by: Juan Porrata
What would you like to people to know about the current dubstep and electrohouse sounds you are pushing and where can they be heard?
With dubstep I'm really concerned about Dn'B trying to take more credit than it's due just as it did with UKGarage. Drum n' Bass is one of the most influential genres to come out of England but it certainly wasn't responsible for spawning UKG or Dubstep. Dubstep's direct lineage is tied to 2-step not Dn'B. Where as UKG owes its creation to house music. If you need proof of that then go listen to the first Big Apple releases or pick up the roots of Dubstep cd. As for 2-step go listen to a Kelly G or Dem 2 record or check out some Tuff Jam or Todd Edwards.
I'm certainly not downplaying the influence of Dn'B in these genres or any other influences within them. Just stating what seems obvious to me.
Electro-house is such a blanket term right now. Grime had the same problem with not knowing what to call itself during it's creation. I don't think there's anything to really address about the sound other than to accept it for what it is. The sound is young and energetic. I've seen that reflected in it's fan base.
I have so many outlets I use for discovering music. The BBC is pretty much the one stop place for dance music. Mary Anne Hobb's show on BBC1 is a great place to hear Dubstep. As for Electrohouse, it seems to constantly be filtered through the blog world. Discobelle.net or even our site is a good place to start.
Tell me about your Unit One production group and any events or musical productions you would like to bring attention to.
Unit One basically acts as a collective for people interested in new music, dance music, or whatever counter culture it is we belong to. It was founded on the basis to push UKG and Grime because we felt a commitment to those sounds but as music has evolved our interest in different forms of music has evolved It seems our philosophy was to continually look ahead while people were constantly looking back. We like change and embrace it. Tiny founded Unit One as a basis for DJ's to come together and partake in events first and foremost. Local DJ's such as Mundo and Jobe have partaken in our events as well as contributed to the vision of Unit One. We've had our hands in a lot, whether working independently or cooperatively with other people. These have ranged from weeklies throughout the years to one off events such as our recent "Drop The Lime" event with Sexy Terrorist. We obviously have a continual presence in Mundo's "Dub Assembly" monthly as well. We hope to continually build relationships with people, magazines, DJ's, producers, publications etc. that share our vision. We're even looking towards the art world in putting on "Munny" or vinyl toy exhibits. The second "Munny on My Mind" installment is in the works at the moment.
Right now, we're using our blog as an outlet or creative net to inform and introduce people to just about everything we share an interest in. Events will become more plentiful soon but we're giving ourselves time to work on them as Tiny recently made the move to New York. He's using his presence in New York as a means to build relationships with like minded people.
Name of some of your current influences or peers you consider brethren?
I'm really appreciative of what Drop The Lime and the whole Trouble and Bass crew is doing in New York. These guys take the approach of playing whatever they want but maintain a focus in Dance or Electronic music. This is essentially what Unit One is about. Our roots like everyone else here lie in the Rave. That's where T&B comes from as well. Big shouts to Select and The Party as well. Everything these guys are about is moving forward.
Throughout the state so many people have been putting work into building a strong Dubstep scene. Those people are spread throughout Austin, Houston, San Antonio, AND Dallas. The recent Heavyweight event was definitely a testament to how strong of a movement Dubstep has become in Texas. People like Suraj K(SDF3), Grommit, and Mundo have worked extremely hard in continually getting the sound out there.
Any Thanks or gang affiliations you want to share?
I have to thank my parents first and foremost for supporting me continuously and my girlfriend Sara for putting up with a lot of shit, The Logic Theorist and the defunked Tuff Breaks Crew for giving me the first opportunity to really partake in my first steps as a DJ, Thanh and Mary for inspiring me and helping me believe in myself, and everyone I've worked with over the years, has put in effort to introducing audiences to this music, and been supportive of what I've been doing.
