Data Breaker

With dubstep gaining acceptance among the Burning Man crowd, in the
Pioneer Square club circuit, and at this year’s Decibel Fest, the genre
has acquired a derogatory handle from purists: brostep. Two
producer/DJs who could be classified under that dub(step)ious rubric
appear in Seattle this week.

L.A.-based Rusko (aka Chris Mercer, originally from
Leeds, England) creates some of dubstep’s most blatantly fun
tracks—which shouldn’t surprise, if you know that he’s a disciple
of late funkateer genius Roger Troutman (of Zapp). Playfulness runs
rampant throughout Rusko’s voluminous discography, especially in cuts
like “Da Cali Anthem,” which incorporates mainstream hiphop’s
ultrabright synth tones and places a sample of 2Pac/Dr. Dre’s (and by
extension, Zapp’s) “California Love” in a stolid dubstep context, and
“Cockney Thug,” which threads movie dialog from David Thewlis’s
rogue-philosopher character Johnny in Naked into a strident
dubstep march. Rusko also deploys a panoply of rave-sound signifiers
that give dubstep’s trademark leadfootin’-it-through-bogs-of-bass a
sprightlier gait and a neon-light-festooned festivity.

A frequent collaborator with UK DJ/producer Caspa (see their
fine FabricLive.37 mix), Rusko seems destined to become one
of the genre’s most popular breakout artists. His productions
consistently flaunt exciting dynamics and memorable hooks while
maintaining dubstep’s characteristic rhythm & bruise low end. If
sometimes Rusko stoops to cheesiness and a clownsteppin’ goofiness (MC
Hammer vocal snippets in “Hammertime” and mocking his haters in “The
Moaners”), he also rarely fails to hold interest—even when he
attempts risky gambits like merging Burial’s desolate, soulful aura
with Moby’s “Go” in “Love Is Real.”

Brooklyn-via-Philadelphia’s AC Slater (aka Aaron
Clevenger) brings a glossy, bustling thrust to dubstep, revving up
the bpms and diva samples to pitches resembling fever. It’s no shocker
to learn that his labels, which he founded in 2000 and 2008, are called
Pitched Up and Party Like Us, respectively. It’s also not too
unbelievable to note that Slater remixed Rick Ross’s ubiquitous rap hit
“Hustlin’,” although, to his credit, he turned it into an ominous,
militaristic stalker of a number. A remix of Moby’s “Stars,” however,
plays to the cheap seats (and sensibilities), combining melodramatic,
megaclub production gestures (rushing piano motifs, yearning vocals)
with standard-issue dubstep bass wobble.

The materialization of brostep was inevitable, as nearly all
avant-garde musical styles mutate and branch off in more accessible
directions over time. If it survives long enough, your precious
underground, cutting-edge microgenre eventually will be used to peddle
cars and computers and will appeal to LCD douches. Whether you sourly
fold your arms (and spew hate in online forums) or move your ass on the
dance floor is, of course, your choice, bass sickly.

Rusko performs Thurs Dec 10, Trinity, 9 pm, free, 21+; AC Slater
performs Sat Dec 12, Motor, 8 pm, $10–$75, 21+.