A hometown lowdown from its musical residents
With thousands of exotically titled, shiny neon cities dotted around the globe, it’s often easy to forget the charm and value of some of the turf in your own back yard. And with a combination of musical prowess, culture and all-round good vibes and good people, Bristol is most definitely some UK turf worth taking note of. Handily, it also does rather a nice line in graffiti and mindfuckingly potent cider. Perfect.
Over the years, Bristol has provided the perfect template for dark, urban beats, having been the breeding ground (and, in some cases, the birthplace) for various moody, twisted musical forms, including D‘n’B, trip-hop and dubstep. And while the latter may have kicked off in the big smoke of the capital, there’s now a strong case for arguing that the scene has firmly taken up residence in Bristol - just ask the numerous producers who’ve relocated there…
Start talking dubstep around those parts (and pretty much anywhere else, for that matter), and you won’t get too far without hearing the name Headhunter - purveyor of some of the finest teched-out dubstep this side of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. A born and bred Bristolian, Headhunter - AKA Tony Williams - is a key player within the scene, having started out (as so many good producers and DJs have) on that sadly-depleting medium, pirate radio. “When me and my friend got offered the show back then, I hadn’t touched turntables for about four years,” he says. “I started thinking about what to play, and as a reflection of the city I was in, and movements in the underground UK scene, we decided to play grime, with very little knowledge of the sound. After a few weeks I felt a lot of the grime could have been a lot better, production-wise. So I started to dabble in making grime and was quickly told by some locals [fellow Bristol heavyweights Pinch and Blazey] that what I was playing was dubstep. So it happened by accident really.”
One lucky accident and four years later, Headhunter has gone from strength to strength, crafting his own technical approach to dubstep and modern dub, and though he harbours a lot of love for the city where it all started, he’s certainly not afraid to get out and about either, as debut album ‘Nomad’ suggests, in both name and sound. Nearly every track on the album was made in a different place from around the globe, with Headhunter adopting the well-documented method of recording tunes whenever, wherever and however possible. “I just had my laptop with me when I was travelling around and I used people’s living rooms who I was staying with,” he says. “I’d wait for them to go out and then just start working. I like the concept - it’s a collection of sounds for being on my travels.
Perhaps as a result of the transient manner in which it was recorded, ‘Nomad’ encompasses a huge range of sounds, atmospheres and influences, ranging far deeper than just dub and dubstep. Jungle, trippy Aphex ambience and Basic Channel-esque vibes can all be heard pulsing from the album’s deep textures at various points, making for a genuinely fascinating listen and proving Headhunter’s take on dubstep to be an intelligent and inclusive one. “I’ve become deeply attached to the Berlin dub-techno sound,” he admits. “Before dubstep I was, and still am, into old-skool hardcore, jungle and psy-trance. Most people have a single-minded take on psy-trance, but when you invest some time into digging it, you find some of the most interesting and twisted sounds ever created from it.”
Bristol’s musical heritage also appears to have played a part in Headhunter’s work, with the energy of old-skool D‘n’B and jungle, and the downtempo dreaminess of trip-hop both filtering through in ‘Nomad’. And, of course, let’s not forget the bass - there’s plenty of low frequency nastiness of the highest quality to be found on the record, just as there should be.
Although the heyday of D‘n’B and trip-hop may be almost a distant memory now, their presence on Bristol’s musical palette remains intact, as Headhunter points out. “D‘n’B still has a strong presence here,” he reckons. “It’s what the kids of the city get into after they’ve left school - it’s what I was into after I left school anyway. I’m pretty sure it’ll never die here. The one thing I have noticed in Bristol is that it’s a very breakbeatbased city: Massive Attack, Portishead, Roni Size And Reprazent, and also dubstep. House and techno don’t really do so well here. There are techno parties but they’re outnumbered with D‘n’B and dubstep events. I guess the city is much more raw in the way of its outlook towards music.”
