The Bristol Sound: Bass Oddity....Dazed & Confused

Last month my home town of Bristol, UK was featured in one of five music documentaries broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK. Luckily, for the rest of us outside of the UK Dazed & Confused Digital has made it available online. Check it below.



This 22-minute program really captures the village-like cultural melting pot of '80s Bristol. The audio of the jam where M.C. Krissy Kriss (aka Kinsman) freestyles over the Bob James "Mardi Gras" beats is like a time capsule. Even today it sounds so fresh! Culture clash moments like this made Bristol so special for a teenage hip hop fan. The city's party scene was matched by the underground graffiti scene. It wasn't quite New York, but everything London had, Bristol had too. This allowed all hip hop fans to develop a true love of the culture. That has lasted 30 years to this day.

In the late '80s, the city was bustling with spontaneous parties all across the city - St. Paul's, Clifton, Bedminster. My crew - Plus One - had parties in student apartments, garages and warehouses. This was the blues club mentality. The official clubs were still raw with energy: Dug Out, The Rummer, The Thekla, Lakota and Moon Club!

Me DJing my first blues party, St. Pauls, Bristol. c. 1986. Felix Braun by my side!

Here's a great soundtrack for the Bristol scene from DJ Die.

If you want more Bristol history, check out this Tangent Books publications: Art & Sound by Chris Burton and Gary Thompson. On the cover is Krissy Kriss and Nick Walker. It captures the unique Bristol scene through party flyers and photos from that era and recognizes the main crews from that time in the city. It was a magical time!


Today, Bristol might be infamous for Banksy, but I know Banksy himself would say that the Bristol scene before him influenced him greatly!

Bristol: Rise Up

The Beeb did a big story on the Bristol scene that went beyond the usual references to the 1990s Bristol musical genre namedropping (trip hop's Massive Attack, Tricky Portishead or drum and bass' Roni Size).

Radio 1's Mary Anne Hobbs went that extra mile to introduce us to the new Bristol scene. Still electronic and still eery, dubstep is the new sound of Bristol. Hobbs’ two-hour special aired on the 2nd December 2008 and is called "Bristol: Rise Up." This video clip is well embarrassing, but it's true-to-life Bristol...check out the old lady who says, "I know what dog shit is, but not dubstep?!"



If you want a more street-cred exploration of the Bristol dubstep scene then check this documentary out.



Hobbs goes as far as to hand-pick 12 dubstep artists that capture the sound. To read more about Appleblim, Forsaken, Gatekeeper, Gemmy, Headhunter, Jakes, Joker, Komonazmuk, Peverelist, Pinch, RSD and Wedge check out the online article. You'll also find how the Bristol sound developed from the 70s onwards (punk, and punk-fusion, soundsystem influences, jungle and drum and bass) and how the student and West Indian population make Bristol a real melting pot of musical experimentation. Rock on!