By now you’ve probably got wind of the excellent DJ duo Pirate Soundsystem who’ve been ripping up dance music in a big way, refusing to abide by any genre perimeters. So they’re hard to pigeonhole, but have a definite old-school rave vibe. They’re an eclectic blend of rave, breakbeat, 2-step, grime, ragga, electro, dubstep and booming ghetto tech. (And they often mention Happy Hardcore as an influence, but we’ll pretend we didn’t hear that). Drop The Lime (AKA Curses!) and Si Begg are in a similar bracket – they can’t really be defined by a given genre and are refreshingly open-minded to all kinds of music. These are the sorts of artists really pushing electronic music forward – refusing to just sit in any prevailing electro rut. Similarly, Pirate Soundsystem are not constricted by pretensions, they just want to produce music that makes you bounce, but still manage to perfect a progressive and experimental sound. But it is all about fun: about intense build ups; chirpy basslines; heavy beats; looped samples and monumental drops.
After all, their myspace tag runs as: “Do You Like cliche samples?” (and features in their best track)
Bassline, 4X4 and Niche are is expanding throughout the clubs scene at a rapid rate and gaining some real credibility. Garage – of sorts – is back from the dead. So their 2-steppy style fits but certainly isn’t a defining factor. Their slamming breakbeat breakdowns and deep dubstep and warping bass makes for an absorbing and truly original amalgam. They say they were unsatisfied with alot of music – they enjoyed only certain elements from various movements: “some drum fills and attention to detail in Breakbeat; and the shuffle of garage; and the bass in hard house and bits of loads of other genres”. So they pulled it all together to form their own style.
I was sent this track, the bassline remix of Wiley, who’s single will be released in a few days alongside the horrific Shoes remix – The Shoes vocode and distort
Wiley’s voice into some gruesome, robotic monstrosity. You’ll wanna give it a miss. However, The clapping drums, bass and deep womps of Pirate Soundsystem’s brilliant remix fits nicely with Wiley’s grimey blurts. Great work. Here’s an exlusive from You Can Call Me Pelski:
Wiley – Wearing My Rolex (Pirate Soundsystem Bassline Remix) [pelski highly recommends)
Their standout remix, however, is their rework of Si Begg's Non Stop Cut And Paste. Bleeps and blips couple with all kinds of heavy FX, all underlied by a bouncy bassline and quality vocal cuts. This remix deservedly put them on the map:
Si Begg - Non Stop Cut And Paste (Pirate Soundsystem Remix) [pelski highly recommends]
Next up is a remix of the grime-meets-new rave band Hadouken. Yes, yes,…that’s right…Hadouken are the lot who spout try-hard, laddish lyrics; the ones who have a following of legions of 14 yr olds in fluorescent tshirts; the ones who are pretty annoying. They are also the ones I secretly like. They are a guilty pleasure of mine, you know, like the Harold and Kumar Movie, The Jonathan Ross Show or Calvin Harris. No not Calvin Harris. But you have to admit, Hadouken’s shouty, boisterous lyrics are great fun and undeniably catchy. Yes, they may have commercialised grime somewhat, but nevermind…
Pirate Soundsystem’s touch is appropriately bouncy and makes for a bit of light-hearted fun. They remix one of Hadouken’s better tunes, Liquid Lives (though certain flashes of cringe-worthiness
still remain: “Drink! Smoke! Fuck! Fight!…And I damage my brain!”). It’s a heavy and raucous racket of a remix. Killer on the dancefloor:
Hadouken – Liquid Lives (Pirate Soundsystem Remix)
While on the subject of Liquid Lives’ remixes, Hadouken’s recent mixtape/CD offered little of much interest, though I thought this Noisia remix was good fun. I generally hold a considerable dislike for D’n'B, but the grimy, fast-paced beats are worked alonside the high energy lyrics to great effect. Nothing too serious, mind:
Hadouken – Liquid Lives (Noisia Remix)
‘Loves Hit’ is a bassline tune; a mashup of reggae girl Ms Thing’s ‘Love Guide’ and Pirate Soundsystem’s ‘Oh shit’. The reggae rapping adds some real flavour to the bassline bounce:
Pirate Soundsystem – Loves hit
Duchess Says’ synth-punk tune ‘Black Flag’ was given the remix makeover, with some sliced up vocals and gnarled, fuzzy basslines:
Duchess Says – Black Flag (Pirate Soundsystem Remix)
‘Scream If You Wanna Go Rasta’ is a truly inventive little number: here, with their usual old-school rave sound, but with added dubstep. The deep bass and warping add bucketloads of eerie atmosphere, but strangely the track maintains a rave-like momentum through some tasty vocal snippets and 2-step breakdowns.
Pirate Soundsystem – Scream If You Wanna Go Rasta
‘Your Love’ ilustrates yet more of their creative DIY style. Another ace tune that’s been spun to death over the last year. Excellent:
