Dubstep triggers either immediate body-jostling or a dismissive smirk.
Either way, it's impossible not to react to Philadelphia producer
Starkey's approach to the genre, which is more akin to skirting it.
Making bass-heavy music is the easy part, but adding enough pop twists
to keep it compelling is something else altogether. Starkey released his
second album, Ear Drums and Black Holes, in April via Planet
Mu, and nobody's smirking now.
With nods to U.K. grime and a wealth
of downtempo funk, Starkey "started on some street shit, took it to
the club," to quote the album's "Club Games." Each track explores
different textures by combining the rawest Atari-influenced bleeps with
more-sophisticated synths. And don't forget about the throbbing,
pounding, thundering, wobbling, toenail-chattering bass. Starkey's stop
at Respectable is his last on U.S. soil before he jets off for a date in
Greece.
Starkey. 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 7, at Respectable Street, 518 Clematis
St., West Palm Beach. Tickets cost $10. Call 561-832-9999, or click here.