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myself and dusk are launching keysound recordings as a home for our productions. the imprint has been many years in the making, in the living, in the frustrating, in the struggling.

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keysound thinking

the name keysound comes from the music itself, music which in turn reflects our London surroundings. a kick, a snare, a hat, a sub-bassline: in isolation, marked out on a clean sonic background, they’re sterile, contextless, adrift, culture free. “it’s just music”.

this is not just music. many dusk + blackdown tracks instead contain keysounds, a looped sonic keystone that underpins the whole track. tracks with keysounds are therefore build in a context: a constant sound that suggests an environment, a space, a culture, a city.

keysounds reflect our environment, not wistfully dwelling on the way things were, nor escaping towards imagined never-to-arrive future, but facing the pressures of today’s reality. they reflect the diverse multicultural micro-communities that surround us, and the spaces those communities live in.

keysounds are condensed shards of overheard conversations in heavy accents, hints of understanding of other cultures or keys to understanding different ways of living. keysounds are the echoes of decaying buildings, clanking trains, dirty streets and hidden urban communities.

reacting to that which changes, not that which is constant, the brain soon filters the keysound out as the track rolls on… but like the surroundings in which we live, its influence remains a defining one. this is keysound thinking.

dusk + blackdown
keysound recordings
LDN 2005

· dusk + blackdown ‘drenched/ submerge’ [LDN001] is out on keysound recordings via baked goods distribution late july.

· dusk + blackdown present the keysound recordings mix vol 1: watch this space.

'drenched'

‘drenched’ is a snapshot of urban underground living, spread wide across one 12”. tense, intense, compressed, it begins on a south London train, reflecting the rhythms and textures of our surroundings. the train heads south through some of dubstep’s birthplaces: streatham, norbury and norwood, ending of course, in croydon. the recording was made late on a sunday night, heading for one of Digital Mystikz’ Dub Sessions parties.

the name ‘drenched’ comes from London’s rainy experience. constantly under bombardment from sound, sights, information, fellow citizens ... rainfall like is a metaphor for London living. just keeping your head above water is a struggle. under pressure, you exhale to unwind… then inhale fumes. ‘north, south, east ...’ - a local MC marks out garage’s tribal regions, interlocked groups that seldom mix.

‘drenched’ was written in east london. It ends with more rainfall, recorded during a storm in turnpike lane, north london. rudeboys shelter under the park furniture, car breaks squeek down Green Lanes, police sirens wail. the tube station is located across the park, anecdotally said to be the focus of the most multicultural square mile in Britain, with over two hundred languages spoken.

'submerged'

’submerged’ is a testament to uprising. the first kick rises out of a ‘submerged’s’ keysound: a merky, bubbling, primordial soup. the kick coalesces into a live, organic rhythm, leading onwards. at first tiny shards of light filter through the mire, before a weak sun breaks through the grey clouds.

’submerged’ is dedicated to everyone who has dreamt but never acted; wished but never tried. no long ting rudeboy: what are you waiting for? if you want something done: do it yourself. not later. now. do it. grasp it. make it …happen. make the music you want. not the music they make you want.