As dubstep seems to be panning out and spreading itself thinly into other genres these days, a rich and heavy sub culture has formed around paying tribute to it’s roots. Daniel Lockhart (A.K.A Youngsta) is a distinguished pioneer and trailblazer for a whole network of deep, minimal dub artists and is actively regaining some hard earned and well deserved respect for his knowledgeable mixing. Known to work with up to three decks, it’s no mystery that Youngsta’s trained ear and gifted attentiveness are driving forces behind his precise, intricate and all around tight sets. Although you’ll be hard pressed to find many dated self produced tracks from Youngsta, this by no means is reflective on his influence on the scene or work ethic. Gaining momentum steadily over the last decade, Youngsta is a resident DJ on Rinse FM with a weekly set that was last month justifiably voted as “Best Radio Show” and he also took the title of “Best DJ” for the Dubstep Forum awards. Youngsta’s most recent focus is on releasing his own tracks in collaboration with like artists under Tempa, a thoroughly established record label where he sits among 9 other kings of dubstep. To say the least, this guy could dance circles around most on the decks.
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You could probably assume that when I became aware Youngsta was going to be in Vancouver spinning a set at Red Room and that I was to be reviewing it, I was ecstatic. I have read that he has a keen crowd reading ability and is known for his proficiency in live scenarios. I am proudly confident to report that I support maintaining that reputation. His sound, which I so greatly appreciated getting to hear played on a worthy sound system, is one that bases itself around a spacious, low, heavy and warbled bass line with jungle influenced break beats and sparsely scattered gargantuan growling for a signature sound like a sexy, haunted, radioactive dungeon. The carefully selected tracks he laid down were expertly timed and pieced together with a good ratio of crisp, tinny high hats and silent junctures that act as a creepy, chilling breeze for your eardrums between weighty, elastic, unforgiving sequences. He dropped a few of his newer tracks on Sunday including one of his solo produced “Destruction” that was only released within the last few months that I think does a fantastic job of displaying exactly what Youngsta is capable of and a great reason to get excited about him releasing more in the future.
I have frequented Red Room Ultra Bar in the past and the space typically fits 400 party-goers in it’s large, dark, open concept room with a well known headliner and promising openers. Now, with a rainy Sunday night slot I could comprehend why the place might have not been packed to the rafters, but I certainly expected more than this. My group of about ten friends who accompanied me managed to comfortably spread ourselves along the front of the dance floor with plenty of groove room. Now although this was a dream come true for us, getting a seemingly private show from Youngsta for less than 100 of my friends and myself, I couldn’t help but wonder where the Vancouverites are with respect for the “deep, dark, minimal ,sub-bass journey” Youngsta and the Rinse FM crew is on.
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“I’d love to come back soon and giver with you guys on like a Friday or Saturday,” Youngsta told a sweatier version of myself in the first hours of Monday morning after thanking the appreciative crowd for coming out, “Sundays are tough”. He’s not wrong, and although I felt a little like our city let him down, his ear to ear grin proved that he was aware that even though the building wasn’t filled, the people who attended were giving it their all. My only hope is that popularity of this uniquely branded style can blossom at a quicker rate here in Vancouver so we can have an opportunity to see large-scale parties with deep music that are such a hit in the UK. Wouldn’t be the first time their music scene has been years ahead of ours. But big ups to Youngsta for a great set and I can only hope to continue to hear more tracks with his branding.
– By Jaclyn Adair
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