Caspa is dubstep’s greatest hope in efforts to break into the American mainstream. While the thought of it may disturb many, this West Londoner has been making all the right moves (and remixes) to do so.
His roster reads like an eclectic playlist, having redone tracks by such artists as Deadmau5, Miike Snow, Depeche Mode, TC, Breakage, Kid Sister, Redman, and even Ludacris for his track “How Low” (marking the first official dubstep remix of a major U.S. rapper). It’s hard to imagine the roster of talent Caspa will be working with in the coming year won’t get bigger and bigger along with his popularity stateside.
However, his true potential is proven in the variety of his own productions. Caspa established himself early in the ‘developing’ stages of dubstep with his distinct style and uncanny ability to crank out one dancefloor smasher after another. Frequently teamed up with his partner in crime, Rusko, the two have established a pretty high standard early in the game.
The emergence of Caspa’s label, Dub Police, provided an outlet for similar producers to make a name for themselves, as well. With it seen as one of the trail blazing labels of the scene, Caspa and Dub Police undoubtedly paved the way for many of today’s brightest dubstep stars (in particular, artists associated with labels like Circus Records, Rottun Recordings, and SMOG Records).
From my perspective, the most attractive aspect of Caspa has been witnessing his growth and development as an artist. He is continually tweaking his approaches in production and trying to figure out where he’ll go next is almost as fun as listening to what he’s doing currently.
Early in his career, he aimed to knock you on your ass with each track. His songs were packed with violent sythns, wise-cracking Cockney samples, and heavy-hitting bass rumble. Case in point, his work with Rusko on “Bread Get Bun” (Clip above).
However his latest work has a ‘hands up’ techno-house vibe to it – especially his remix of Swedish House Mafia’s single “One” and his most recent single, “Love Never Dies”, featuring London-based crooner, Mr. Hudson.
Keep an eye on this dude, he is a major player in the game and consistently makes waves with each of his releases. Regardless of his musical direction and inspiration, Caspa will continue to dictate where the bar is set in terms of innovation in the dubstep realm. And if one was to wager on an artist to transcend the genre as a whole, Caspa would be as close to as a sure-shot as they come.
- McG
