Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that has its roots in
London’s early 2000s UK garage scene. Musically, dubstep is
distinguished by its dark mood, sparse rhythms, and emphasis on bass.
Dubstep started to spread beyond small local scenes in late 2005 and
early 2006, with many websites devoted to the genre appearing and thus
aiding the growth of the scene
Basic Channel is a minimal techno production team and record label,
composed of Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus, that originated in
Berlin, Germany in 1993. The duo released a number of vinyl-only tracks
under various aliases, each of which employed their signature brand of
dissonant dub techno. The nine original releases were each primarily
identified as Basic Channel productions by their catalogue numbers, as
the Basic Channel logo on the label became more distorted and
unreadable with each subsequent release. The Basic Channel
record label released only a single CD, a self-titled compilation of
edited versions of their extended vinyl tracks, which exemplified their
seminal brand of dub informed Detroit techno. All Basic Channel CDs
were released in recognisable aluminum packaging which notoriously
cracked the CDs when they were removed.
The duo set up a studio in Berlin on Paul-Lincke-Ufer, in a building
which was eventually to house Mark Ernestus’ distributing company and
shop Hard Wax, and the label’s mastering studio Dubplates &
Mastering, set up to ensure a desired dynamic quality for the vinyl.
The Basic Channel imprint ceased business in 1995 (apart from two releases almost a decade later that were originally issued on Carl Craig’s Planet E label), but were followed by a string of similar labels. Among the most important were Chain Reaction,
which released non-Von Oswald/Ernestus productions and helped launch
the careers of dub-influenced minimal techno producers such as Monolake and Porter Ricks; Basic Replay, which specialises in reggae and dancehall re-issues; Main Street, for house-related releases; and Burial Mix and Rhythm & Sound,
which saw the duo’s sound move away from the Detroit blueprint and
closer to vocal-lead dub and reggae. Their With The Artists album,
released as Rhythm & Sound and featuring celebrated reggae and dancehall vocalists such as Sugar Minott, featured in the top 50 records of the year for 2003 in The Wire magazine.
Basic Channel also run a comprehensive programme of re-issues for the American reggae label Wackies.
Nicked from the internet of course!
Octopo - a friend of ours spent the night with 3D but never let on what happened... Another mate MC'd for hip hop group Aspects who did quite well for a bit (bit like J5 in sound). Wife went to Uni there and we simply stayed there for 8 years!