Bristol, clearly, is now very much a dubstep city. But far from being a restrictive or exclusive force, it seems to have given the city a strong sense of character and identity, with a solid community of friends, producers and musicians being built around the scene. “The list can go on and on but the people that stick out in my mind are Pinch [another notable Bristol dubstep heavyweight], Peverelist, Joker, Jakes, Komonazmuk, Forsaken, RSD and Appleblim. Everyone knows each other; they all get invited to the same parties and go to the same nights.
”With so much talent firmly embedded, it appears that the scene of the city can only continue to expand, with the sheer variety of artists and nights on offer ensuring that the sound will never become too narrow or linear, particularly with artists like Headhunter, whose encompassing approach to dubstep perfectly reflects Bristol’s continually evolving character. “Dubstep now in Bristol is huge,” Tony concludes. “There are nights popping up everywhere. It’s almost saturation, but people know what’s up and they follow the best parties in town. It’s definitely not gonna fade out anytime soon in the city - if anything, there’s still room for it to grow.”
Words by Tristan Parker
- - -
Out and about
“People tend to come to Bristol for a while, maybe to go to the university or for the music, and then decide to stay here afterwards - in fact, the university scene is really important to the music in the city. The mixture of people in quite a small proximity makes the place feel special, as well as having a really good vibe, and you know that your friends are never too far away. Other than that, it’s definitely one of the prettiest cities I’ve seen, and I’ve been to quite a few places.”
The Tube
“This venue used to be owned by Mushroom from Massive Attack, and the guys who run it now, Stereo 8 (breaks DJs), have a good vision of what an underground spot needs. I started up and ran my own dubstep night there - Hench - for a while. It was great; you could only fit about a hundred people in the venue and you’d know everyone there. It’s a cool place to hang out and there’s always good drink, good graffiti and consistently good music to listen to while you’re sitting down and getting drunk. It’s definitely a place I’d take someone who’s never been to Bristol.”
Dub be good to me
“Right now, the city has so many good artists, I can honestly say it’s the second home of dubstep to London, which is amazing as the city is about seven by seven miles (well, the bulk of it anyway). So much creativity in such a small space. I think because the whole creative vibe is happening in such a close proximity it’s brushing off on everyone and creating a lot of good energy. Bristol has one of the busiest dubstep scenes in the world - there’s about four dubstep nights here every week. Obviously there’s still the demand for it, and people are still going to these nights.”
- - -
Clash's A to Z of Bristol
APPLEBLIM AND GATEKEEPER’S HOUSE
Friends of Headhunter and fellow dubstep producers. “You can find some amazing creatures here on the weekend, who will fill your mind with pointless babble.”
APPLES
“Bristol = cider. Forty different types, in fact.”
CABOT TOWER
“Chill and look out over the south side of the city from a hill top.” COSIES “A tiny wine bar that plays host to most of the dub nights in Bristol.”
CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE
“An identifier for the city to tourists, but it’s an amazing piece of work.” THE CROFT “Small, dark and dingy club, but somehow perfect for a good old rave up.”
DEAN LANE SKATE PARK
“If you skate, great, but if you’re into graffiti then pay it a visit as well.”
DONUTS Hip clothing store.
“This store is where I’ll spend my hard-earned.”
EXPLORE-AT-BRISTOL
Science and technology centre. “As I’m a BMX rider this is where I’ve spent many, many hours trying to perfect my game.”
KNOWLE WEST
Area where Tricky grew up. “Get the wheels of your car stolen in under fifteen seconds.”
PARK STREET
“As an avid shopper, I tend to head toward this street to get my fashion fix.”
ROCOTILLO’S
“Bringing the shakes of America to Bristol. I’m a milkshake fan.”
ROOTED RECORDS
“Fulfill all your dubstep, dub and D‘n’B needs from here.”
UBLOADED
“The pinnacle dubstep night in Bristol, run by Pinch.”
