Complex Sessions 025: Wittyboy

Bass, bass, and more bass.

witty
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witty

Ever since the mid-2000s, Leeds-born producer/DJ Wittyboy has been a mainstay in the North's untouchable bassline scene. A favourite of experts like DJ EZ, Craig David, Toddla T and DJ Cameo, Wittyboy is the go-to choice for those who truly know their bassline, 2-step and garage.

He's been featured numerous times on compilations on Ministry Of Sound, Fabric, and Pure Garage, as well as pushing out a staggering number of club-punishing singles and EPs. It's not  just straight bassline, though. To the low-end backbone, Wittyboy adds a weighty cocktail of speed garage, house music, 2-step, dancehall and anything heaven-sent for only the biggest, most heavy duty soundsystem. If there's one thing that ties together screwfacey bangers like "No ID", "Tell Me" and, say, "Bumpers", it's that each track should only be played in the late, late, late night, when energy levels are dipping and the sweat's dripping from the ceiling.

When that moment hits, only a Wittyboy production can smash things straight through the roof.


Tell us a bit about your selections in this mix.

These are tracks that I've been supporting at my shows from artists that I think are making really interesting stuff at the moment. Including myself, of course [laughs].

What was the one track you absolutely had to include?

"Working With" by Wittyboy!

Any tracks that narrowly missed the cut?

So many. I often find it hard to play all the music that I want to in my live shows and on radio mixes etc. There's so much good music out there right now, so you really have to be selective these days.

What's the first single or album you ever bought?

The first album I ever bought was O.D.B's Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version on cassette tape.

What's the last physical record you bought?

Probably Pure Garage or Pure Bassline. I always buy a copy of albums that I feature on.

What do you want to see happen musically over the next 12 months?

I'd love to see more people taking risks and not being afraid to fit into a blueprint of what they think a genre should sound like. There's a few producers out there doing this already, but being experimental should be encouraged more instead of being frowned upon.

What trend or scene absolutely needs to die right now?

It's not a trend, as such, but all I ever see at shows now are people focusing too much on filming the DJ or the environment. I get that we're living in a social media-obsessed world, but I'd like to see people more engaged in the real life moment of the music and give their phone a little break every now and again.

Tracklist:

1. AC Slater & Shift K3Y - "Come Back" (Kastle Remix)
2. CLB - "Gunshotta"
3. Sammy Virji - "Never Let You Go VIP"
4. Skepsis - "My World"
5. Hot Goods - "Loanshark"
6. Wheeto - "Goosebumps VIP"
7. Ku De Ta f/ Nikki Amber - "Just Be Good To Me" (Taim Remix)
8. Diskord - "Shook"
9. Notion - "Apocalypse"
10. Bushbaby - "Fire"
11. Jack Junior - "CNDY VIP"
12. Wittyboy - "Working With"
13. CLB - "Badman"
14. Shaun Dean - "D Double VIP"
15. AC Slater f/ Bassboy, Scrufizzer - "All About Paper" (Taiki Nulight Remix)
16. CLB - "Mine" f/ Lucati

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