Various Artists
Blow Your Head Vol 1: Diplo Presents Dubstep
Mad Decent/Downtown
[Three and a half stars]
Nov 10, 2010
The fat, squishy bass blasts on Britney’s 2007 ”˜Freakshow’ were many listeners’ first exposure to the sounds of dubstep, the UK style favouring syncopated beats and huge low-end. Now, M.I.A. producer Diplo has put together a dubstep party platter: His jam with Lil Jon (”˜U Don’t Like Me’) is positively unhinged, while UK producers Benga and Zomby represent for the style’s experimental side. Elsewhere, Stenchman’s remix of ”˜Burn’ by Australian Idol diva Jessica Mauboy posits how dubstep could rescue modern R&B from groove tedium.
Key Tracks: ”˜U Don’t Like Me,’ ”˜Burn,’ ”˜26 Basslines’
