Rinse, Vol. 14: Mixed by Youngsta

DJ: Youngsta .
Audio Mixer: Youngsta .
Liner Note Author: Martin Clark.
Photographer: Shaun Bloodworth.
The 14th installment in the Rinse label's compilation series is presided over by Youngsta, a London-based dubstep DJ of growing repute. The dubstep field has gotten a bit crowded in recent years, and it is increasingly difficult for a new artist or DJ to set himself off from the pack. Youngsta does it by keeping his sound minimal and deep. Where others pack the sound field with events and effects, Youngsta peels away layers to expose the music's pulsing core: a staggering beat, a squidgy bassline, a small flock of gossamer vocal samples, scudding clouds of synthesizer chords. The "eyes-down" school of dubstep has no more eloquent ambassador than Youngsta, and on his contribution to the Rinse series he introduces listeners to artists who only high-level adepts of the subculture are likely to have heard of: DJ Madd; Kryptic Minds; Distance; SP:MC. Youngsta's particular genius is an ability to keep the proceedings dark without ever letting them become leaden, or even heavy. That ability is most notable on tracks like "Down" and "Judgement" (both collaborations between SP:MC and LX ONE), and on the especially dubwise "Secrets" by DJ Madd. Cyrus' "Manhattan Blues" threatens to drag things down, but is kept above water by an incongruously bouncy synthetic bongo drum. Toward the end the proceedings start finally slouching into creepier territory, and by that point the development is welcome: Matt U's "Empty Inside" and Distance's "Mind Control" both summon up mental images of government-issue vodka and clubland dystopia. ~ Rick Anderson