Tez Posted December 7, 2009 Report Share Posted December 7, 2009 Hush Hush Benga (Big Apple, Tempa, Night) Giles Walker Finnie Imagine the first club you ever get into is, as you step inside, in the process of changing the face of urban music? Imagine youre only 14 at the time, yet youre already a producer. Well, Croydon dubstep star Benga doesnt have to imagine: that is his life. Age 14 the afro-haired producer went to his first club, Forward>> at Londons now defunct Velvet Rooms, the night widely acknowledged for founding the bassy UK garage hybrid, dubstep. Having put in years of graft, Benga, now age 21, is a leading light in the rising global dubstep movement alongside his childhood friend, Skream. This year he drops his debut album proper for Tempa, provisionally entitled Diary of an Afro Warrior, after the mighty mane that sprouts from his head. If I cut my afro off, Id have to start again musically, laughs Benga. Aside from the best haircut in dubstep, Benga has a lot to be happy about. At 15 he released his debut 12 Skank/Dose on one of dubsteps founding imprints, Big Apple. A&Red by one of the most influential DJs in dubstep, DJ Hatcha, the label was run out of the Croydon shop of the same name, the hangout for much of the early pioneers and future stars such as Artwork, Horsepower, Hatcha, Chef, Plastician and Skream. For years Benga, alongside first Skream, then Loefah, Coki and Mala Digital Mystikz, built exclusive musical ammunition for DJ Hatcha. It was this material, aired by Hatcha alone at Forward>>, that propelled dubstep from UK garage offshoot to innovative genre in its own right After early mentoring by Arthur from Artwork, Benga refined his trade working for a professional studio, linked to the biggest labels in the world. He produced for grime MCs such as Crazy Titch and Ghetto, before concentrating his output on dubstep in 2005. Since then hes had releases on electronic stables Planet Mu and Hotflush, self released his own CD and become a respected DJ in his own right, playing throughout Europe and Australasia. Now, all eyes are on Bengas debut album proper for Tempa, not least because it contains this summers largest anthem in Aiya Nappa and Malia. Co-produced with Coki Digital Mystikz, the tune Night is a hit not just with the dubstep heads, but with both grime and funky house crowd. With this between its pages, it sounds like the Diary will be a must-read. Saturday 12th December 2009 Origin 40-42 Windmill Brae Aberdeen AB11 6HU 10pm - 3am Tickets 10 available from One Up and What's On Guide, Tickets, Events, Gig Dates, Festivals, Hotels and Restaurants bebo.com - Profile from Club Origin <Originclub> Origin on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads Club Origin (ClubOrigin) on Twitter BENGA on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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