Dubstep supergroup Magnetic Man have paid tribute to collaborator Katy B as the pair crack the charts.
Its been a weird old year for bass music. Between the future garage movement and the progression ofUK Funky the dub has been removed from dubstep, leaving something lighter and more experimental.
Meanwhile, major labels have begun to pick up on the scene. Signed to Columbia, Magnetic Man unites three of dubstep’s biggest players with close friends Benga, Skream and Artwork joining forces.
Recent single ‘I Need Air’ cracked the Top Ten, marking dubstep’s penetration into the mainstream. Vocals on that track came from Katy B, who later scored her own solo hit courtesy of Benga’s production.
Speaking to ClashMusic Artwork enthused about the young singer. “Brilliant. And Ms Dynamite as well. It was great to have them you know it turns out that everyone’s after Katy B now you know. Completely hot. And she’s great. She’s so good to work with and it’s good to have someone from our world into that mix and it works kind of really really well.”
Hit singles such as ‘Katy On A Mission’ are a long way from the scene’s origins. Centred on Croydon’s Big Apple shop, the nascent dubstep scene was purely an excuse for like minded producers to experiment with new sounds.
Artwork insisted that the scene was initially very localised. “It was sort of like a Croydon thing almost you know and how many records you could sell in Apple and how many records you could sell in sort of London.”
“This was before the internet so this was when a scene would blow up in London and it would have a year there and then it may blow up in sort of like America or it may blow up in Spain or Germany you know and then you’d move around the planet. But this time with the dubstep thing it’s gone all at once round the entire world all at the same time, which is really weird you know.”
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