Playlist of the Week: Bushbaby
Bassline and Garage heavyweight and leading member of Brighton's Southpoint label, Bushbaby, tears it up with some of his recent set highlights from his New Zealand/Australia tour for Beatport's Playlist of the Week.
Hi, I’m Bushbaby, I’m a DJ and producer from the UK. I’ve created this Beatport chart around the idea of my ‘Set Highlights.’ This list of tunes is essentially a compilation of moments that I always look forward to playing in my DJ sets. Those tunes where I’m scrolling through my playlist, and it’s just like BAM, that’s perfect, let’s go there. Some are rowdy, and some are euphoric, others are more moody, but they all make me feel good at the right moment in the set.
My sound is very much influenced from speed garage/UKG, house, jungle and all the genres nested within the UK underground dance scene (not so underground these days). I’m currently writing this extremely jet lagged from being in Australia and New Zealand for my second tour this year, so I’m trying to recover before my festival run in the UK resumes this weekend with Bassfest. Some of the shows I’m looking forward to this year are Boomtown and Boundary as well as getting back in the clubs in some of my favourite cities like London, Leeds and Birmingham. Australia and NZ are also on the cards for round three later this year. Release-wise, I’m really looking forward to working with Luude on his new venture called No Instruction. I can’t say much more at the moment, but we have some really cool stuff in the pipeline!
Check out the epic 20-track compilation Southpoint Presents Vol. 10 (VIP) — featuring artists like Bushbaby, Cortese, Pyrate, Daffy, Double Screen, and more. Buy it on Beatport.
Bushbaby - DESIRE96 VIP [Southpoint]
Thought I’d kick things off with one of my own tunes. This has been my go-to opener for a little while now. The breakdown with the sirens and the atmospherics along with the vocal make it perfect for resetting the vibe in the club. The VIP edit also keeps things fresh as I think people expect the original version and then the VIP just makes it feel more exclusive, especially when I used to run this before it was released.
Ziggy Ostas - Running Back [Ziggy Ostas]
I love the flavour of the breakdown in this tune. The strings and vocals fit together perfectly and sound almost nostalgic to me. It always make for a nice little reset on the dancefloor. That paired with the bassline in the drop makes the whole thing sound like a nod to the 2009 bassline era. Beautiful stuff.
Moppa & Dekka - Higher [GS Dubs]
Seriously underrated producers in my opinion, I love everything they send me. This one feels like a classic 90’s speed garage banger even though it was only released last month. I love the sound of the old speed garage anthems but a lot of the time you have to crank the gain or fix the eq’s to give it more punch in the right areas to make them sit nicely alongside the more modern stuff. This tune has best of both worlds, the bass hits hard on big speakers and the drums are lovely and dusty like you hear on them old records.
Crookers, Savage Skulls - Bust ‘Em Up (Dismantle Remix) [Southern Fried Records]
The original was such a banger and Dismantle added the perfect touch on it. The mix on this tune is super powerful and loud and the vocal hook makes it instantly recognisable when you bring up the fader. One of the things I love about this tune is how easy it is to mix because of its structure, it’s super simple but very well executed and the break in the middle makes for a perfect time to load something up for a double drop or to mix in another tune.
Mance - Ethereal Pulses [EC2A]
Seriously one of my favourite tunes of the year so far. I don’t really have words for how this record makes me feel in the dance. The way the tune builds the organ over time and teases the top-line synth throughout before they all come together towards the middle of the tune in beautiful harmony is just… it lifts me up so much. Beautiful tune, I’ll be choosing this as a closer for a lot of sets in the future.
Flex, Nate Dogg - 6 In The Morning (Joe Hunt Remix) [Robots & Humans]
Joe sent me this bootleg he had made before I set off for Australia last month and I ended up playing it at every set on the tour. The breakdown with the vocals can be a perfect reset from whatever you are playing which makes it handy if I want to transition to a different genre. 2 steps vibes on this one and the bass hits so hard that it actually knocked my cup off the table when I played it in Perth.
Shuffa - Mix & Blend [Southpoint]
Speed garage belter from one of my favourite producers right now. I always love seeing his new tunes in my email as I just know they’re gunna be sick every time and this one is no exception. Production hits hard on this one, much more moody and dark than previous selections and gets a big reaction everytime I play it. Also another one that is very easy to blend with other tunes. 10/10.
Richard Dolby - The Anonymous Track [All Around The World]
This is one of my favourite tunes to drop live, especially towards the end of a set. I love the way the vocal loops over the top of the synths in the breakdown before everything falls away just leaving the vocal standing alone. When the tune drops in with the bass and drums, it’s such euphoria in the club. I like to let this tune run out as there’s a separate section towards the end with an organ melody that comes in after all the madness that is just so uplifting.
Champion, Bushbaby - We Multiply (feat. Killa P) [Disorder]
Depending on the length of my sets, I like to balance things with sections of mood-building tunes with slower blends and harder tunes with faster mixing depending on the vibe I’m getting in that moment. This one from Champion, Killa P and myself definitely falls into the latter half. This is an easy one for me to draw for when I’m wanting to get people a bit more hyped and lively and I know the tune inside out since we spent a while tweaking it before release. I usually try to have something lined up to mix in from the second breakdown where the vocal is isolated, it makes for a nice blend into something else.
ODF - Riddim & Flow [Southpoint]
Another one of my favourite producers right now. The main thing I love about this tune is the detuned square styled bassline. The way it wobbles when it hits the higher notes sounds so cool to me, that paired with the hard-hitting drums and atmospherics throughout make this a definite high moment in any of the sets I drop it in.
