Digging in the Trenches: Some Riddim Favorites
Ahh… riddim, everyone’s favorite dubstep sub-genre that a whole swath of people wish was called “trench” instead. It’s a style that is looked down upon from the perspective of many dubstep heads, partially because of the word choice of the genre name and partially because so much of it epitomizes the most hyper-maximalist, aggro, and abrasive tendencies of the genre akin to what’s commonly referred to as “brostep.” I have long held this view, and still do for a high amount of the music in this style, but my morbid musical curiosity has never led me to be completely dismissive of any music genre, and upon some exploration I have found quite a few songs in this style to be highly appealing and even musically complex, unique, and spectacular.
I personally started doing more digging into this genre a few years ago, but I’m sure some folks with similar tastes as mine began doing the same thing when the legendary electronic artist Four Tet decided to play the riddim song “Country Riddim” by HOL! during his US run with Skrillex and Fred again.. out of nowhere. It certainly came as a surprise, but he’s not the only one in that sphere that’s done some embracing of the style. Acclaimed versatile electronic artist Minor Science played a song by riddim artist Sharks in one of his mixes, dubstep pioneer Skream has professed interest in the genre, and fellow dubstep pioneer Coki (whose “Spongebob” is often referred to as a forerunner to riddim), worked with Leotrix, who sometimes comes up as an example of “I hate all riddim except ____” by people. For that reason, none of his songs will be on this list, but here are ten more riddim songs in recent years that I found to be quite good in my research. I did that so hopefully you won’t have to go through that.
This was one of the tracks that, upon hearing it for the first time in 2020, helped convince me into thinking this genre did indeed have some potential. It’s a song that manages to feel both like a throwback to the early dubstep days yet remain modern at the same time, and that snare absolutely smacks.
Four Tet, if you happen to read this, you should make this the next riddim song you unleash upon your unsuspecting audience. It starts off fairly similar to a song like Kelbin’s remix of “Cloudy” by Daphni, but it switches into a pretty aggressive yet tasteful riddim drop that makes sense to me for whatever reason, it’s one of my favorite tracks I’ve heard in this style. It’s a bit akin to something like “That Smile” by Current Value in terms of a jarring tone shift, and it makes me think this Dominican Republic-born producer has a bright future ahead of him in multiple genres.
Trekkie Trax Crew – “Plasma (NUU$HI Remix)”
NUU$HI is an exceptionally talented artist from Japan that is best known for his work with Oolacile’s riddim label Halcyon, but he also has shown an affinity for the underground rave scene in his home country, often releasing on the iconic Japenese electronic label Trekkie Trax. On this song, the two interests collide - he puts out a riddim song on the always-adventurous label, and it’s one of those drops where you can’t help but bang your fucking head.
This song is part of a subgenre referred to as “colour bass” that takes as many influences from artists like Rustie and Joker as it does Infekt, and as a result the music is far more melodic sounding and occasionally comes close to something like hyperpop. In this case, however, “Parallax” sounds a bit like something you’d find on the Majestic Casual YouTube channel back in 2015, it’s an outstanding tune.
This is one of the tracks I’ve heard in the genre that most reminds me of vintage classics by artists such as Coki and Benga, and Neonix even takes it a step further by fully leaning into the UK Garage influences for the second drop.
Belgian producer i7 has a very unique take on the genre – fusing riddim with the sounds of early wave music from artists such as Kareful and Sorsari. His track “E-CO” from his Seven EP combines those sounds the best, it’s an excellent song by an underrated artist in this style.
This is an excellent Rustie-influenced riddim track that is very accessible to people who aren’t necessarily into this genre – I’ve seen rising DJ/producer Lord Genmu play this one while opening for G Jones.
Extremely creative track from the now-deceased Never Say Die label’s compilation Black Ops XL III, often regarded as one of the strongest releases in the genre.
Veer is definitely one of the standout producers in this style, and this song thankfully lives up to the greatness of the title.
I don’t have much more to say about this one than the fact that the drum/snare work is absolutely ridiculous – such an excellent track.