Barcelona’s Belcro composed this cinematic symphony of dub, a story told through instruments rather than words. Sin crouches in the field while amelodic bass strings force a mood of unrelenting tension from misdeeds, the implications of which are foreshadowed by the thunder of ominous gongs. Violin loops suggest the idea of Redemption as high hats prepare to set it into motion. The sky opens up, thunder claps, and giant drums strike, sprinting into action. The monotonous bass line shifts into a melody as the abstract idea takes a rushed form. But the rich drums quickly slow to a pace meant to handle a longer distance, until a lethargic gear finally dawns at the realization that redemption may possibly lay too far. A stripped down instrumentation soon takes priority, leaving almost nothing but introspective syncopation. Deeper subs than ever soon react to the thought by tearing the sinner’s insides apart. Then the spirit of the forest demands action be taken, and the violin loops reappear in a sort of mindless acting out of directions. The song speeds up again, jogging toward a destination we never learn of. (Artwork by elDimitry, one of the two members of Belcro.)

This newish strand of sleek dubstep has been a long time coming. The big drums. The deep basslines. The fast pace. They just hit all the right spots. So big up to Pacheko and Pocz for producing a whole mixtape comprised mostly of those features. Titled The Bangover, it’s pretty basic in composition, but comes with some beautiful sounds. And there’s some half steppers in there, too. Some wobblers. The duo represents Venezuela and the Abstractor camp. Pacheko has laced us with lots of music for mixes in the past (including our very first), so it’s about time that we’ve gotten around to writing about him. He’s always kept a keen watch on what’s next and taken it another step forward. And we’ve been keeping an ear out for Pocz ever since we heard “Hunan Garden” last year (listen to that on Fullstep). To give you a taste of what to expect with the The Bangover – which you can cop as a CD at Discogs – we’ve got the following two gems.

“Coraje”, or “Courage” in English, features bass as warm and quick as the drums, which are wrapped with skittery, echo laden highs for syncopation. Its melodies are minimal but offer a lot of rhythmic variation and cycle through a series of different sounds that create a positive and ethereal soundscape. The “Ransom” remix, of which the original by Maga Bo will be released soon on Senseless, is a downbeat snake charmer. A deep bass loop switches up for different sections while rusty percussion provides a structure for the ney masinko (Ethiopian violin) solo to bounce around within. At the the 1:30 mark, a horse trot beat rides in, carrying the tune for another minute until the masinko dives into a repetitive mantra. Make sure to pick up The Bangover. If you want to hear more of what’s on it and catch a glimpse of other things Pacheko’s been up to, then check his recent mix over at Black Magic Sound. (Painting by Ian Francis)

Remixing something as wildly popular as “Purple City” by Joker and Ginz can be a tricky thing, especially when it’s a bootleg. But Brooklyn’s Lifeline hits the nail on the head with a sledgehammer with this one. Keeping with the analog terror of the original, dude speeds it up a couple Mach numbers into Funky(ish) territory and rewrites the melodies on the slice and dice tip to full effect. Really hype choon right here. Lifeline is apparently normally a drum n bass head who appears at Konkrete Jungle from time to time. You can check a couple of his refixes over on his YouTube page. (Image by Zeeshan Shah.)

For those of you that like a healthy serving of dub with your step, today we suggest France’s High Tone. Their new album, Out Back, drops next Tuesday, May 17th, and features everything from rub-a-dub styles, to creative dubstep wobble monsters, to some weirder leftfield dub, and everything in between. “Rub-A-Dub Anthem,” which is from the upcoming release, is a rootsy ode to dub music. Pupa Jim‘s lyrics may be a bit repetitive to our English speaking listeners, but it features a progressive riddim that constantly adds new loops, drum hits and breakdowns up until the halfway mark. You can buy it at CD1D when it comes out on the always interesting Jarring Effects label. Also, if you want to hear a bunch of the songs from the album, peep DJ Twelve’s promo mix. (Image by Daniel Gordon for Breed.)

Our newest mixtape, Fullstep Stomp, which was recently posted over at Trash Menagerie, is full of deep and quick-paced bass joints. Mostly unreleased Dubstep, UK Funky, and Tropical Tech House keep the coal in the engine for some sweaty goodness. Go rifle trough the Trash for download and tracklist. (Architectural rendering by Zaha Hadid).

If you haven’t heard yet, Chief Boima of the Dutty Artz Left Coast contingent, dropped an EP last Tuesday called Techno Rumba. The release features two of his songs displaying his take on Afrobeat and contemporary African dance music. Boima says the music draws influences not only “from [San Francisco's] Mission (historically Latin) neighborhood, but also from all of our upbringings as first and second generation Africans, and an identity as black people in America.” It also includes a remix by DJ /rupture and Matt Shadetek, and another by Uproot Andy. You can stream the entire thing over at XLR8R, but you can cop it at Amazon.

Although the drums used in “Baobob Connect” were the best sounding of the EP and it’s beat the most engaging, we decided to share Uproot Andy’s remix of “Techno Rumba.” This clave-driven refix cycles through a series of different drums and rhythms, drops the percussion altogether a few times to highlight some toy-like instrumentation and features a number of melodies using his trademark wompy synths. The section starting at 2:05 is the best part, where he layers on three simultaneous rhythms and rocks this rolling double melody that sealed the deal for us.

To promote the EP and spread the style he displays at the Little Boabab club in San Fran, Boima put together a breezy mixtape called Pan-Rumba Techno Rumba. Speaking about pan-Rumba over on the WFMU blog, he says, “I haven’t always been able to find an explicit rhythmic connection (perhaps there is one, commenters feel free to enlighten) across the oceans, but there is definitely a name and a pan-African sensibility that touches down in North Africa, Eastern Europe, The Caribbean, Mainland South America, the Congo, Senegal, Benin, Kenya, and more, with Cuba being sort of a cultural node that connects all these places.” The resulting sound of the mix is a subtly infectious beat that smoothly works itself in, slipping into a steady bounce before you happily realize it’s happened. Tracklist over at the Dutty Artz blog. (Street art by confusiongroup.)