Rudewhy's Bassline Top 100

RWY

Well-known member
There's a Travelodge and a 24 hour McDonalds within a five minute walk from the venue so don't be put off if you've never been to Brum before.
 

version

Well-known member
I never really engaged with bassline. I liked some of the tunes, but it wasn't something I immersed myself in like I did dubstep, despite bassline being what was actually going on around me, what people I knew were into, and dubstep being this distant thing relegated to the internet.

Nowadays I prefer bassline, but at the time it was mostly just something I'd hear jumping in and out of cars buying weed or in the background at parties. The people I knew who were really into it were also into hardstyle, which was another where I liked some of the tunes, but didn't really feel much of a pull from. Nobody was into grime beyond Dizzee once he blew up and maybe one of Lethal B's tunes. Nobody was into dnb. Nobody was into techno. Nobody was into dubstep. It seemed to be firmly between bassline and hardstyle or NME indie. I'd be curious to know what all those people listen to now, if they listen to music at all.
 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
The charting version of My Destiny was slightly different wasn't it, it doesn't quite have the same giddy romance of that one.
 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
Are there any good bassline compilations that aren't mixed? I mean, obviously the way to enjoy this stuff best is hearing four different basslines crash into each other while in a club fleetits, but it does feel like there was minimal attempt at preservation outside of a few DJ Q mixes
 

RWY

Well-known member
Are there any good bassline compilations that aren't mixed? I mean, obviously the way to enjoy this stuff best is hearing four different basslines crash into each other while in a club fleetits, but it does feel like there was minimal attempt at preservation outside of a few DJ Q mixes

Most of these tracks were incredibly difficult to come by in unmixed digital form during the scene's heyday but there's been a substantial attempt by the majority of producers to release retrospectives in the last five years or so. There's also quite a few compilation albums still hosted on Juno etc with unmixed tracks.

DJ Q - The Archive
T2 - Bassline Classics
Burgaboy - Bassline Collection Vol.1
Burgaboy - Bassline Collection Vol.2
Burgaboy - Bassline Collection Vol.3
Burgaboy - Bassline Collection Vol.4
Burgaboy - Bassline Collection Vol.5
Burgaboy - Bassline Collection Vol.6
Burgaboy - Bassline Collection Vol.7
Mr Virgo - Bigger Bass Vol. 1
Mr Virgo - Bigger Bass Vol. 2
Mr Virgo - Bassline Bits
Mr Virgo - Bassline Vocalogy
Mr Virgo - Mash Ups Bassline
TRC - The Last Catalogue
Northern Line Records - Classics Vol 1
Northern Line Records - Classics Vol 2
DJ Cameo Presents - Bassline Vol 1
Jamie Duggan & DJ Apostle - I Love Bassline
DJ Q & Jamie Duggan - Pure Bassline Anthems (tracks 40 - 60)
Jamie Duggan - Supa Dupa 2010 (tracks 40 - 65)
 

version

Well-known member
What's the distinction between bassline and speed garage? Some of these tunes are even verging on 2-step at times, e.g. 2:00 on this one.

 

RWY

Well-known member
What's the distinction between bassline and speed garage?

Speed Garage - invented in 1996 by Armand Van Helden and then produced almost exclusively between 1997 and 1998 by London based ex-hardcore and jungle producers (although there are European deviations.)
Bassline House - produced between 2002 and 2007 by predominantly white Northern and Midlands producers. Combines elements of earlier speed garage and organ house records popular in clubs such as Niche in the late 90s.
Bassline - produced between 2004 and 2010 by predominantly black Northern and Midlands producers. Influenced by the earlier 4x4 dark garage produced by London based producers in 2001 - 2003 - latter incorporated MCs from the Up North and Midlands grime scenes.
 
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version

Well-known member
What distinguishes the tunes themselves though? What would you find in a bassline tune you wouldn't in a speed garage tune? Less swing?
 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
I feel like bassline has more midrange and wobble whereas speed garage has deeper Reese tones and breakdowns with phased pad chords. But it's very much a difference that works as "I know it when I hear it"
 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
I mean there's plenty of bassline that eschews midrange and plenty of speed garage that doesn't rely on a womp womp womp bassline so it's not as simple as that but when is it ever
 

version

Well-known member
Yeah, I mean I listened through the whole lot last night and this evening and there was stuff I would have thought was speed garage had I heard it outside the context of the thread.
 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
I once heard a DJ play ten speed garage songs in a row then launch into Head High "Rave (Dirt Mix)" which I would never had aligned with this stuff but at that time it made perfect sense, I guess no dance music can exist in a vacuum after all
 
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