[Tempa] (buy vinyl) (buy CD) (buy mp3s)

Every style of music reaches a point where it teeters on the edge of becoming too popular for it’s own good. With hip-hop, popularity only increased it’s creativity (at least for a while); with drum ‘n’ bass, it killed the original and gave rise to garage and it’s descendants. Dubstep is the latest case for this crucible of popularity, with the music reaching the shores of the U.S. from its home in England and gaining a new set of fans in the process. Dubstep remixes are becoming increasingly common (La Roux’s “In For The Kill” getting the Skreamix treatment, as a popular example) and stars like Snoop Dogg and Timbaland have sung its praises (the latter even infamously declaring he invented the genre, to much groaning). It’s somehow appropriate that Skream (aka Ollie Jones), one of the founders of dubstep, is the latest to test the waters for a pop crossover with his sophomore album, Outside The Box. With a long and popular history within the underground community, he is known to be mischievous and sincere and both of those qualities show up in equal measures. There are only a handful of true pop music grabs here, sprinkled in among experimental examinations and bottom-heavy stompers with varying levels of success.

Backwards pianos combined with rising and falling synths squiggling throughout a beatless space on opener “Perferated.” For a producer of well-loved club music, it’s a brave choice that seems to throw down the musical gauntlet. On contemplative and moody tracks like this, the ambient-dubstep of “Metamorphosis,” and the orchestral “A Song For Lenny,” Skream displays a serious and mature side, focusing on his prowess as a composer. By sprinkling these slower meditations throughout Outside The Box, there is a sense of needing to slow down and take stock. On spacious and classic dubstep compositions like “Fields of Emotion” and “Reflections” (with dBridge & Instra:mental), Skream pushes at the boundaries of melancholy melodies, with “Fields of Emotion” being the most successful. The mournful synths and cavernous halfstep conjures dark memories of early Loefah and DMZ and current synergy with Kryptic Minds and Burial. As for the saddest track on the album, “CPU” charts a computer experiencing critical errors on it’s way to oblivion in the form of a minor chord progression, decaying synths and a lava flow of digital bass. Computer laments are not an uncommon type of track in electronic music, but Skream uses minimal percussion and vocals to achieve this particular CPU’s demise.

By contrast, high-energy rollers such as “Listening To The Records On My Wall” and “The Epic Last Song” skip back in history past 2-step and UK garage to the heady days of Metalheadz drum ‘n’ bass, even while updating the “Amen” breaks with catchy synth melodies and rave-inspired breakdowns. The tongue-in-cheek title of “The Epic Last Song” falls slightly short as the song never quite reaches the euphoria of the types of album-ending songs to which it alludes. The largest and most insistent track on the album, “Wibbler,” eschews both the contemplative and the retro sounds for a modern slice of wobbling devastation. This type of chainsaw bass “arena” dubstep is cutting a path through many clubs throughout the world to varied reactions. One thing is for sure, this track is mean and loud and would have a tough time finding an audience on the radio.

When playing with pop music archetypes, Skream dabbles in hip-hop with Murs, electronic ballads with Sam Frank, vocal-led UK garage and whispy electro-pop with La Roux. “8 Bit Baby” folds in skeletal hip-hop with high-pitched skweee melodies and Murs hyping the bouncy collaboration. It’s a slightly goofy track that charms its way through the lack of progression and minimal lyrics. One of the most successful pop explorations on Outside The Box is “Where You Should Be” featuring heavily effected vocals from Sam Frank. Everything in this track works together to provide a wistful arena sized pop ballad, from the high-pitched melodies dovetailing with the air-tunnel vocals and the lower register bass line weaving throughout the drum kicks. “How Real” features Freckles in a cut-up tribute while a Jocelyn Brown sample leads “I Love The Way.” These two strive the hardest for radio playability, the latter ultimately being more successful and exciting with its pummeling beat and majestic synthetic orchestra that take off into a gallop at the climax. When combining his impeccable production with vocalists Skream finds a way to push them slightly off-kilter, whether it’s with playful melodies or intense effects. Even while striving for pop accessibility on Outside The Box, Skream maintains a prominent foot in the history of dubstep by showcasing his skills and developing all facets of club music songwriting, ultimately making for a complicated and detailed album.

[Tectonic] (buy CD) (buy mp3s)

As I loaded Tectonic Plates Vol. 2 into my playlist, the artists who appeared one by one were a “who’s who” of dubstep producers who have made waves and splashes in the scene this year. Joker’s inclusion immediately caught my attention, and may do so for many people because of his recent Hyperdub debut. Also gracing the tracklist are heavyweights Benga and Skream, as well as a couple of LWE favorites, 2562 and Martyn kicking things off. Rounding out the compilation are Flying Lotus, Moving Ninja, Peverelist, Shed and RSD. Last but not least and the one who facilitated this impressive lineup is Pinch, whose Tectonic label the compilation appears on.

