Dark side of the tune part 1

Read Ben's Dark side of the tune part 2

We were discussing - at some point or other, driving back from somewhere in the street light - the glories and the pitfalls of 'dark' music. Shady, political, mysterious, haunting - music that does not immediately make you want to grab a lovely member of the opposite sex, but floods you with different, equally excellent urges. Throwing bricks at the police for example, kicking in shop windows, sulking in a corners. That sort of thing.

The Heatwave has always pushed the upbeat, the big, the bad, the juggling. it's about trying to play the music that makes people start smiling and jumping around. Or shaking and whining around. Whatever. But happy music. Filter it out a bit, select the stuff you like, but generally it's just a good time party vibe.

There's obviously a flipside to all that. Some of my favourite bashement and reggae songs are absolutely not 'dancehall-friendly', far more likely to clear the floor than anything. When I do play that stuff out it's like a countdown until, "can you play something we can dance to"...

Personally, I love that shit. The unfriendly, uncommercial, unpleasant rawness. Music that doesn't smother you in cotton wool and tell you it's all going to be fine, or give you a candlelit massage safely tucked up in your lovely comfort zone.

Here is a Sizzla tune I was obsessed with for a while, and a Bounty Killer song which also helps to illustrate the point.

MP3: Sizzla - Love Is All

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MP3: Bounty Killer - Look

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