The Pull Up #1 - DJ Vadim - 'Dubcatcher'

Welcome to The Pull Up. @stickykeys will be reviewing Bass Music inspired by the Jamaican sound system culture every week for you! From Reggae, Dub, Dubstep, Dancehall, Moombahton, Soca, Afrobeat, Drum 'n' Bass and so on! We've got you covered!

I know, after the write up on the history of Reggae music last week, you're kind of excited for me to cover a classic Reggae or Dub album, but for this first issue, I wanted to dedicate to my favorite Bass Music producer, DJ Vadim. He is kind of an all-rounder DJ and producer for Hip Hop, Reggae and Electronica music. I am a bit late on the bandwagon, but I first discovered him while he was performing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia about five years ago. His stunning bass lines using classic equipment such as the Yamaha CS-01 analogue synth to produce his massive, massive sounds. He's very respected individual in the Hip Hop and Bass community, with countless collaborations, and a force to be reckoned with musically. So keeping up with the Off The Record Hip Hop album reviews, which I have been writing for @hhtb, I will give you a little history on the artist.

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Vadim Peare, known by his stage name, simply as DJ Vadim was born in Leningrad, USSR (now Saint Petersburg, Russia). He was raised in London, England and not much else is known about his life growing up, other than his professional career, so let's move on to that. Besides producing and DJ-ing the music I previously mentioned, he is also a promoter, painter, writer, radio presenter and (obviously) a record collector. He founded his own record label, Jazz Fudge in 1994, and a year later, he was signed to Ninja Tune where he produced six albums under them, all of them titled 'U.S.S.R.' followed by a subheading. Check out his huge discography here. His is probably most well known for his single 'The Terrorist' featuring Moshun Man'. With such a massive catalogue, there is no doubt he has worked with numerous artists, both legendary and underground, including Stevie Wonder, The Roots, Prince, Public Enemy, Dilated Peoples and Kraftwerk.

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Dubcatcher is the tenth studio album by DJ Vadim and released on June 9, 2014 (only four years?! wow, feels like a classic already). It has sixteen tracks and a run time of sixty-five minutes. Feature artists on this album are vast, with a few rappers and singers recurring on a few tracks, including Sabina Jade, Rio Hemopo, Governor Tiggy, Dynamite MC, YT, Jimmy Screech, Serocee, Katrina Blackstone, Jamalski, Karen B, Gappy Ranks, and my favorite, Demolition Man. While I was listening to this album on my run to prepare for this write up, I recalled the album being more bass-y than the first few tracks which I heard, being very Roots Reggae sounding but still very excellent nonetheless. As the album progressed, he started to implement more Dancehall vibes and electronica to go along with it, and ending with a more chilled out and experimental feel toward the end. Notable tracks are Hope, If Life Was A Thing, Originate It, Lyrical Soldier, Magenetic and Pele.

Dubcatcher is a great album from start to end, regardless of my notable mentions, and it has spawned a sequel, dubbed 'Dubcatcher 2 (Wicked My Yout). In fact, checking on DJ Vadim's instagram page today, he will be releasing a third installment this September! Definitely looking forward to that! How many of you skank to this album? Let me know!

Thank you for reading and supporting! If there is any album you would like me to cover for The Pull Up, please leave a comment below! One Love!