I hope that puts a smile on your face.

Interesting you bring up down tempo and trip hop. The resurgence of Warp Records (Happy 20th Anniversary from DBM Labs!) along with the sounds associated with UK garage, DnB, jungle, detroit techno and overall vintage hardware has given way to “Dubstep.” “Dubstep” has been around for a very long time, using various guises. I’m sure when you listen to what the industry and community now calls “dubstep,” you can hear the Warp Catalog along with DJ Shadow, Vadim, Cut Chemist and the other greats. A producer/dj such as Flying Lotus has been doing his thing forever, but only now, have we stuck a tag to his work, hence dubstep. The Dutch Martyn, is another person like this. Of course various micro-niches (a niche within a niche) will bring you towards or away already established sounds (DnB, techno, even reggae) but you’ll find that a majority of this (tasteful) dubstep is actually downtempo and trip hop, going by a different name. The idea of dub, or “dubbing” is not a new concept either. The “dub” refers to dub techniques while the “step,” refers to the riddim. This could be at 140bpm, cut to a half time feel or most common, heavily shuffled or synchopated.

Ya dig? Keep the comments coming and let DBM Labs know some your favorite summertime cuts.