I was having some trouble uploading to Patreon yesterday, but thankfully I'm able to now. So here is your slightly delayed new BBB - the final one before Christmas! 🎄
Salutations to you all for the holiday season! ✨
Yearly Favourites 2025 videos coming in the new year, I'll be posting about it generally tomorrow.
✌️
NEWS
T-Pain's Bass Bootcamp
Last week, legendary Hip Hop artist T-Pain furthered his venture into Dubstep by hosting one of the coolest events in the scene's recent history - the first Bass Bootcamp. Along with a raft of big-name Bass producers such as Peekaboo, Sullivan King and Kompany - as well as less Bass-oriented artists like San Holo - T-Pain, real name Faheem Rasheed Najm, camped inside the District Atlanta nightclub to make a selection of heavy Dubstep IDs. The event lasted most of the week, with some artists coming and going from one day to another, and others like Samplifire seemingly staying for the entire time, before playing a show at District on the 18th.
There's a lot of great footage from the bootcamp, showing various producers at the computer playing what they've collectively worked on, other artists hovering around, and then T-Pain, his personal producer and general friends losing their minds to what's been made. Samplifire's Instagram in particular is a treasure trove of media from the week, all of which can be viewed @samplifire: https://www.instagram.com/samplifire?igsh=bWFmOXZjYnExajVn
As for the music itself, unsurprisingly it divided opinion online. The Dubstep itself is nothing new, mostly consisting of your classic stompy Briddim of the last half-decade. However, I will say that hearing T-Pain's voice over a drop like that did sound quite good! It's a clear way of showing how something so straightforward can be completely transformed by a vocal feature, melody or likewise. Most could see the fun in it even if the music wasn't anything special, but that thought was not shared by everyone, as some were quick to put the material in check somewhat.
It does have me wondering whether Mr. Pain has heard all kinds of Dubstep, or just the overly heavy festival-sized music; or that that's what he likes most and so is only turning his attention towards that style. Regardless, I love seeing a musician of his stature from a completely different genre of music be so enthusiastic about Bass. I'd love to see him listening to other Bass genres / sub-genres, but for now I'm happy to appreciate it as it is.
What are you guys making of T-Pain's exploration of Bass music, and his bootcamp event?
Calcium is half deaf
A strong rumour has finally been proven true. Last week, Dubstep producer Calcium took to Instagram to share a reel of him reacting to a song of his, but it was the captions that were the main draw of the video. He wrote 'im half deaf and my full time job is being a producer/touring dj'. He went on to say 'How did I become deaf? Well.. it's pretty simple actually.. I was born this way' before revealing that his cochlear nerve in his right ear has never worked properly. He then posted a follow-up video the next day explaining his half-deaf experience further, which frustratingly he seems to have deleted. It gave great context to a rumour that has been around since he burst on to the Bass scene in 2019, so it's a shame he took the reel down. I also found it to be a good way of raising awareness about ear health in the scene, which I think we can always do with more of.
LINK: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSS_hZ5ku8I/?igsh=MTYxOGJ3YW4xbTdycw==
It's nice to have definitive information from the source on something that was genuinely difficult to believe. It's honestly incredible that he's made music at that quality with half of his hearing available! Is it a rumour you'd heard of yourself?
MUSIC
Moody Good drops new ID mix
DAYUM some of these are good. Moody Good took to Instagram last week to share a new mix stacked to the brim with hot-off-the-press IDs. There's a wide range of genres, a load of incredible production, and a hefty dose of the London-born, Chicago-based producer's textured, angular sound to enjoy. Of the Instagram clips, I think the 2nd one is my favourite, but I'd love to hear what your picks are in the comments!
REEL LINK: https://www.instagram.com/p/DSauwJ3jGsr/?img_index=3&igsh=MXVzaWtlMDl5MHA5Mw==
Big ups to @sunday_fun_shorts on Instagram with the animations for these post clips too!
MPH shares slew of IDs to IG
More IDs! This time from UK Garage supremo MPH, who shared 6 new snippets to Instagram last week. Apparently amongst the clips is a collaboration with Four Tet, a bit of information I had written in my notes for this segment but which I can't find / source anywhere now for some reason. But do know I wouldn't just note that down for the sake of it! Anyway, like the Moody Good there is some top, top material here, and it's well worth checking out if you're generally into higher-paced Bass music.
