Plump DJs—England’s Andy Gardner and Lee
Rous—rank among the elite producer/DJs of nu skool breaks, a
subgenre with deep roots in big beat—the mid-’90s movement that
spawned Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim,
Headrillaz, Propellerheads, and other (mainly) British
artists who fed wicked funk samples steroids and speed and
proceeded to rock parties harder than a motherfucker. Such a
rambunctiously hedonistic style rarely lasts for long, and by the late
’90s, many of big beat’s major proponents decided to leave those rowdy
trappings behind and focus on “mature,” album-oriented careers.
Anyway, Gardner gained a rep for his productions on Freskanova
Records as Bowser and Cut & Paste, and later for
hosting the Passenger club night in London, a flash point for
the resurgent breaks scene of the early ’00s. Building momentum
throughout this decade with the A Plump Night Out mix, the duo
found favor with tastemakers like Chemical Brothers, Pete Tong,
and Sasha and started getting choice assignments on the order of
remixing Orbital‘s “Funny Break (One Is Enough).” Along with
loads of club-friendly singles, Plump DJs have released acclaimed
albums Eargasm, Saturday Night Lotion, and
Headthrash.
Plump DJs’ tracks typically ride lascivious, distorted bass lines
and beats that splat with almost slapstick force, over which they
spray cheeky vocal hooks and outlandish high-frequency effects. It’s
music geared to make you dance as vigorously as it is to make you
smile; their track “Squeeks & Bleeps” could practically be a
mission statement.
Fellow Brit Joker (aka L. McLean), ironically, is not as
blatantly cheery as Plump DJs. The Bristol-based producer emerged in
2007 from the UK’s grime and dubstep crucibles with a sound that’s both
street-tough and glittery—a sound that hits like a
diamond-studded truncheon. Known for his Prince-like love of
purple, Joker has risen to dubstep notoriety by winning the respect of
some of the genre’s most discerning DJs, including Skream,
Pinch, Plastician, and Kode9 (for whose
Hyperdub Records Joker occasionally records).
Joker’s productions bear dubstep’s serious low-end pressure, but
they move and sparkle with a lightness that’s anything but ponderous,
as much of the genre’s output can be. His melodies possess a sort of
comic-book vividness (and, at times, melodrama), coming over
alternately ominous and whimsical, but always memorable; check out
“City Hopper” for explicit proof. Joker’s very young and still
developing, but he’s already showing exceptional promise amid dubstep’s
fertile grow bed. 
Plump DJs perform Thurs Nov 19, Trinity,
9 pm, free, 21+ (w/
Sir Kutz!, Kreeper); Joker performs Tues Nov 24, War Room, 10 pm, $10,
21+ (w/ MC Nomad, Sublo, Introcut).
