The wheel weaves as the wheel wills...

(DUBSTEP)

Ya know those times when you can feel events being sculpted by the hands of fate?

At Shambhala 2007, me and my oldest brother Lawrence were taking in the experience of Ed Rush and Optical on Saturday night, and as is usually the case out there, we were making friends. One guy who we really took to was a man I now know as Sev, who was just a wicked guy all around - more than amicable and very generous. He told the 2 of us that night that "If you guys like this, you gotta come back tomorrow and check this guy Skream"

Well we did, I didn't know what this music he was playing was, but I liked it. I heard it as some crazy hybrid between dubby reggae vibes with rudeboy DnB synths and bass that could make a man evacuate his bowels right then and there.

Well, from that point forward I had to find out what the hell that was. Lawrence and I came home as the prophets of dubstep. This was something big. It's led to this point where I am a fully fledged bass enthusiast, ready to talk an unsuspecting music fans ear off on the shit. That night was what the those born again Christian suckers would call a revelation.


So what'd Sev do then?

Well, the old atmospheric DnB head in him had a moment of renaissance. Fully revitalized and ready to push on in this dynamic and exciting new soundscape, this man dived head first back into beatsmithing and hasn't looked back since (I've heard a rumor that guys like Excision and Subvert had similar experinces resulting from the Skream set, that's just rumor for now though). He transformed like an Autobot into the artist known as Hexadecibel (HxdB).

Over the last 2 years he's been working tirelessly DJing and making tracks in the lab. As result, he's made a name for himself in the smooth dubstep style thats emerged with cats like D Bridge and Synkro while still maintaining a sound that's purely Hexadecibel. Working with labels Pressing Issues, Mindset (UK), Formant (US), Echodub (UK), Life in Headphones (US), Surface Tension (US), DubKraft (EU), Migration (UK), Betamorph (US), Substruk (US), and DDR (DE) he has been doing everything he can to make a mark and share his creative soul with the musical world at large.

The recent past has seen him busy, re-launching the label and subsequent blog for Pressing Issues with DJ Cure and putting out a sick release called the Prism EP available on Chemical, Boomkat, Red Eye, and Juno which is comprised of his tracks Prism, Showdown at the Cinema, and my JAM Macro Modular. Heres the writeup they did for it on justthebassics:

The 3 tracks were produced by HdxB (Hexadecibel), a 31 year old producer from Vancouver, Canada and released on Mindset Recordings. The sixth release on this label are these tracks that could be easily compared to the spiritual-stepping vibe you can get from producers such as dBridge or Instra:mental. Simple beats that work perfectly, supported by a deep, crystal clear synth and sub bass, along with many different ‘ear-candy’, spacey sound fx’s, such as a simple arpeggiator that emerges to the surface here and there. Or just a something that, as I like to describe it, sounds like violin strings being absorbed and twisted into some sort of vortex, creating a hypnotizing effect that seems to put you in a state of trance. Either that, or I need to stop smoking. Either way, this piece of quality dubstep is something you MUST get your hands in, as soon as possible. No excuses. Get your bum out of the chair and go and get this to the nearest record shop you can find. Or do it online, if you must, just get the record. It’s good to start the rave with; it’s great to play on that sleazy bar, with ambient lights and a relaxed atmosphere; it’s awesome to finish the night with when you get home knackered, with a numb brain and body after a very satisfying rave or just to chill and enjoy during any time of the day, really. In case you need some sort of preview, there’s nothing like good’ol Soundcloud. Press here to go to this artist’s Soundcloud and listen to this release for free (don’t worry, it opens in a new window, so it doesn’t spoil this amazing experience that is exploring our blog).

Heres the mix Rob Booth did to highlight him over on Electronic Explorations. Download, listen, and love it to get a good grasp on his liquid smooth steeze!

And heres a first... the original and, as of now, ONLY Shadow Shogun exclusive...

Wahoo - Make Them Shake (HxdB Bootstep RMX)

Now go show the man some love and become a fan on his Facebook page.

Peace.

(PS For those that don't know, HxdB's outa Van City, so consider this my contribution to Meta's post below this one!)