Porter Robinson: The State (with SKisM remix)

My last post was the first in a two-part series on "dubstep," a series in which I will quickly clear my creative system of its residual wub-wubs and get back to classic alternative/indie/punk and the like. Normally, I don't post songs like this, but perhaps these ubiquitous sounds, nearly unavoidable over the last three years or so (though the sound dates back long before its mainstream explosion), have subconsciously influenced me. I said last time that this post would be about the first "dubstep" song I ever liked (and one of the four or five total tracks that I like), the track that remains by far my favorite from the scene.

This post spotlights Porter Robinson's brilliant track "The State," along with its subsequent remix by SKisM, the artist I featured in the last post. I stumbled on to this guy via a Facebook posting, probably from Judge Andrew Napolitano or someone similar, about a "libertarian dubstep" artist featured in an LA Weekly article. Naturally, this intrigued me, not because I was particularly fond of dubstep, but rather the "libertarian" modifier (not to get political, but I am a diehard little-L libertarian).

As it turned out, Robinson is perhaps more anarchic/anarcho-capitalist than the simple libertarian label originally suggested, but the story itself focuses on "The State" and the more basic politics of the track. This track is a darkly aggressive indictment of typical statist government policy, fueled by Austrian School and libertarian icon Murray Rothbard's writings. The vocal samples come from a Jeff Riggenbach reading of Rothbard's magnum opus, For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto, read over rhythmic percussion and a melody that sounds more Arabic than Austrian. More reserved than much of its aggressive contemporaries, the song seems place heavy emphasis on the words, as if it were an exercise in the effective use of vocal samples, tending to be a bit on the repetitive side. Make no mistake, this is an excellent track, but if you're looking for a dub-driven adrenaline rush rather than an economics lesson, its remix counterpart may be more up your alley.

While Robinson's original version is ominous in its own right, SKisM's remix is downright horrific. In a good way. The remix ditches the agenda in favor of a pure musical assault. He saves only the most brutal parts of the vocal sample, tweaked even more than the original for maximum scare power, eschewing Austrian economics for a song that may be much more fitting in a horror movie's climax (provided that movie is set in a rave). In fact, every time I listen to this song, I can't help but think of those "horror" arcade games where players have to hold on to metal bars that "shock" them, while a skeleton/Uncle Fester/etc. "increases the voltage." See below.




Powerful wordless vocalizing in between Rothbard's writings only increases the dark feel of the Arabic melody. The high, Psycho-esque, synth notes over the drop create a scene of pure government-induced terror. By the way, this busy, dissonant drop is probably the best that I have ever heard, and it only gets better when the percussion changes up, sending the song into a sort of double time feel.

The more varied and music-driven remix is at times chilling, other times hypnotic, and sometimes even a harsh-yet-satisfying combination of the two. Both of the tracks are great in their own right. If political theory is your thing, you may be more drawn to the original; however, while the original is by no means chill, it sounds like lounge music in comparison to the brutal beat down of the remix.

And that's it. No more hip electro posts for me. Rest assured, the most danceable songs I post from here on out will all be older than I am.

Download Porter Robinson: The State (and SKisM remix)

SKisM: Down with the Kids EP

When I started this blog, I thought it would be a good outlet to share my taste in 80s and 90s alternative and indie, particularly that which was slightly left of "left of the dial." A dash of punk, a hint of shoegaze. The biggest deviation from the broad "rock" heading would be some posts expressing my love for trip-hop. That's the most electronic I'll get on this blog, I thought. I've never been a big electro fan, save for the odd 8-bit stuff, anyway.

As one might guess, I don't have a whole lot of experience with electronic music. My collections of glowsticks and synthetic drug experiences are embarrassingly small, and my knowledge of electronic subgenre taxonomy is limited. I do indeed realize that I'm putting myself forward for electro-hipster ridicule by even attempting a post on this subject, but this post (as well as my next planned post [!]) is about "dubstep." I use the quotes because a lot of people can't quite agree on what "dubstep" is exactly.

To be clear, I will be using it to define the musical chainsaw sound that can be found pulsing through pretty much every party you go to. You know, the downtempo whirrs, buzzes, and wub-wub-wubs that you hear before you hear the police sirens answering a noise complaint. (Some dubstep artists have gotten efficient, cutting out the middleman by incorporating the sirens into their songs.)

Anyway, my first journalistic foray into this strange, dimly-lit (by glowsticks) world is to cover the "Down with the Kids" EP by London-based artist SKisM, a five-track aural explosion. This album, which perhaps leans a bit more towards filthy IDM music than most, is often thoughtful and generally remains fresh, even amongst a genre built on a specific sound where each song sounds remarkably similar to the last. Well, to me, anyway.

The gem of this EP is easily the first track, "Rave Review," the title being simultaneously ironic and a play on words. The song samples large chunks from a spoken word piece by Henry Rollins (easily found on YouTube), in which the hardcore punk legend releases an intense diatribe on the moronic simplicity of bad rave music. (Get it now?) While certainly ambitious (turning a Henry Rollins rant about rave music into a rave anthem?), the execution is brilliant. Even if you don't like this kind of music, this song is definitely worth a listen, if only for a bit of a laugh at the genius that unfolds throughout the song, as the music builds on each section of the rant. Hardcore punk and electro fans alike should be able to appreciate this song for that very reason.

The rest of the album perhaps isn't quite as inventive, but it holds its own. If you're a fan of dubstep that is looking for something a bit more intelligent than those boneheaded party anthems by Skrillex and the like, there's a good chance you'll enjoy this EP. And even if you are just looking for some good drops; don't worry, the wub-wub-buzz-shoomps are all here. Like I said, I don't know much about dubstep, nor do I generally care for it at all, but I do know that this EP contains most of the handful of dubstep songs that I can actually tolerate.

Tune in next time for the "dubstep" song (and its remix) that floored me and inspired my newfound ... respect ... for the genre.

Track Listing:

1. Rave Review
2. Elixir
3. Power 
4. Rise Of The Idiots (Remix)
5. Back Off (Remix)