Blackdown (AKA Martin Clark) knows a thing or two about chasing down mysterious artists and transforming them into stars. Alongside his production partner, Dusk, Blackdown runs the Keysound label, which explores the continuum of grime, dubstep, hip-hop, and dancehall—and has given him plenty of experience in plundering murky musical territories for hidden gems.
On top of that, he hosts a weekly radio show on Rinse FM and runs a long-standing music blog, Blackdown Soundboy. Blackdown is a humble man, but he possesses a level of clout that many DJs would kill to have; he’s a tastemaker’s tastemaker, which makes him the perfect subject to kick off our new column, the Lookout. For this edition, Blackdown highlights five young Keysound artists who are exploring the outer limits of the label’s signature sound.
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Wen
“Our next release on Keysound is Wen. He’s found his own sound that spits vocal signals over the groove of garage and the space of early dubstep. He’s refixed Dizzee Rascal’s classic ‘Strings Hoe.’ Better than that, Dirtee Stank [Dizzee’s label] gave us their blessing to put it on vinyl.”
Parris
“Parris is the next Hatcha or Slimzee, in my opinion. He is the ‘DJ’s DJ’ in our emerging 130bpm scene and cuts actual dubplates. He keeps it dark and rolling—love that.”
Logos
“His album took grime and smeared it into these elongated tropes. We were blown away by the response. Utter badman.”
Luke Benjamin
“Luke Benjamin is a unique vocalist. He’s definitely come at this 130 thing from his own angle, with stories to tell. This track is a mental collaboration with Filter Dread.”
Moleskin
“On the other side of the spectrum, past Logos and into synthier grooves, is Moleskin. As much inspired by Jersey club as grime, he’s capable of club bangers as well as epic emo jams.”
