Youngsta is one of the figureheads of dubstep; a long-running resident at scene-defining club night FWD>> and the DJ who first played some of the genre’s most-loved anthems,
he continues to be a hugely active figure in dubstep’s development. His weekly show on Rinse FM draws deep for new music, helping to expose and break talented new producers, and the founding ethics that defined dubstep in its early years still remain at the heart of his DJ set.
He’s also famed for his distinct aesthetic – selecting beats that are at once colossally
heavy and beautifully intricate, claustrophobic yet with a keen ear for space and silence. “The sound is just me,” he says, explaining that he’s hesitant to pigeonhole the music he plays. In the last couple of years, as the deeper aspects of dubstep – those rooted strongly in sound system culture – have coalesced into their own distinct, autonomous scene, Youngsta has re-emerged as a figurehead for a new generation of producers. The
likes of J:Kenzo, Proxima, Icicle, VIVEK and Nomine are all closely linked with Youngsta himself, forming a new vanguard in an increasingly unique, vibrant scene. Contact – a new club night curated by Youngsta himself – is set to place these
producers and others in the context of the wider dance community that surrounds
them. So it’s perhaps surprising that it took until 2012 – eleven years since FWD>> first
opened its doors – for Youngsta’s debut solo 12′′ to arrive on Tempa, featuring the
tracks ‘Destruction’ and ‘Poseidon’.