Photo by Steve Gerrard

Emalkay is Birmingham’s shining bass purveyor, a producer that focuses on creating earth-rattling beats within the dubstep spectrum. Now as of late, I’ve kind of strayed from the “tear-out” end of dubstep – but I truly feel Emalkay represents my favorite aspects of that side of the scene. Yes, he can be lumped into the ‘filthier’ end of things, but this producer does not compromise his sound in hopes of melting listeners faces off.

With an assortment of electronic flavors, Emalkay produces a dubstep sound that is deeply intertwined with several predominant influences. Many of his synth samples emit an electro resonance and many of his drum samples reflect an admiration for hip-hop. His tracks are riddled with bass-weight, but he has a smooth way of presenting these beefy tunes… check his track below, “Frequency” which came out early 2006 off of Boka Records.

Now Emalkay’s true rise to fame followed the release of his smasher, “When I Look At You” – which featured a ‘call-and-response’ vibe between the low end and synth play (you can scope that one below). Not only did this track establish his worth as his premier on Caspa’s Dub Police imprint, but it also instantly propelled the producer into the upper echelon of dubstep producers. The track received plays from DJs across the world and garnered high acclaim from tastemakers worldwide – even Pitchfork dug it.. surprising, I know.

After his splash with “When I Look At You”, Emalkay continued his tear by following the release with a string of bangers – 2009′s “Explicit” was an undeniably heavy production, which was B-sided by another huge tune in “Heroics“.

This arsenal of heavy-hitting tracks continued to reveal Emalkay’s potential as a long lasting producer in the scene. After an extensive touring regimen, he came back swinging with another serious split on Dub Police – this time around he aimed for a more danceable sound with “Crusader”, which gave a new age spin to the vibe of early Drum&Bass jams.

This thick rumbler not only destroyed all available dancefloors, but it stood as a prime example of Emalkay’s far reaching capabilities as a more versatile player in the scene’s community. Below you can find the track accompanied by a promo video pieced together from a selection of shots from the artist’s live shows.

Before the end of last year, the producer provided a track that has quickly become one of the more highly anticipated forthcoming releases of the new year. The track, “Fabrication”, has been rinsed on numerous radio shows and within countless DJ sets since last November, but has yet to receive any proper notification on it’s potential due date.

An absolute proper tune, this one will continue to turn heads once it is officially unleashed. Give it a listen below, from a clip of the track provided by the producer himself…

Time and time again, Emalkay has proven his worth as an integral part of the dubstep community – his unrelenting innovation and dedication to production value separates him from his peers. While he may not be as flashy, aggressive, or popular as some of his competition, he most definitely has left a lasting impression on the scene – and continues to do so with each of his strong (and varying) releases.

- McG