10/08/2018: “The Club” by El-B

One of my favourite things about U.K. Garage music is the effortless swing of the drums. The shuffling hi-hats and crisp snares dance around each other, producing a beat you just can’t help but nod your head to.

Unfortunately, as I’ve said before, too much cheesy pop 2-step was hastily mashed together back in the day, giving garage a bad reputation.

El-B is one of the select few “dark garage” producers at the dawn of the new millennium who are credited with inspiring dubstep.

His style is “less is more”. The drums, the samples, the bass. And that’s pretty much it. As he’s said in an interview for Computer Music, once the groove is right, you can stick anything over the top, and El-B is one of the grooviest guys around…

Almost nobody does drums quite like him, in any genre. It’s exactly what garage should be about.

“The Club” was released in 2000 on the seminal Ghost Label. It slowly builds up without the listener even noticing, starting with just those beautifully swung drums, then the solid bassline, and finally the vocal samples. It’s a wonderful example of a good minimal garage track; no fuss, no bloat, just vibes.

The track still has a deep rooted R’n’B influence, but it kicks hard!

Almost 2 decades old and still wicked!

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