Exploring Bass Weight

When flagship dubstep clubnight FWD returned with the reopening of Plastic People back in the summer, the queue that stretched right down Curtain road was proof that the genre had hit an evolutionary peak. Almost a decade since it started to grow, the dark spawn of UK garage has completed its mutation. The boys that shocked dance floors beyond belief in 2001 are now embarking on pyrotechnic fuelled world tours. The excitement fizzing through those in attendance is palpable.

Bass Weight, a documentary exploring the dubstep phenomenon, was filmed between 2007 – 08; a short, but considerable, while before the explosion that is currently propelling the scene. As such, it manages to tap the frenetic energy that was building at the time and what it lacks in up-to-the-minute footage, it more than makes up for in its focus on some of dubstep’s most interesting characters. Although not fully extensive (a considerable amount of credits are given over to those that should have been featured but weren’t) it does well to chart the start and subsequent cultivation of a sound and the culture that surrounds it.

The narrative is formed via a series of anecdotes, delivered by influential heads and shot in locations integral to dubstep. The film begins with shots of Rinse FM DJ Plastician in Croydon, the town in South London famed for being responsible for the birth of dubstep. Straight off, he admits “there’s not much I can tell you,” before pointing out a couple of clubs (including the still relevant Black Sheep bar) and Mixing Records, formerly Big Apple, the store which specialised in, and became legendary for, pushing low end cuts.

In terms of Plastician’s sight-seeing tour, there’s not much to behold. Mainly because most of the history was made in bedrooms or home studios, where beats could be programmed and sculpted to perfection. Skream, Benga and Artwork appear (their collaborative guise, Magnetic Man, had only just put out their first recording at the time, Ligma VIP on Mary Anne Hobbs’ first comp Evangeline) in such a location. So too does Benny Ill, filmed in black and white, hermit like before a wall of video tapes, a library of source material for his tunes, as well as Steve Goodman, AKA Kode 9, who shows off his favourite instruments: a vintage Moog and a circuit-bent Speak and Spell.

The film visits Transition Studios, where Jason Goz explains the mechanics of mastering and the role of dubplates, and Radio One, where Mary Anne Hobbs shares her thoughts and tells all about why she fell in love with dubstep. Pirate radio is mentioned, with Heny G sharing priceless tales of illicit airwave adventuring and the cut throat world of inner city DIY broadcasting. Perhaps one of the most priceless pieces of footage is when the camera captures a session by Boomnoise and Sgt Pokes for their SUB FM radio show; guests include Goth Trad and Kevin Martin, who play records and answer interview questions, airing from an average bedroom shrouded in spliff smoke and decorated with a Bob Marley poster.

Also interesting is the attention to the pollination of dubstep; the film travels to Brazil, Denmark, Finland and Holland, as well as mentioning Japan the US, in its mapping of the genre. It successfully shows how the sound has spread across the world and the collectivism it has created.

Bass Weight works well, but to a point; it just misses the moment where a new generation of aural underdogs broke the mainstream. Although that is also where the film works strongest – it documents a time when dubstep was gathering real momentum and for anyone watching, the reason why it became so infectious is clear to see and hear. Those new to the sound will be informed, those who been listening since day one will fall in love all over again.