Roadmanbarty's Top 20 Drills

mvuent

Void Dweller
Aren't you an autechre fanboy? I'd expect nothing more!

actually in another thread i told barty and luka that autechre are aesthetically very similar to uk drill and they both reluctantly agreed. literally no discernible difference whatsoever between the two according to them.
 

mvuent

Void Dweller
i really do find the rappers pretty unmemorable though. i'm sure it's my problem not a problem with the music. maybe another case of uk sensibilities not quite translating.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Great work Barty. On the one hand, I'm not as critical as some of the coalescing of the drill sound around several repetitive sonic signifiers - the repetition creates an immersive sonic environment, a claustrophobic world, which renders the lack of variation an irrelevance. That it's all similar is part of the point (?). On the other hand, I'm drawn towards those tracks that suggest alternatives - here, Call Me a Spartan, the first Loski track, Silwood Nation, that Taze/Russ flow you were talking about... Is SL drill?
 

version

Well-known member
Who first referred to the UK stuff as 'drill'? Was it the artists themselves lifting it from Chicago or did an outsider come up with it?
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
I think it was the Brixton artists themselves, early stuff seemed to have a conscious Chicago influence in terms of the sound as well as the overall aesthetic.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
Pretty sure they got "Drill" as a term from Chicago (same with "opps", etc.)

I was thinking about this last night in bed (that's the sort of thing I do) - although Chicago drill was highly influenced by Atlanta trap, there was a definite difference. Not just the slang etc but also the beats - there was a sense more of stasis or something to them?

Like to jump back to UK drill, the 'Waps RMX' has a beat that sounds more like Chicago drill than ATL Trap, but I'd need to think and analyse to figure out why


The most distinct part of UK drill beats for me these days is the basslines - they're jumping all over the place, they have some sort of glissando effect on them. They remind me a little of grime basslines.
 

thirdform

pass the sick bucket
Great work Barty. On the one hand, I'm not as critical as some of the coalescing of the drill sound around several repetitive sonic signifiers - the repetition creates an immersive sonic environment, a claustrophobic world, which renders the lack of variation an irrelevance. That it's all similar is part of the point (?). On the other hand, I'm drawn towards those tracks that suggest alternatives - here, Call Me a Spartan, the first Loski track, Silwood Nation, that Taze/Russ flow you were talking about... Is SL drill?


kinda weird people say this for drill and accuse post-dubstep of suffering from the same problem,that it sounds too like house and techno and is samey.

I mean I don't think that's why post-dubstep was boring. but seen as its my character role designated to break down and puncture peoples conservative sensibilities on here. ;)
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
I think post-dubstep was seen as beyond the pale for its blatant involvement of students?

As said, I both get the 'too samey' criticism and I don't. Part of the charm of, say, rave, is that all the core elements are present and correct in a high percentage of tunes. That said, another part of its charm is that some tunes go rogue
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
I think road rap/drill HAS been criticised for just being a knock-off of US trap/drill. What has happened though is that it's evolved to become a distinctive sound (albeit highly derivative of US rap - Barty will disagree I suppose) - the MCs have a definite grime influence, as well as their own slang etc.

Post dubstep was a coalescing of all these different influences. Which made it a bit tepid and half-baked. Also it rarely if ever managed to transcend those infleunces.

UK drill is definitely open to all manner of criticisms but it has a certain purity that a "scene" like post dubstep lacked. And it's produced tunes that I'd argue are as strong as stuff that Chicago and Atlanta has produced.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
I actually don't think post dubstep was samey at all - that was almost the problem! It was a Hodge podge of shit from different genres.

Made (often) by people like me i reckon - students who had only just discovered house and techno and RnB and wanted to bring those things together. The result being (often) fairly average house / techno tunes with pitched down Aaliyah samples.
 

Corpsey

bandz ahoy
i really do find the rappers pretty unmemorable though. i'm sure it's my problem not a problem with the music. maybe another case of uk sensibilities not quite translating.

Oh I see - no maybe you're right

That's why Barty needs to talk about lyrics and so on, in my view. Cos a lot of ppl still think the drill MCs are rubbish.
 

luka

Well-known member
Oh I see - no maybe you're right

That's why Barty needs to talk about lyrics and so on, in my view. Cos a lot of ppl still think the drill MCs are rubbish.

It's all been talked about already Barty has done his rundown of top drill tunes before this on at least one occasion it's all in the road rap thread. Lyrics beats everything done to to death ages ago.
 
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