify. It was released on Bully Records on January 20, 2009. It features guest appearances from Aesop Rock and Matt Kelly.

Liam Sylvester McLean, better known by his stage name Joker, is a British record producer who creates music in genres such as dubstep and grime and was known for creating the subgenre "purple sound". He was named "2009 king of bass music" by XLR8R magazine and was featured in the September 2009 issue of The Wire magazine. He has contributed to two releases produced by the London-based record company Hyperdub. He also runs his own label known as Kapsize Recordings. His debut album, The Vision, was released on 31 October 2011 through independent label 4AD. His sophomore LP, The Mainframe, was released on 16 February 2015 through his own Kapsize imprint.

<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.

Martijn Deijkers, known professionally as Martyn, is a Dutch producer and DJ from Eindhoven, currently based in Washington D.C. in the United States. He is the son of Dutch former footballer Gerrie Deijkers. He started his career by DJing drum and bass in 1996, but began to include more of a dubstep influence after first hearing Kode9's "Sine of the Dub". He released his first 12" singles in 2005, incorporating elements of both techno and jungle. Deijkers' first album, Great Lengths, was released in 2009. In 2010 he released Fabric 50, the 50th installment of the Fabric Mix DJ series. Martyn's second studio album, Ghost People, was released in 2011 on the American label Brainfeeder.

Untold a.k.a. Jack Dunning, is an electronic producer from London. He released his first solo record on Hessle Audio in 2008 and has since released on R&S Records, Soul Jazz, Clone Records and more. He released his debut album 'Black Light Spiral' on his own label, Hemlock Recordings in February 2014.

<i>Rumble in the Jungle</i> (compilation album) 2007 compilation album by Various Artists

Rumble in the Jungle is a 2007 compilation album released by Soul Jazz Records. It compiles early 1990s ragga jungle tracks.

<i>Box of Dub</i> 2007 compilation album by Various Artists

Box of Dub is a 2007 compilation album released by Soul Jazz Records in 2007. It features music of the contemporary dubstep music scene of the period. The album contains exclusive tracks by each artist.

References

  1. Steppas' Delight: Dubstep Present to Future (Media notes). Emma Warren. Soul Jazz Records. SJR CD 178.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. 1 2 Ivers 2008, p. 96.
  3. "Soul Jazz Records". Archived from the original on April 16, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  4. "Soul Jazz Records". Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  5. "Soul Jazz Records Presents Steppas' Delight". The Wire . No. 292. June 2008. p. back cover.
  6. "Martyn, Untold and Brackles appear on Steppas' Delight 2". Fact Magazine . September 3, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Macpherson 2008.

Sources