Club Scene: Dubstep, in tune

Local DJs develop dubstep into dominant scene all over Israel.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
dub step 88 (photo credit: )
dub step 88
(photo credit: )
With big names like DJ Yahel and Infected Mushrooms gaining international popularity, the Israeli dance music scene has made a name for itself. But aside from the mainstream chart toppers, local DJs starting in back alley bars have developed the English music known as dubstep into a dominant scene all over Israel. Dubstep is a mixture of Jamaican Dub and Reggae mixed with heavy electronic beats to make it a slower, more bass intensive dance music. It is a dark, deep, pensive sound with a mixture of drums and the tribal energy of classic Jamaican dance. "It's only half time which makes it easier to enjoy the different sounds, but when you get in the vibe of the music you can compensate for that by the intensity of the bass," says 28-year-old producer and dubstep DJ Kalbata, whose real name is Ariel Tagra. With a new single recently released on the popular English dubstep label Soul Jazz Records, Tagra has become the leading man in the Israeli dubstep scene. Ever since his return to Israel last year, after a five-year stint living in the UK, the English dance scene has been steadily growing. "Musically, it's something that somehow Israelis can relate to easily which is a lot of dub and reggae influence and some electronic and trance," says DJ Walter Einstein Frog. "It didn't just grow. There was a lot of hard work from people that believed in it, promoted it and then somehow it just crashed on the scene." Walter Einstein Frog, whose real name is Itai Drai resides in Tel Aviv. Aside from being a dubstep DJ, he is half of the promoting company know as Tabac and one of the top dubstep party promoters in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. "In the beginning it was just walking the streets, giving out CDs, giving out flyers and just trying to get people to understand what it is," Drai says. "Now it's just happening alone. We just need to bring the right DJ and promote it well and people will come." But Israelis haven't just adopted the UK bred sound of dubstep; they have developed their own version of it. "In London the dubstep parties are dark with people in black hoodies, nodding their heads in the corner," Tagra explains. "But here people just freak out in the clubs. Israelis are natural born ravers." Oct. 31, Walter Einstein Frog, Majiman and DJ Solly appear at Jerusalem's Club Bass (1 Hahistadrut St., bassjerusalem@gmail.com) from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Tickets cost NIS 20 at the door.