Interview: Mary Anne Hobbs > <

Sat, Dec 26 2009

The Mother Of Dubstep Rinses Through The Sound...

Interview: Mary Anne Hobbs

Mary Anne Hobbs has been known - since her time at Radio 1 - for her cutting edge ear for electronic music. In fact, the Lancashire-born lass is pretty 'cutting edge' in anything she does - from launching the iconic Loaded magazine with James Brown through to helping Xfm get the licence it deserved. She's always made it her personal mission to move on from these stages, though, and has gone on to search for the next thing. The next thing many years ago was labelled 'dubstep'.

Past her Radio 1 show she's continued to dig out the 'next sound' in electronic music, routing through what she calls the "Genesis stage of sound" - right at the start. Dubstep music, however, seems to have kept her hooked for near on ten years now. The so-called 'mother of dubstep' - had her first real experience of the bass line driven tunes when she first walked through the doors of DMZ - a global dubstep mecca in Brixton, South London. Instantly hooked she could see the future of the genre - even if it was a slow burner in the mainstream.

Built to be played in the filthiest, dirtiest and grimiest clubs, dubstep is all about the feeling - driven by sub bass frequencies. But the sub bass is the only common denominator. The beauty of dubstep is that, really, there are no rules. And that's why, since its evolution from UK garage in the '90s dubstep music has become so massive.

Where many bypassed the idea of the genre all together Ms Hobbs has championed the bass driven sound from day one, and continues to do so in no uncertain terms. Having brought the sound to the main stage at Sonar, Mary Anne Hobbs is also reputed for taking the noise to an international level - especially over to the States, where this year she completed her own first DJ tour.

And that is why earlier this year Mary Anne Hobbs won the Best Radio Show category in the DJ Mag awards and why, when she speaks about the genre, others take note. We certainly did...

Rivmixx: This year has seen a massive rise in mainstream dubstep crossovers yet Pharrell's working with Skream & Benga and even Britney's been working it. Do you think dubstep will end up like garage, and seemingly the way grime's going, that it'll become too big and just filter out into something else - like pop?

Mary Anne Hobbs: "If you were Skream or Benga, why wouldn't you want to go and check out Pharell's world for a few days - I would love to do that. But it doesn't necessarily mean to say they're gunna live there for the rest of time. Interestingly, with Skream, I know that his ambitions are now more song based. So there's gonna be more song based work with vocalists on his upcoming album. But for Skream playing a key tastemakers club like FWD>> or DMZ is just as significant as performing for 30,000 people. It's a new way of working. I don't think you have to abandon the underground to become successful in the mainstream these days."

R: What is it about dubstep that helps it produce regional subgenres?

MAH: "It comes down to an idea of community. Take London, for example, so many people gravitate towards London from every area of the UK because they want to become involved with people that they see as kindred spirits. And the same thing has happened in Bristol and Leeds.
So many people are moving out from London now to go and be part of the Bristol experience because it's been such an amazing home for the families of producers who are working there."

R: There's a whole new scene developing in the States right now - would you still call it dubstep though?

MAH: "The LA scene that I've been really championing on the show in the last year - headed up by Flying Lotus, all the Brainfeeder crew, all the Low End Theory crew. What they are doing is different in terms of tempo and in terms of influence. That really is something that's happening post hip hop. They're building a different tempo, they're building on a different kind of aesthetic."

R: Are there any more random hubs developing that you think people should check out?

MAH: " I would say Berlin is a very important home for dubstep now. Jamie Vex'd moved out there recently, so did Shackleton, Paul Rose is running Hot Flush Recordings. People like Mode Selector are bang on it."

R: Looking to 2010, who can we expect to see breaking through in dubstep?

MAH: "First and foremost, Joy Orbison, who is absolutely captivating people all over the world right now. You probably know his first release, 'Hyph Mngo', which is, without doubt, the most stunning debut release of the year. There's gonna be some amazing things happening on the Numbers label in Glasgow - so check that out. Also, on the Modern Love and Daphne labels in Manchester, they're incredible in terms of the deep, more haunted dancehall type of sound. It's really good to see some of the girls coming through as well. Cooly G's got her debut album coming up next year as well. So has Iconika. But in terms of some of the bigger artists albums, Joker, from Bristol for certain. If he comes with the right record, it's absolutely gonna blow the whole planet apart. He will be the next one to crossover in a big and serious fashion."

mary anne hobbs

Where's Mary?

R: In 2006 your show Dubstep Warz was said to break the sound globally, then in 2008 you were called to host Generation Bass. Can we expect another breakdown in 2010?

MAH: "Yeah, I think so. This year just gone I did the West Coast Rocks special, which is all about Flying Lotus and Low End Theory and Brainfeeder and everything else that was happening in LA at the beginning of the year. That was huge in terms of awakening people's sensibilities to a new kind of sound. Of course, it has its relations to dubstep. You'll find people like Martyn, Kode9, Mala, myself, playing with the Brainfeeder crew all the time. And despite of the fact that we're playing dubstep and they're playing almost post hip hop, I suppose you would call it, there's a huge connection in terms of spirit and in terms of energy, in what it is that we're trying to achieve as a main goal, which is just pushing sound forward really.

"An album to really look forward to, even though it's not really dubstep, but it's an album that will change the face of all electronic music for all time, is the next Flying Lotus album, which is due in about March or April time on Warp. I heard it when I was in LA in November at his house just before it was mastered and it's just the most devastating piece of work. It speaks in a completely new sonic language almost. And he's calling it a space opera, which isn't the title; it's just what he's saying about the sound of the music. It's absolutely the wildest thing I've ever heard."

R: And so for yourself, you've gone from music journalist to radio DJ, TV presenter - what's next?

MAH: "At the moment I really have got the dream job. I have a platform that's completely free that the BBC give to me every week to place upon whatever music I really feel will change people's lives. And that's my agenda, it's all about progression. It's all about trying to change people's lives through sound. I'm blessed. I did my first tour around the States this year, which went incredibly well. It was like being in The Beatles. It was just absolutely amazing, to see this hysterical reaction to the sounds that I was bringing across there, which is great. So, hopefully, I'll be doing some more stuff in the States.

"I've got a gig coming up in Russia too, which I've never played before, so that should be really good. And, obviously, Sonar festival 2010 - I'm going back to curate the stage again, which at the moment I've got a list of about 50 names for. It'll be me and three others."