Why So Serious?

(DUBSTEP)

"Jesters do oft prove prophets"
-William Shakespeare

You might remember me saying Chase and Status were the best producers of the last 2 years (dubstep + drum'n'bass) and, well, yah thats true and everything... but Joker is far and away my favorite. Sweet baby Jesus in Heaven above, everything this man does is pure gold. If you heard anything else then fuck what you heard.

My very first post on this blog was dedicated to my discovery of him. Coming out of Bristol, the same city that's given you such artists as Portishead and Roni Size, Joker is one cool cat who has something called Synesthasia, a rare condition that makes it so he can see colours in sound - this means when he hears a certain bassline he'll sit back and tell you it sounds orange or red, or that your entire song has a kind of a kind of mahogany sound to it. His sound he simply defines as purple, a kind of a combination between P-Funk and Grime that results in pure aural beauty, pioneered and perfected by him. There are definitely others (Check Rustie, Silkie, Ginz, Gemmy, Jakes, Guido and Akira Kiteshi) who abscribe to it, but Carly Simon was in fact prophesizing his arrival when she crooned that 'Nobody Does It Better."


If you do love dubstep, and you dont love Joker, I'm gonna be looking at you with a crooked eye and a slow shake of the head, pure disappointment and even a little pity clear in my expression. Actually. Check a few of his heaters - Purple City (with Ginz), Digidesign, Snake Eater, Gully Brook Lane and his How You Like Me Now rmx.

Here's a couple video's to show you his goofy-ass personal side - Mary Ann Hobbs covering him at Sonar 09 (props to my main partner in crime Kyle for linkin me up to this) and an interview with Joker and MC Nomad at disko404 (props to my older bro Lawrence for putting me through on this one).

And you better believe he mixes like a madman too.

I've been looking for a mix I can use as a feature post for him, and I found it. Heres a recording of the live mix he did at Sonar 09 in Barcelona (as highlighted in the video above). It's a little quiet so bump it loud, but this is pure quality. If absolutely nothing else, pull this shit off Shadow Shogun and be happy you did. Download, listen, love...

Joker - Sonar 09 Live Mix