LINK: https://www.instagram.com/p/DSS79jWDqag/?img_index=4&igsh=anprOG9wazE1aWo=
Sora & AFK collab ID
ID segment number 3! This did the rounds on X last week as producers Sora and AFK each got giddy about a new collaboration they've been working on. It seems the track is called 'Do Something New', and it has - to my ear at least - a distinct Nitepunk flavour to it in its overall sound design. Many were lauding it as one of the best tracks they'd heard in a long time, which I'm not sure I'd quite say, but it is good! It's cool to see these guys working together too.
ID LINK: https://x.com/sorabecareful/status/2001096012950028399?s=46&t=TEbbHyZ3OlICtgts4_3J0g
Do you think it lives up to the hype?
Vorso's Holomony gets remix treatment
Vorso's 2023 album Holomony - my personal favourite Bass album of that year - now has its own official remix package. The mini-compilation was released on Inspected and consists of 6 tracks, featuring a varied selection of fan favourite Bass names on remix duty - Clockvice, BVSSIC, Pedestrian Tactics and more. Vorso himself shared some words on X about each individual remix, and also wrote that 'each remixer on the EP had access to the stems for every track on the album - really interesting to hear the connections / associations between the tracks made by other musicians', which I thought was a fantastic bit of insight.
Have you heard this EP yet? If so, which remix on it is your favourite?
Digitist album nearing completion
Underground Dubstep fans be eating right now! In the middle of last week, Digitist took to social media to let fans know that 'the album is actually nearly done now, one more single coming in about a month or so. i expect it all to be out before March'. But there was more exciting news shared at the end of the same post, where Digitist acknowledged the general wait for the album to say 'i've decided to whip up a lil somethin somethin for the folks that want some new music. just a lil care package'. That project has since been revealed as a new EP titled Precursor II, which is available on Soundcloud and Bandcamp now, and on streaming services from January 2nd. It consists of 6 tracks, and will act as a prelude to the aforementioned forthcoming album.
I've found Digitist's sound to be one of the most sonically and conceptually interesting in the underground of modern Dubstep for many years, so it's great to see him being as prolific as he has been, especially given the life struggles he's been experiencing away from music-making. Do be sure check out the new EP when you can, and the album when it drops next year!
EP LINK: https://on.soundcloud.com/sl5NlkeiictZHQxrIu
DISCUSSION
There's no point in promoting music on X
This was a bleak admission from MUST DIE!, but as I've sat on this thought I've found it hard to argue with - at least from a certain perspective. I tried to give my own suggestion (screenshot below), which I think could work quite well for a producer like him, but it feels somewhat like that isn't really the issue here. I imagine that the real sticking point is that he doesn't really like making reels at all, hence the 'dancing monkey for your algorithm' comment.
I'm of the opinion that there'll always be a way for an artist to promote their music on X - particularly X, not Instagram or TikTok etc - but of utmost importance is them being comfortable making that content, because otherwise it'll feel unsustainable very quickly. I say this because whilst I believe it's tough for some people to make short-form content to the point it almost feels impossible, I don't think people should be dissuaded from doing it from the off. Fans always wanna hear from their favourite producers, and especially when it's anything remotely behind the scenes. So once you find something you're comfortable filming and editing, you're on to a winner! Onwards and upwards with the X promotion I say.
FUNNIES / COOL STUFF
Ivy Lab + Ivy Lab = Eprom
This broke my brain in the best way possible. So, so good.
LINK: https://x.com/ramonpang/status/2001043332999602404?s=46&t=TEbbHyZ3OlICtgts4_3J0g
Absolute pwnage
Just a sensational put down. Love it!
Cyclops does it again
Funny, just plainly funny. And classic of Cyclops, it has to be said.
LINK: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSVGziylfgu/?igsh=MXRidWw0ZmppZDQzdw==
Another good production reel from phonon
This will become a series, I'm sure. phonon is delivering great advice, and it seems like these thoughts are second nature to him, so I imagine they'll just keep coming.
Must-watch for the producers amongst you!
LINK: https://x.com/phononmusic/status/2001047371975680149?s=46&t=TEbbHyZ3OlICtgts4_3J0g
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If I missed anything from last week, let me know below! :)