2 step is basically a house vibe, with a DnB-ish chipset. Music for the
Saks Fifth Avenue type punters, hence the heavy RnB influences. I have a
bunch of good stuff, though. The stuff that has a ragga influence is kinda
nice. And really, one of the seminal tracks ... DJ Zinc's "138 Trek" is a
damn nice song. Still my favorite UK garage track. MJ Cole's "True Slum
King" and "Desperado" are also really nice songs. I kinda like the beats.
But your average American dancefloor reacts worse to it than DnB. Just too
abstract.
I see it more as an improvement in a downtempo area, than an evolution from
speed garage. It's more along the lines of broken beat - West London kinda
stuff. Jazzy chillout music. And as such, it's a nice evolution to come to
that scene, the downtempo scene. I wouldn't play 2 Step at a hardcore club,
alongside stuff like speed garage, techno, or jungle. It's weak sauce
compared to that stuff. But at a 10am poolside after party, it's kinda
nice.
Speed garage is still around, though. I mean, the Stanton Warriors are just
starting to blow up over here (US) ... The new Freestylers has a couple of
nice speed garage tracks on it ... Long live speed garage, all I have to
say.
C.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Zach Hoon" <sorted@saturn5.com>
To: <idm@hyperreal.org>
Cc: <Mediadrome@aol.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2002 12:47 PM
Subject: Re: [idm] 2 step (ot)
quoted 38 lines ok i'll admit it. i was a speed garage dj. back in madison, wisconsin, i'd
>
> ok i'll admit it. i was a speed garage dj. back in madison, wisconsin, i'd
> been playing techno, house, d'n'b, and was bored with it all, till i found
> a 12" of that loop da loop mix of 'love commandments'. hard, driving 4/4
> beat! huge d'n'b-style bassline! weird-ass time stretchy samples and
> things! i could have done without the cheese vocals, but i loved it all
> the same, and was hooked. i special ordered as much speed garage as i
> could...after a few months i noticed all the b-sides to the records i was
> buying were these 'breakbeat' mixes with cheeseball house organ lines and
> even more horrendous skippy vocal samples than the tracks on the
> a-side...this, apparently, was the infancy of '2step' (people around me
> were calling it uk garage at the time)...pretty soon the b-sides became
> the a-sides, and all i could find for speed garage records were horrid 4/4
> mixes of ukgarage/2step tracks. gone were the huge dark basslines and fast
> driving beats, replaced with bubbly boring bass, and that skippy
> 'oontz-kak-buh-kakkak' beat. this was followed by all the uk pirates and
> even some mainstream radio stations starting to play it, terrible r&b
> songs getting bootlegged into even more terrible 2step tracks, the 2step
> blowup in the uk, and now the trickledown of it over here in the US. i
> relocated to san francisco about 4 years ago, and have watched a number of
> really good local d'n'b djs jump the jungle ship and start playing what
> i've come to call poostep...oh well. i sit here under my grumpy umbrella,
> waiting for this unfortunate storm to pass. like when one of my closest
> pals got deeply and inexplicably into happy hardcore. heh.
>
> admittedly, i've heard a few good 2step tracks: stuff on domu's new record
> 'up and down', an aromabar remix i forget the details of, some things on
> svek that sound like 2step and tech-house humping...
>
> but i suppose i'd like to hear from someone who actually likes 2step. tell
> me: why? what's the appeal to you? is there anybody out there?
>
> -z
>
>
> On Sat, 5 Jan 2002, Rich wrote:
>
> > I am from the UK and two-step has been done to death here. I must admit
I'm
quoted 2 lines not it's greatest fan, cause the artists have ripped off every piece of
> > not it's greatest fan, cause the artists have ripped off every piece of
> > Dance history we know, sampling and screwing it up. Most real dance
fans
quoted 2 lines (IMHO) in the UK will steer clear of it, mainly because it went far too
> > (IMHO) in the UK will steer clear of it, mainly because it went far too
> > commercial. Stick to D'n'B, it's much better. As for conventions, I
think
quoted 1 line that the rhythms are mainly concentrated into every two steps (rather
> > that the rhythms are mainly concentrated into every two steps (rather
than
quoted 1 line four as in House and most other forms), so breaks and stops are quite
> > four as in House and most other forms), so breaks and stops are quite
common
quoted 3 lines (and irritating).
> > (and irritating).
> >
> > Maybe you may hear something different, but I think it was a bad idea
made
quoted 5 lines worse....
> > worse....
> >
> > All IMHO
> >
> > Also - Commercial Hit? It's the only reason 2-step got popular was by
hype,
quoted 1 line media manipulation and suckers paying $$$ for recycled crap. 2-step is
> > media manipulation and suckers paying $$$ for recycled crap. 2-step is
the
quoted 1 line only scene I know of to re-release a record with a few extra samples,
> > only scene I know of to re-release a record with a few extra samples,
and it
quoted 11 lines was still popular..... Call it commercialism, call it whatever....
> > was still popular..... Call it commercialism, call it whatever....
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <Mediadrome@aol.com>
> > To: <idm@hyperreal.org>
> > Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2002 2:04 PM
> > Subject: [idm] 2 step
> >
> >
> > > Anybody here know anything about 2 step? I haven't heard much of
it.
quoted 1 line What I've heard sounds jungly and d&b. Are there any conventions
> > > What I've heard sounds jungly and d&b. Are there any conventions
to
quoted 34 lines the
> > the
> > > 2 step (like in house, you get claps on the 2nd and 4th beat)? Are
> > there
> > > any particular dance steps?
> > > Is it a commercial hit in the UK?
> > >
> > > thanks
> > > mediadrome
> > >
> > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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> > >
> >
> >
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> >
> >
>
> -
> zach hoon
> zach@iamzach.com
> http://www.iamzach.com/
>
>
>
>
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