Bluetech, Mimosa, Random Rab – Defining a New Genre of Music

Dubstep, breaks and glitch are genres dear to my heart, but I feel like everyone is competing to be the hardest, loudest, glitchiest, bassiest, most Mountain Dew extreme and losing the melody and soul along the way. The appeal of broken up beats and deep bass is clear next to most monotonous 4 on the floor house tracks, but the niche that I find most appealing comes from producers that can take such a raw, experimental sound and refine it into something deeper than a machine gun burst of raunchy bass hits.

Drop the bass, break up the beats and glitch it out, but not to the point where the song loses all coherence, rhythm and flow. I still want to feel connected to something tribal, sacred and other-worldly when the music is pulsating through me and I want the journey that I’ve always found to be the distinctive quality of electronic music to remain.

That being said, the 3 artists that I feel achieve this and best exemplify this beautiful little niche are Bluetech, Mimosa and Random Rab. There are plenty of others I’m sure, but these are the producers that I feel are pushing the envelope and creating a whole new sound rather than just copying whatever is the latest sound outta the South of UK.

Hawaii-based Bluetech is a classically trained pianist and master of the art of software production. Bluetech’s love of the melodic and exquisite sense of sound design makes him one of the most ingenius producers today.

Bluetech’s sound emerges from his custom-built Reaktor instruments and software based synthesisers as a primordial electro-dub alchemy. While encompassing musical touches from different parts of the globe, he presents a total blend, crossing genres and borders. Although Bluetech’s music includes some “organic” samples, it is created mostly using digital synthesizers and production software, giving a very “Digital” quality to it, much like the Glitch inspired sounds of Shulman, who has also released albums through Aleph Zero Records.

Check out the Bluetech myspace page for upcoming gigs, latest releases, etc.

MP3: Bluetech – Shulman – First Came the Stars

MP3: Bluetech – Enter the Lovely

Mimosa presents tracks with heavy-hitting low frequencies, sexy grooves, and uplifting dub infusions. Crunk-step for the soul as his moniker goes. He brings the bass a bit heavier, but keeps it balanced and mixed well with an assortment of vocal samples and spacey sounds. Using basslines inspired by hip-hop classics like Too Short and Dr Dre, combined with deep psychedelic textures reminiscent of the downtempo and midtempo output by Tipper and Bluetech, Mimosa blends the range of styles to create his own fresh take on the west coast sound.

Check out Mimosa’s myspace page for upcoming gigs, new releases, etc.

MP3: Mimosa – Lullabyte

MP3: Mimosa – Delivery ft. Souleye

SF-based Random Rab has been in my rotation non-stop since I came across his music from a good friend and co-creator of Datrium. We must have crossed paths at Lightning in a Bottle, but I missed his set and thus delayed my introduction to his truly breakthrough sound. There isn’t much else like it, as I found out scouring the web and emailing friends in search of more of “this sound.” Luckily, both Bluetech and Mimosa mix well with Rab and create a pretty amazing set.

Check out Random Rab’s myspace page for upcoming shows, new releases and other good stuff.

MP3: Random Rab – The Riddle

MP3: Random Rab – K’khana

I hope you dig these guys as much as I do.  Get out and support them, buy the full albums and check their upcoming gigs as I know they will be featured at many of the Summer concerts and festivals throughout California and Colorado.  Mmmmm, new sounds!