Hi Everyone,

Josh originally asked me to post a blog about this Skream track "Oskillatah" off his EP "Skreamizm Vol. 4" from January, 2008.  But I've been obsessing over this dubstep EP called "Soundboy's Nuts Get Ground Up Proper E.P." by Shackleton. This is a release off of Shackleton's own label, Skull Disco, and one of the few releases on that label that is exclusively his material.

First , my sympathies to whomever Soundboy is. That sounds grotesquely painful, and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Track listing:
Blood On My Hands
Naked
Hypno Angel

This EP's major strength is its hypnotic, bongo-based drumbeats. These tribal/African-sounding beats are surrounded by vocal samples, both spoken and sung. Like most dubstep, there are also strong sub-bass tones that add significant texture to the music.

These drumbeats accomplish something that differs from most dubstep. They represent the full tempo of the song. The majority of the time, dubsteps drumbeats will be half the tempo of the songs. The producer will rely on the melody to communicate the full tempo, usually around 140 bpm. On this record, the speed of the drumbeats is necessary because the melodies seem to be second priority for the listener's ears, although they compliment the drums quite well.

My favorite track is Hypno Angel. This song features vocal samples which I imagine to be either Indian or Middle Eastern in origin, but I honestly have no idea. They go well with the strong drumbeat, adding an ethereal quality to a song that is made otherwise intense by a strong, dark bass line.