As for the music, much of it is syncopated and steppy, dark but danceable, and sonically cohesive as a whole. With dubstep moving in a number of directions, captured here is the genre’s deep, introspective, and sometimes experimental side. “Yet,” the opener by Martyn, sets the tone with it’s elating up-tempo shuffle and his signature stabs. 2562 then takes a rare, but forgettable venture into halfstep territory with “Kontrol.” On what is arguably the strongest track, “Trapped In A Dark Bubble,” Skream builds some really killer tension with a bass line of blippy triplets. Benga’s “Technocal,” on the other hand, almost feels like filler compared to his work on Tempa, but is catchy if repetitive and employs some interestingly disorienting drum programming. The first major departure, “Glendale Galleria,” is from Flying Lotus (no surprise there) whose creepy sound is an acquired taste for this junglist turned grown up grime kid. It seems to be going for a profundity that unfortunately comes off as meaninglessly random.

Then there’s Joker (ah, Joker), whose “Untitled_Rsn” sneaks up with an ordinary DJ-friendly intro that drops into some head bobbing badness that’ heavy in spite of its quirkiness. “False Flag” by Pinch and Moving Ninja could do without the whole two and a half minute ambient intro thing, complete with cliché sampled movie dialogue. When the beat finally drops, tiny robotic gunshots and miniature smart bombs start going off while an epic power chord slowly fades in and out. Shed’s remix of Peverelist’s “Junktion” reminds me of Gush Collective (coincidence? Beide sind aus Deutschland). A clean rimshot snare and shaker are accompanied by an organ grinder and ambient synths, but not muddied by reverb. A well-composed “Greyscale” from 2562 develops slowly but surely for a few minutes before winding back down in the last minute. Skream’s “Percression” veers back to the dance floor with a fun 4×4 beat while still fitting the echo-laden dissonant theme. RSD’s “Forward Youth” offers up a dubbed out stepper that brings the energy up another notch and Pinch closes with another tension builder, “Joyride,” that might work better in the mix than on it’s own.

All considered, the first few tracks were pretty great, but one of this compilation’s strengths is also its weakness. The sound is consistent throughout and makes for an even vibe, but the energy level never really reaches beyond a drone. At the same time, I must admit some of the only dubstep releases I’ve been excited about in the last few months were the promo twelves for this double CD. These tracks also happen to be the ones that made it onto the excellent second disc mixed by Pinch. To be fair, making a compilation is a dying art, and Tectonic has put a pretty decent one together. If taken as a collection of singles and a bonus mix CD, I really don’t have much to criticize.

[Tempa] (buy vinyl) (buy mp3s)

Skream might have one of the most visceral names in dubstep, but he’s hardly a menacing producer. In fact, his output over the last couple of years has made a strong case for melody in the genre. Skream is a populist at heart; he’s a producer not afraid to craft accessible tracks that humanize the calcified sound of dubstep. The approach has not only resulted in dubstep’s defining track and melody — “Midnight Request Line” — but a discogs page as long as any. “Skreamizm Vol. 4″ is a tried-and-tested collection. For those who closely followed the producer through 2007, little of the EP is new, but the six tracks still hold up and hold their own after a year of rinsing. The key might be that Volume 4 starts large – the opener is almost as big and dumb as its title. You might need to say “Oskilatah” out loud to understand the awful pun birthed in mispronunciation, but the track has all the elements primed for the dance floor: an op-art wobble, a popping bass drum, and an acid quack of a hook.

Even the controversy surrounding the bleep and bass homage “2D” sounds like an artist proudly misusing a soft-synth preset. Like an open-tuned guitar, Skream lets the synths ring through the track, sharpening its impact. The result manages to both nod to “Midnight Request Line” and sound like shockingly new direction for dubstep. While both”Oskilatah” and “2D” play up Skream’s populist strengths, the rest of the EP stays wide-ranging. Skream keeps the pace of the front half of Vol. 4 with the rattle & jitter of “Tech-Appeal” only to compliment it on the back side with foreboding bob “Nemesis” and the splayed slo-mo melody of “Wobble that Gut.” Tempa has always made sure that the Skreamizm series is a fetish item — a fact reflected in their pop-comic covers of horror movie screams — but with their fourth volume, they’ve finally got their money shot.