Dubstep and Booty with Care

Before Volume opened its doors last April, genres like dubstep, baile funk and B-more house were relatively unheard of in Edinburgh. Skip to the summer of 2008 and these styles can be heard pulsating through the soundsystem of almost every club in the city. Students are now frantically scouring the internet to find the latest B-more blog or the baile funk mixes fresh from Brazil. Even the most snobbish DnB head can be found in a basement club skanking to the low-slung wobble of Benga or Skream.

One of the most oft-frequented basements is Volume, and from the outset they’ve maintained a strong policy of pushing new music, rather than lingering on any one genre. Probably the first club night in Edinburgh to actively play dubstep on a regular basis, they have pioneered their own scene and carved a path for others to follow. Co-promoter of Volume and resident DJ, Termite (aka Alice) feels that “in Edinburgh, dubstep has been developing like an infection! People have definitely caught the bug! There are now more nights on which are featuring dubstep in some capacity. I think it takes a collective, like Volume, to say 'this music is great, we rate it, so… here ya go'.”

Although London’s saturated with two-step bass, Volume are championing music that’s still relatively new, and it can be a daunting task to promote, even if the nights prove awesome. “It can be very difficult to actually get people initially interested in music that they have never heard before,” Termite points out, “however we have had a great response about the music we push at Volume. The reaction on the dance floor has been immense! Whenever a baile funk tune is on, the booties shake! I don’t think it really matters if people haven’t heard a type of music before – if the beats are good then the response is superb!”

For their event in August, Volume have teamed up with older sibling Obscene for a one-off versus night at new club Luna (previously Ego). Covering two floors, this event will showcase fifteen of Scotland’s finest DJs, as well as three MCs and one live act. Obscene are taking control of the top floor, where the crème de la crème of Scottish drum and bass DJs will be playing. The bottom floor will be hosted by Volume, and they are enlisting a diverse selection of artists including Profisee and Klee. “Alice and I were a bit selfish with this night and cherry picked the people in central Scotland that we personally rate. A couple of the DJs like Nick Fury and Klee, for example, don’t really play out too much anymore, but to me it’s all about the music and regardless of if you’re a well known artist or someone who has not played out in years,” explains Volume’s other promoter, Krish. “Music speaks volumes,” she adds as an afterthought.

The event’s for a good cause; all the money raised goes to Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre and Myeloma UK. The latter was set-up in 1997 to help deal with myeloma and its related disorders, whilst the girls have a strong emotional attachment to Maggie’s after close friend and local talent MC Sonny passed away. Krish explains that “Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre is a local facility that provides a space for people affected by cancer and their families. It is a brilliant centre and MC Sonny, who sadly passed away in October 2005 from a rare form of cancer, used it whilst he was ill.” Alice expresses similar sentiments, adding that “as Sonny was one of our good friends, and also a key person in the scene, I feel very dedicated to promoting and supporting Maggie’s.”