There is a sound I've come to (perhaps too exclusively) expect from a certain section of the West Coast US electronic music scene. It might at times be categorized as psydub, but isn't really about multi-chromatic fractal spirals and Burning Man. So really, it can't be called psydub. In some circles it's called SF Dub, where SF is of course San Francisco.

1. b4 After
2. Extended Body
3. Jahnesh
4. Stones of Gaza
5. Where Was I Going?
6. Viavai
7. Ulezak
8. Cloudcycle
9. Infinity-1
10. Wiggly Things

Mauxuam's sound seems more about the rich, gray shades of electronic music. It's about seeing the world in crystal clear black and white. Like being able to see the world moving at a microsopic level. It's like stepping inside your favorite post-apocalyptic shooter game as an untouchable observer seeing everything, from all angles, moving in half-time. It is heavily rooted in the production techniques of dub and simultaneously influenced by, while being nothing like hip hop, Middle Eastern music, idm/glitch or micro/tech house. It's Mauxuam's "Viceversa" that I'm listening to right now.

Other artists working in or near this vein of electronic music include Bluetech, Welder, Solvent, Eat Static, Dabrye, and to a lesser degree, Boxcutter, or Bola. The bass is deep, electronics are layered thicker than icing on a cake, there are no voices outside of the odd spoken sample or two, and the rhythms are consistently head-nodding.

Sure, Interchill is a Canadian label and Mauxuam is Italian, but I can't get past this stereotype in my head that tells me this is one more reason to love the sounds that are coming out of San Francisco.

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