There was a while a few years back (and to an extent today – but on a lesser scale) where every dubstep event I went/ was invited to had been put on and marketed by the same few promoters (something I recently discussed in the ‘What is Dubstep?’ post).

But as things calmed down and the decent events outweighed the not so, there’s been a resurgence of amazing nights being put on. All over the world. System in London (amongst others), Dubstep Bastards (not forgetting the All Out Dubstep crew either) in Sweden and then Reconstrvct in NYC.

Knowing I was on the hunt for new writing talent, Pete recently hit me up with a full blown recap to Reconstrvct’s first birthday – along with a few awesome photos shot by the extremely talented Bridget Bishop…

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Whilst recently listening to a Loefah mix for a Dubstep Warz feature with Mary Anne Hobbs on Radio 1 back in 2006, I heard him describe the DMZ events at the time and the essence of what was going down with three words: “just purely sound.”

Upon hearing this (and reading the comments about how irrelevant what he said is compared to the scene today), you realize how lucky you are to be a part of the event held Saturday July 28th: Reconstrvct’s 1st birthday celebration. Low frequency with decency you should know by now is the goal, and sound of the highest quality from incredible artists is what you will get attending by Reconstrvct. The first one I went to was V, featuring Razor Rekta and Kahn (amongst others); two producers who are putting out incredibly fresh tracks and have universal acclaim amongst their peers. I had seen the lineups before and needed to be there this time I told myself, and since going I now wonder if I’ll ever miss another one…

The birthday lineup for Reconstrvct VII was nothing short of legendary for a North American night: Seven, Jay 5ive, Tunnidge, V.I.V.E.K., Coki, Reconstrvct residents Truenature and the originator Joe Nice – along with New York natives Han Solo and Nihal. Not turning 21 until 2010, I missed out on all the Dub War events and the amazing artists that played out, as I watched YouTube videos of people such as Starkey and wonderboy Skream mash-up the low ceiling of Club Love to a mature, intelligent and passionate crowd. It was just as Loefah said: “just purely sound” and the love of the music.

Reconstrvct has managed to pick up the torch left by this pioneering night and Usain Bolt it, no easy task in the face of what dubstep has become to the mainstream here in the US. With dubstep getting more and more exposure (both good and bad), people grow tired of the same sound and of course the internet has made the history readily available. Those who seek it out will find it. If you don’t have the internet, all you need to do is show up at a Reconstrvct event to get to the essence of the whole dubstep movement: bass music. “Foundation music” and “system sound for system people” as V.I.V.E.K. says. Hypnotic pounding basslines that leave you head-nodding by necessity.

[Tunnidge]

From the beginning when you walk in, the vibes are positive and the people greet you with smiles. The security is always friendly and are never overly intrusive. Reconstrvct knows why people are attending and they make it as much about the bass vibes as possible. The first set I caught was Seven, described by Joe Nice as a “technician on the decks”, with his own tracks and dark rolling tunes. Jay 5ive followed and dropped tracks such as the TMSV remix of ‘Lay My Burdens’ along with his and Komestar’s collabs like ‘Mind Pattern’. Chestplate don and Deep Medi artist Tunnidge was the special guest and brought the weight with some of the biggest tracks of the night that included Sleeper & District’s monster tunes, unheard VIPs and the standard Chestplate classics.

[Coki]

The next set was from the madman himself, Coki, and what a set it was. Including Skream tunes such as ‘Heavy Hittah’ and his own absolutely massive productions that left me uncontrollably skanking. Coki’s set was one of the most enjoyable I’ve ever seen. I had never experienced music in the way I did during that set standing close to the speaker at the front. Tracks such as ‘Bob’s Pillow,’ ‘Cay’s Cray (DMZ remix)’, ‘Here I Come (Kromestar remix),’ and a mesmerizing blendup of ‘Anti-War Dub’ were some of the many, many highlights that had the crowd losing it.

[VIVEK]

V.I.V.E.K. and his ‘system sound’ calls to the crowd marked the first voice I had heard in around two hours, just purely sound. Foundation music is what V.I.V.E.K. is representing, with his own tunes like ‘Fally Rankin’ and the rolling ‘Asteroids’ vocal mix. I was sitting in the back at this point for some much needed rest after the madness that was Coki, and bits of the ceiling started to fall on me. At first I thought someone was throwing debris at me or something, until I realized that is was raining paint chips. System sound for system people.

[Joe Nice]

Nobody’s nicer than Joe Nice, who played an oldschool set after 5 am, stamina crew fully representing! I found Earl Sweatshirt recently characterized the night perfectly with one line in a new song: “Bass leave your face greazy, artists who paint easy.”

If you’re a dubstep fan and were within an hour or two of Brooklyn and you didn’t show up, it’s ok. Well, not really because you FKOFed up, but this month the lineup features artists from around the globe – including Goth-Trad re-booked after not being able to make VI; two names on the rise with their super-crisp productions and dark, big bass vibes in Thelem and Killawatt from the UK; and Buenos Aires’ Daleduro. There seems to be no slowing down to the heavy hitting lineups, with Compa announcing his October NYC date with Reconstrvct. Just purely sound.

A massive thank you to everyone who made this possible, anyone who attended and all the artists who made this night one of the best nights I’ve been to.

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Reconstrvct, I look forward to making the party one day. Maybe next year if everything works out!

Thanks to Pete for the words and Bridget for the photos. You’ll hopefully be hearing and seeing more from them both on FKOF in the coming months.

Peace, love and respect.

FKOF