Dead Dub Society is quickly approaching its first birthday. The crew of loosely affiliated DJs came together partly to satisfy their own musical needs, but also to provide Santa Fe with a unique style to which it wasn’t quite accustomed: dubstep, born out of the UK electronic scene.
While focused mainly on dubstep, DDS also is responsible for the Totally Awesome ’80s Night series, and is beginning to branch out into bass-heavy, fast-tempo, electronica drum and bass events. I tracked down two members of DDS to find out more about the collective, as well as their individual musical pasts.
Name:
Isaiah Rodriguez
DJ Handle:
Infektor
Affiliations:
Dead Dub Society
Origin:
“I came up as a club kid in Little Rock, Ark., about 12 years ago. I fell in with a crew and started as a promoter, which eventually led to me making music of my own.”
Story:
From 2004 to 2008, Rodriguez took a hiatus from DJing when the mainstream DJ scene started straying from analog.
“Suddenly, [on digital] I couldn’t find tracks I wanted. Going digital seemed like cheating, so I took a break.”
Eventually, he decided to begin DJing again. “I just try to keep an open mind and accept the things I like,” he says.
Thus, DDS was born. Since he began the group, Rodriguez has promoted a niche that includes not only himself but also dozens of other regional DJs. While dubstep is his favorite to spin, Rodriguez doesn’t limit himself. In fact, for the May 8 show at Corazón, he’s put together a night of drum and bass with Albuquerque’s DJ Skirmp and Santa Fe’s Space Puppy and Sablazo.
“I had to scrounge to find these DJs,” Rodriguez says. “Santa Fe simply doesn’t have drum and bass but, if this works, it’ll put us on the map.”
Rodriguez and his musical partner Matt Williams, aka Mute Swaun, are working on remixes for Santa Fe native-turned-music-titan Pictureplane, as well as for indie-noise band Health.
“I want to get into the production side of it and hope to release an album soon,” Rodriguez says.
Name:
Steve Brisk
DJ Handle:
AudioBuddha
Affiliations:
Dead Dub Society
Origin:
“I was part of an electronic trio called AudioBuddha and, when we split up, I went solo because I couldn’t find anyone who shared my vision,” he tells SFR. “I suppose you could say my birth as a DJ came out of necessity.”
After leaving his bandmates, Brisk kept the moniker but moved in a very different direction.
“I like to call it ‘tribal-Banjara dub,’ which is to say it’s very influenced by Eastern music: Indian, Balinese—even Native American music.”
Story:
Brisk attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, where he learned about electronic music.
“We had this electronic music lab there, and this was in the early ’80s when people used actual synths and tape loops,” he says.
Though he’s only been a serious DJ for approximately two years, Brisk has remained at the forefront of the local scene by constantly playing and promoting himself.
“I act as a composer as well as conductor, which is really what DJing is all about,” he says. “My music is about more than booty shaking; I want to open minds.”
Brisk plans to release a five-song EP near the end of May. “It’ll be some new tracks as well as some remixes of older songs of mine,” he says. “I’m really excited.”
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