let’s talk baltimore. rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, here’s what wikipedia says about ‘baltimore club’:
“Baltimore Club, also called Baltimore Breaks, Baltimore house, and Dew Doo Beat, is a genre of House and Dance music. A blend of Hip-Hop and Electronica, it was created in Baltimore, Maryland in the early 1990s by Scottie B., Frankski, Miss Tony and DJ Spen and has since been performed by artists such as Rod Lee and D.J.Technics.
“Baltimore Club is exemplified by its 8/4 beat structure and tempos at or near 130 beats per minute. It combines repetetive looped vocal snippets similar to ghetto house with humorous vocal samples … Much like the rave-era sub-genre of Techno music known as Breakbeat Hardcore, Baltimore Club sounds as if the music was purposefully produced in a hurried manner as the each song is made with a limited pallette of sounds and is based on a similar templates. Some say Baltimore Breaks grew out of Miami Bass, largely due to Frankski working with Luke Skyywalker Records in the early 1990s, remixing songs such as Disco Rick‘s Wiggle Wiggle in 1992. … Despite its roots nearer to Miami Bass, the sound of the music itself more closely resembles Ghetto House.
“Baltimore Club has long been popular in Baltimore, largely in African-American venues where DJs spin exclusively Baltimore Club, but has recently spread beyond the city’s borders to Philadelphia and New York City and inspired offshoots in New Jersey (D.J.Tamiel) and Alabama (Bamabounce). This expansion is due largely to the success and influence of the DJ duo Hollertronix, who present Baltimore Club in conjunction with hip-hop, rock, and other dance music.”
so there you go – if you disagree with any of the above, i recommend editing the article (such is the joy of wikipedia). as it says, things have started to move recently in the baltimore club scene. there is, as one of the main protagonists spankrock describes it, “a second generation” of baltimore club producers coming through. with many of his recent mixes, diplo is proving to be a key figure, alongside those working under the collective title of baltimore bass connection – the aforementioned spankrock, chipset, c.rockswell, xxx-change and more. i could add low-budget and dj ayres in there too, both of whom have recently dropped b-more productions. i’ve also been getting into 19-y-o curtis vodka‘s mixes as found on the hollertronix forum (one of the main homes for discussion / file sharing of b-more, baile funk and other such great music).
after releasing his ‘viola’ mix cd and his ‘put the pussy on me’ 12″ double set on money studies, spankrock was recently signed to big dada. his debut release backyard betty’ is an incredible calling card for this scene – dark, deep, sparse, smart and more bass than your ass can handle. another great tune that i’ve been dropping this season is diplo‘s remix of ray charles‘ ‘i got a woman’ – destined to be a party favourite for a long time to come. and – lucky you – it also kicks off our mp3 treats for this week:
RAY CHARLES i got a woman (diplo remix)
3RD BASS shut your mouth (diplo remix)
SPANK ROCK put that pussy on me
SPANKROCK rick rubin (snippet)
SPANKROCK what i look like (snippet)
LOW-BUDGET call it murder (rmx of damian marley’s ‘welcome to jamrock’)
DJ AYRES broke ass home (baltimore club)