Crate Exploratory: Instramental- No Future (Skreamix) / Skream-Minimalistix

In a seemingly endless array of quantity-driven record labels who are trying to churn out mediocre drum and bass and dubstep music at a nauseating pace, it’s always nice to see labels like London-based Non Plus+ taking a proper approach and focusing more on quality. Like many others around me, I really like how many niche labels are embracing different types of music, but proper marketing, distribution, and the ability to keep true to the original ethos of the label are crucial to it’s role and relevance as the music itself changes faster than ever before. 

Non Plus+ has carved itself a niche geared towards the sparser, minimal side of breakbeat driven dance music, and over the course of it’s past four releases, producers such as D-Bridge, ASC, and Instra:Mental have released both stripped down drum and bass and dubstep that fits the minimal mold while each song brings something unique to the table. The most recent release on Non Plus+ comes to us courtesy by none other than probably the most blogged about dubstep producer in the world right now, Skream.

Taking what was originally a drum and bass song and whacking 30 beats per minute off it’s tempo right off the bat yields plenty of room for a refined bassline, which he brings right to the foreground here. In fact, it’s a rare instance where Skream actually makes a song or remix pivoted around a distorted wobbly bassline, preferring to let it rest in subtlety. So even though it’s not a track that makes for thought provoking home listening, it’s obviously going to be one that will heat up a dancefloor in the coldest of winter nights.

Now that Minimalistix track on the flip, that one’s a sleeper! Here we have a breakloop that is almost 4x4 driven; the snare on the 7th beat of every bar is so large in the mix that it stops all the percussion dead in it’s footsteps for the following beat. This adds what I consider a “skippy” feel that keeps the groove of the whole piece unique yet funky. There’s a bit of melody brewing in the percussion as well, a sub bass holding everything together, and LOTS of empty space. This is honestly the type of dubstep that Skream is renowned for, and is a perfect fit for the label.

My rating for this release: 8/10