THE TUBE
“Club to sort you with any weekly dubstep needs you require.”
WATERSHED
Cinema and media centre. “I saw the movie Scratch (cult DJ documentary) here for the first time. That makes it cool.”
Over the years, Bristol has provided the perfect template for dark, urban beats, having been the breeding ground (and, in some cases, the birthplace) for various moody, twisted musical forms, including D‘n’B, trip-hop and dubstep. And while the latter may have kicked off in the big smoke of the capital, there’s now a strong case for arguing that the scene has firmly taken up residence in Bristol - just ask the numerous producers who’ve relocated there…
Start talking dubstep around those parts (and pretty much anywhere else, for that matter), and you won’t get too far without hearing the name Headhunter - purveyor of some of the finest teched-out dubstep this side of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. A born and bred Bristolian, Headhunter - AKA Tony Williams - is a key player within the scene, having started out (as so many good producers and DJs have) on that sadly-depleting medium, pirate radio. “When me and my friend got offered the show back then, I hadn’t touched turntables for about four years,” he says. “I started thinking about what to play, and as a reflection of the city I was in, and movements in the underground UK scene, we decided to play grime, with very little knowledge of the sound. After a few weeks I felt a lot of the grime could have been a lot better, production-wise. So I started to dabble in making grime and was quickly told by some locals [fellow Bristol heavyweights Pinch and Blazey] that what I was playing was dubstep. So it happened by accident really.”
One lucky accident and four years later, Headhunter has gone from strength to strength, crafting his own technical approach to dubstep and modern dub, and though he harbours a lot of love for the city where it all started, he’s certainly not afraid to get out and about either, as debut album ‘Nomad’ suggests, in both name and sound. Nearly every track on the album was made in a different place from around the globe, with Headhunter adopting the well-documented method of recording tunes whenever, wherever and however possible. “I just had my laptop with me when I was travelling around and I used people’s living rooms who I was staying with,” he says. “I’d wait for them to go out and then just start working. I like the concept - it’s a collection of sounds for being on my travels.
Perhaps as a result of the transient manner in which it was recorded, ‘Nomad’ encompasses a huge range of sounds, atmospheres and influences, ranging far deeper than just dub and dubstep. Jungle, trippy Aphex ambience and Basic Channel-esque vibes can all be heard pulsing from the album’s deep textures at various points, making for a genuinely fascinating listen and proving Headhunter’s take on dubstep to be an intelligent and inclusive one. “I’ve become deeply attached to the Berlin dub-techno sound,” he admits. “Before dubstep I was, and still am, into old-skool hardcore, jungle and psy-trance. Most people have a single-minded take on psy-trance, but when you invest some time into digging it, you find some of the most interesting and twisted sounds ever created from it.”
Bristol’s musical heritage also appears to have played a part in Headhunter’s work, with the energy of old-skool D‘n’B and jungle, and the downtempo dreaminess of trip-hop both filtering through in ‘Nomad’. And, of course, let’s not forget the bass - there’s plenty of low frequency nastiness of the highest quality to be found on the record, just as there should be.
Although the heyday of D‘n’B and trip-hop may be almost a distant memory now, their presence on Bristol’s musical palette remains intact, as Headhunter points out. “D‘n’B still has a strong presence here,” he reckons. “It’s what the kids of the city get into after they’ve left school - it’s what I was into after I left school anyway. I’m pretty sure it’ll never die here. The one thing I have noticed in Bristol is that it’s a very breakbeatbased city: Massive Attack, Portishead, Roni Size And Reprazent, and also dubstep. House and techno don’t really do so well here. There are techno parties but they’re outnumbered with D‘n’B and dubstep events. I guess the city is much more raw in the way of its outlook towards music.”
