Caspa & Rusko - FABRICLIVE 37

Many turn the last month of the year into a merciless chasm-filling throng of merriment and shiny cheer; and we are no different. Although we're not ones to embrace the commercial surface; we draw our happiness from below. And we mean way down low, propelled by a constant, almost omnipresent sub bass, mirth drowned deep in tension, dark delicious moody music and for many the future sound of London. That's happiness, masked as dubstep delivered readily by two of the new guard of sub soldiers, Caspa & Rusko. FABRICLIVE 37: CASPA & RUSKO is an almost perfect blend of dark narcotic melancholy and up front torrential dancefloor delight, all wrapped in cavity filling ridiculous low-end bass destruction and delay. Brought together by a love of each other's music, Caspa (25-year old Gary McCann) and Rusko (22 year old Chris Mercer) are considered part of a new breed of dubstep talent, sweeping the deep furrows of ground laid bare by peers like Digital Mystikz, Iration Steppas, Kode9, Skream and Benga, mixed with their own jump up comical party fresh and somewhat relentless sound. Coming together from Leeds and London with mutual loves of dub reggae, drum'n'bass, hip hop, and as fans of their own scene, Caspa & Rusko have been DJing and producing for just a few years, yet have been representing the dubstep dream the globe over as music fans from all corners draw them into a constant stream of performance and release requests. Their musical roots are somewhat similar, with both having delighted in their musically involved upbringings.

"My whole family was musical. My dad was a record collector, he was mainly into punk but collected everything across the board. There was always a lot of that music in the house growing up. I used to love jungle, at school I remember swapping tape packs and will always remember this Brockie & Det tape I had. My brother was into a lot of hip hop so I listened to a lot of artists like Wu Tang Clan, Mobb Deep and Nas. Soon after, I was listening to a lot of Rawkus artists and MCs like Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch and Common. Musically I had everything going on around me."

"My mum used to sing in a band called "Ventura Highway" right up until about 3 months before I arrived. So I was on stage before I was even born! It was like this weird kind of country/folk music. She used to play the mandolin too. So I used to have musical instruments and guitars everywhere around me in the house. I've still got a banjo somewhere and I play bass and saxophone too. I spent two years at music college but never went to lectures, they had amazing studio facilities so I made the most of them instead." Caspa & Rusko

Caspa & Rusko definitely recognise a crossover between the dub reggae, garage and drum'n'bass scenes and pull the best elements from each to make the sounds and sets they do, injecting this breath of fresh air into their selection for FABRICLIVE 37. Having chosen a new generation of artists from all around the world, picked because of their tried and tested audience reactions, this mix is as true a testament to the sound this duo emanates as it is to the sound of now.

Tracklist:
1. Caspa - Born To Do It
2. L-Wiz - Girl From Codeine City
3. Caspa - Cockney Violin
4. Uncle Sam - Round The World Girls (Tes La Rok Remix)
5. Rusko - Jahova
6. Caspa - The Terminator
7. Cotti & ClueKid - The Legacy
8. Matty G - 50K VIP
9. The Others - Africa VIP
10. Distance - V
11. Caspa - Big Headed Slags
12. Rusko - Too Far
13. Coki - SpongeBob
14. Caspa - Louder
15. Caspa & The Others - Well 'Ard
16. Unitz - The Drop
17. Rusko - Hammer Time
18. Rusko - Mr Chips
19. Orien - Look At My Eyes
20. The Others - Fun House
21. Rusko - 2 N A Q 1:25
22. Rusko - Cockney Thug 2:05
23. Rusko - Cockney Thug (Buraka Som Sistema Remix)
24. Skream - Guru (Power Hour)
25. Rusko - Beta Max
26. D1 - I'm Lovin'
27. Caspa & Rusko - Rock Bottom
28. Orien - Rainbow Tear Drops
29. ConQuest - Forever