Good dub always gives me the best kind of sinking feeling in my guts. That’s a product of bass, sure, but it’s also that vital simplicity–where a song is stripped back to its essentials, and delay and reverb become primarily a means to glue back together the pieces as they drop in and out of the mix. There’s something about that methodology that itself creates darkness and a visceral sense of solitude. Each of the elements has to live and die almost on its own. The dub of this tune sent over by narion, an artist from somewhere in the “undergrowth of the English suburban sprawl,” isn’t classic dub stylistically (or a ‘dub’ by the typical standards of UK club music either), but methodologically it has the hallmarks. The artist also sent over the vocal version, which includes some surreal spoken word, dj cuts, and naturally keeps the elements more intact. Grab the tracks on bandcamp–no streaming on this one.

narion – “signs in the dub” (bc)

narion – “signs in the stars” (bc)

Second up is an essentially genre-less exploration from Ben Neill, a New York-based artist who’s worked with a list of luminaries too numerous to list (think everyone from John Cage to John Cale, King Britt to DJ Spooky). I suppose you could call this song downtempo of a sort, given its tempo and some of its palette, but it’s just reductive to try to categorize it. As its name may imply, the song is meant as a direct comment on the current political climate, and the feelings of helplessness so many of us currently feel as we watch a house on fire. Fittingly, the song samples Apocalypse Now, and uses Neill’s mutantrumpet style to paint a dizzying picture of transcendent fright, panic, and disorientation. Art often describes itself as political or philosophical, but you can really tell when a piece served as an actual emotional valve for the discomfort and uneasiness of its maker. No bandcamp for this unfortunately, but it’s out for streaming all over, and Neill was kind enough to let me post for you the mp3 here.

Ben Neill – “Breaking Point” (mp3)

Last up tonight is a skeletal bit of emotive club music from SYEYL (pronounced sea-el, real name Hrithik Arora), an artist from Delhi. It’s another example of how a song stripped to its essential elements is often the most effective. All you really need is a glistening pad, some skittering drums, a utilitarian bass line, a touch of ear candy, and some thoughtful arrangement. No need to get too fancy; put it together carefully the result is a satisfying as can be. This is out now on Dusky’s 17 Steps imprint as part of SYEYL’s Mental Sunshine EP, which you can grab on bandcamp.

SYEYL- “Space Becomes The Mirror” (mp3)