Bristol, clearly, is now very much a dubstep city. But far from being a restrictive or exclusive force, it seems to have given the city a strong sense of character and identity, with a solid community of friends, producers and musicians being built around the scene. “The list can go on and on but the people that stick out in my mind are Pinch [another notable Bristol dubstep heavyweight], Peverelist, Joker, Jakes, Komonazmuk, Forsaken, RSD and Appleblim. Everyone knows each other; they all get invited to the same parties and go to the same nights.
”With so much talent firmly embedded, it appears that the scene of the city can only continue to expand, with the sheer variety of artists and nights on offer ensuring that the sound will never become too narrow or linear, particularly with artists like Headhunter, whose encompassing approach to dubstep perfectly reflects Bristol’s continually evolving character. “Dubstep now in Bristol is huge,” Tony concludes. “There are nights popping up everywhere. It’s almost saturation, but people know what’s up and they follow the best parties in town. It’s definitely not gonna fade out anytime soon in the city - if anything, there’s still room for it to grow.”
Words by Tristan Parker
- - -
Out and about
“People tend to come to Bristol for a while, maybe to go to the university or for the music, and then decide to stay here afterwards - in fact, the university scene is really important to the music in the city. The mixture of people in quite a small proximity makes the place feel special, as well as having a really good vibe, and you know that your friends are never too far away. Other than that, it’s definitely one of the prettiest cities I’ve seen, and I’ve been to quite a few places.”
The Tube
“This venue used to be owned by Mushroom from Massive Attack, and the guys who run it now, Stereo 8 (breaks DJs), have a good vision of what an underground spot needs. I started up and ran my own dubstep night there - Hench - for a while. It was great; you could only fit about a hundred people in the venue and you’d know everyone there. It’s a cool place to hang out and there’s always good drink, good graffiti and consistently good music to listen to while you’re sitting down and getting drunk. It’s definitely a place I’d take someone who’s never been to Bristol.”
Dub be good to me
“Right now, the city has so many good artists, I can honestly say it’s the second home of dubstep to London, which is amazing as the city is about seven by seven miles (well, the bulk of it anyway). So much creativity in such a small space. I think because the whole creative vibe is happening in such a close proximity it’s brushing off on everyone and creating a lot of good energy. Bristol has one of the busiest dubstep scenes in the world - there’s about four dubstep nights here every week. Obviously there’s still the demand for it, and people are still going to these nights.”
- - -
Clash's A to Z of Bristol
APPLEBLIM AND GATEKEEPER’S HOUSE
Friends of Headhunter and fellow dubstep producers. “You can find some amazing creatures here on the weekend, who will fill your mind with pointless babble.”
APPLES
“Bristol = cider. Forty different types, in fact.”
CABOT TOWER
“Chill and look out over the south side of the city from a hill top.” COSIES “A tiny wine bar that plays host to most of the dub nights in Bristol.”
CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE
“An identifier for the city to tourists, but it’s an amazing piece of work.” THE CROFT “Small, dark and dingy club, but somehow perfect for a good old rave up.”
DEAN LANE SKATE PARK
“If you skate, great, but if you’re into graffiti then pay it a visit as well.”
DONUTS Hip clothing store.
“This store is where I’ll spend my hard-earned.”
EXPLORE-AT-BRISTOL
Science and technology centre. “As I’m a BMX rider this is where I’ve spent many, many hours trying to perfect my game.”
KNOWLE WEST
Area where Tricky grew up. “Get the wheels of your car stolen in under fifteen seconds.”
PARK STREET
“As an avid shopper, I tend to head toward this street to get my fashion fix.”
ROCOTILLO’S
“Bringing the shakes of America to Bristol. I’m a milkshake fan.”
ROOTED RECORDS
“Fulfill all your dubstep, dub and D‘n’B needs from here.”
UBLOADED
“The pinnacle dubstep night in Bristol, run by Pinch.”
THE TUBE
“Club to sort you with any weekly dubstep needs you require.”
WATERSHED
Cinema and media centre. “I saw the movie Scratch (cult DJ documentary) here for the first time. That makes it cool.”
Headhunter
