Magnetic Man: Dubstep Supergroup Enter Uncharted Territory
Though dubstep's low frequency, dark wobble bass-drops and paranoia inducing half-time rhythms have long since found their way from U.K. garages to the airwaves of BBC Radio 1, only recently has the swaggering bastard child of 2-step and grime crept into gritty corners of the U.S. streets.
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Enter Magnetic Man and their eponymous U.S. debut (released 4/12 digital, 5/10 physical on Startime/Columbia). If the name calls to mind visions of a post-apocalyptic antihero intent upon laying waste to the earth with superhuman powers, you aren't too far off.
They've been labeled "dubstep's supergroup," but Magnetic Man represents the evolution of the sound. Their U.S. live performance debut at Coachella impressed everyone, inciting tastemakers and mainstream newbies alike to declare Magnetic Man a highlight of the event.
SPIN MAGAZINE gave Magnetic Man Coachella 2011 Best Dance Performance honors and The Huffington Post was blown away by the "entire audience singing along to [MM's] hit single I Need Air." Whereas underground heads GOTTA DANCE DIRTY said MM quite simply "stole the show…"
Magnetic Man's Benga, Skream, and Artwork, are three producers/DJ's with serious dubstep credentials who met over a love of pulverizing beats at the now-defunct mecca of the genre, Big Apple Records.
Together, Magnetic Man infuses the dubstep landscape with melodic pop grooves that play counterpoint to hyped-up synth and fat bass lines that apply pressure like silky-scaled boa constrictors.
Rising U.K. pop star Katy B lends her gentle vocals to the tracks "Perfect Stranger" and "Crossover," while the addition of Angela Hunte, co-writer of the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys classic "Empire State of Mind," makes "I Need Air" an infectious pop banger.
Magnetic Man even got soulman John Legend to help smooth out the crunchy back-beats on "Getting Nowhere." Meanwhile, "Flying into Tokyo," uses glistening strings to portray an idyllic sense of wonder at surveying Tokyo's intensity from above, and handily signals that we are entering uncharted territory.
The album is a gem you need in your collection. But don't just take our word for it. Our friends at Pop Matters and In Your Speakers are providing live streams right now so you can listen to the hit tracks before you pick up the album.
Check out "Perfect Stranger" on BandWeblogs.com:
"...it was jaw-dropping. The trio, consisting of big shot U.K. Dubstep producers Artwork, Benga, and Skream, played puppetmasters with their chest-rattling bass and oddly stately synth lines." - Spin Magazine
"…the beats skitter like a racing heart, and the bass will give you vertigo." - The Washington Post
"...a heady collection of moody halfstep R&B verses and breakbeat-driven old-skool rave choruses...its explosive releases of rhythmic vitality capture perfectly the appeal of uptempo dubstep at its best..." - Pitchfork (in praise of MM's hit single "Perfect Stranger")
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