Various Artists – Tectonic Plates Volume 2

Tectonic Plates Volume II

The evolution of new musical forms is strongly influenced by sociological, political and geographical factors, as evident everywhere from the protest songs of the sixties to the territorial nature of east London grime.

Bristol has a musical history inextricably linked to its unique ethnic and cultural heritage. Reggae, dub and soundsystem culture from the large Afro-Caribbean community fused with the restless dissatisfaction of punk to inspire a whole host of unique artists, from The Pop Group in the 1970s to Smith & Mighty, Massive Attack and Roni Size’s pioneering experiments in electronica. After its initial gestation in South London it was inevitable that dubstep, with its heavy debt to jungle, drum n’ bass and reggae, would establish a strong foothold in Bristol.

DJ Pinch can take more credit than most for this migration. After an early visit to pioneering London night FWD>>, he began putting on his own Subloaded events in Bristol and releasing his own and others’ music on his label, Tectonic Recordings, now several years old and with a huge array of releases under its belt. Since the first Tectonic Plates compilation in 2006, which contained tracks from the likes of Skream, Loefah and Distance as well as those of Pinch himself, mass cross-pollination of influences has generated a huge diversity of forms both in the UK and abroad. This second volume goes some way towards showing off this variation and features a host of artists from Bristol, London and further afield still.

Appleblim’s Dubstep Allstars Vol. 6, released last year, was a compelling document of the assimilation of techno’s horizontal song structures and propulsive energy into the original London half-step template. Tectonic Plates Vol. 2 shares several contributors and an overall aesthetic (as well as a track, Skream’s ‘Percression’) with Appleblim’s mix but also hints at the huge range of other directions in which the sound is currently branching. Of all the artists featured here, Holland’s 2562 wears his techno influences most overtly. All glassy synths and razor snares, ‘Kontrol’ is angular and brooding, while ‘Grayscale’ (originally found on the CD version of last year’s fantastic Aerial) churns with restless momentum, surfing on a cloud of sub bass and radio static. Berlin maestro Shed’s remix of Peverelist’s ‘Junktion’ strips the original of all but its trace elements yet still manages to retain its peculiar cyclical character, and Martyn’s ‘Yet’ marries lush synth pads straight out of Detroit to a skipping two-step bounce.

London originator Skream contributes two tracks. After the disappointing Skreamizm Vol. 5, the aptly titled ‘Trapped in A Dark Bubble’ is a phenomenal return to form, horror movie strings and crawling bass welded to a lurching half-step riddim. Traces of the emergent ‘wonky’ hip-hop sound are scattered throughout; Flying Lotus’ ‘Glendale Gallereria’ is curiously muted when compared with his fantastic Los Angeles long player yet retains an off-kilter charm, and Joker’s ‘Untitled.rsn’ is as influenced by Dre and Dilla as by Digital Mystikz. Yet it is Pinch’s own productions that remain the most compelling and impossible to pigeonhole. His collaboration with Moving Ninja, ‘False Flag’, veers close to film soundtrack territory in sheer atmosphere and ‘Joyride’ is an exhilarating percussive dancefloor workout.

The increasing prevalence of rave-style dubstep ensures that the genre’s musicality is often downplayed in favour of big builds and jump-up bass drops – Tectonic’s release schedule goes some way towards correcting that balance and seems to bring out a new aspect to even veteran producers. The vitality of the scene in Bristol and variety of releases on the city’s Punch Drunk, Hench and Immerse labels provide conclusive evidence that the genre is far from stagnating, an accusation many detractors are quick to make. As a document of the current health of dubstep’s creative underground or an introduction to a blossoming scene, Tectonic Plates Vol. 2 is hard to beat, and highly recommended.