Except, you know, when it’s not.
As I set out to spotlight Commodo, the pesky pseudo-term finds its way onto the page again and again. Sometimes it isn’t just the best word – it’s the only word. So, what is a banger?
Well... you know it when you hear it. And when a banger from Commodo is dropped in the dance, you usually hear it twice. The UK-based producer has a knack for capturing those monumental moments of collective crowd euphoria in his tracks. His artistic trademark is the contagious energy that begs for a rewind. Sure – Commodo has his own distinct stylistic flairs. His sound fluctuates from deep and eerie to downright dirty. As an artist, he is multi-faceted (as humans tend to be). But his musical persona emanates with the explosive electricity of sound system bangers. It’s unmistakable.
Such is the essence of Commodo’s staple status on the iconic Deep Medi Music’s roster. Many labels are known for representing a specific sound. Deep Medi’s signature is an intense emotional sincerity. The collective showcases honest art; often it is a painful honesty. Releases range from the tenderly instrumental, to sweetly subdued, to primal aggression, to darkly existential anger. Commodo’s contributions rumble of the communal ecstatic release that sparked our respective romances with dubstep sounds and culture.
Commodo’s recent collaborations with Kahn and Gantz ran away with 2015 tucked under the arm. “Uprising” is one of the rare underground uploads accompanied by a thumbnail of a woman’s bare ass on YouTube. The primal “Space Cash” embodies the vaguely sinister tribal vibe that cements the underground dubstep community. “Fuck Mountain” (Hotline) is a gritty anthem which, although instrumental and decidedly dubstep in aesthetic, showcases the pervasive impact of Commodo’s grime inspired roots. And then, of course, there’s “Shift” ft. Jme: a worthy metric standard for the “banger” designation. There is nothing ambiguous about the hysteria this one wreaks upon the dance floor.
Commodo’s reputation as a second-wave dubstep genre trailblazer is hardly controversial. Yet in an interview with Hedmuk for Fabric London, the artist is initially hesitant to describe his sound as “dubstep”. He isn’t alone, and his aversion is understandable. Nowadays, the “dubstep” label is just as vague as “banger”. The two syllables carry a cultural weight unrelated to the bassweight they first fused to describe. As the demon spawn of drum and bass, garage, grime, reggae, hip-hop, and unprecedented technological advancements, dubstep is a fundamentally hybrid genre that is evolutionary by nature. Today, some say the style is stagnated. Commodo reflects the sentiment in the enlightening interview: he jumped into the scene “just as dubstep was about to fucking re-mortgage it’s house”. First influenced by UK grime, Commodo’s attraction to the sound was undoubtedly rooted in the creative innovation it encompassed. But when something good emerges, imitation is inevitable. Even from the inside – below the quabble of commercialized crap – the classic dubstep template is often reduced to a formula.
For Commodo, dubstep represents sonic progression. This is exemplified by his recent work with Kahn and Gantz. Volume 1 of their collaborations includes undeniable tracks like “Crystal Collect” and “Bitchcraft”, which have been pervasive on dance floors worldwide since the release. The influences mix crafted by the artists is quite revealing: while dubstep is known for implementing elements from various foundational electronic genres, the mix pushes boundaries by weaving together tracks inspired by traditional eastern music and obscure melodies generally left untouched by the electronic music sphere. It speaks to dubstep’s postmodern composition: perhaps originality in this realm is achieved by expanding the pallet of influences it contains.
So, as Commodo qualifies a banger as a state of being, he also restores the magic that once defined dubstep as a movement rather than a set of static parameters. The energy embodied by his musical imagination is nostalgic for the future. It contains the excitement of artistic evolution. The originality of his work begs the question, what does it mean to create something new?
Well... you know it when you hear it.
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Amye Koziel