Wednesday hails the return of Proper Dosage, the regular bass-music weekly at Respectable Street in downtown West Palm Beach. (We're almost sure it's pretty much the only low-end-heavy party on that strip, in fact.) Besides appearances from regulars like Somejerk and the Reazin, this week's edition also features a slot by Adrianna "Gooddroid" Moschides, one of the few visible female DJs and producers in a male-heavy scene.
She's also the co-founder of local label Dubporn Records, an imprint devoted to all things dubby -- not just with "step" at the end -- from South Florida and beyond. (Some recent releases even feature producers from as far away as Poland!)
We caught up with Gooddroid recently for a quick Q&A on Dubporn's past, present, and future. Read what she had to say to get schooled on one of the most interesting local labels currently going.
Gooddroid, with Somejerk, the Reazin, and others. 10 p.m. Wednesday,
February 8, at the Proper Dosage party at Respectable Street Cafe, 518
Clematis St., West Palm Beach. Admission is free before 11 p.m.; age 21
and up.
County Grind: When did the label officially start, and what was its first release?
Gooddroid: We officially started in March 2011 and our first release was April 26, Gray Ghost's Ternary EP.
You had been DJing for a while before starting the label. What kind of stuff were you playing and where?
I've been DJing for eight years now. I started playing deep house music and hip-hop at high school parties and random events. I was raised on a lot of dub reggae and goth/industrial music, so I went the goth route for a while, playing at the Mausoleum and Salvation and back home in New York City.
In 2005 I started playing at a dubstep weekly that Frank Mendez had asked me to be resident at, called Roots at Soho Lounge; it was a part of the Infrastructure party. It was the first weekly of its kind. We really tried with the party for a while and people just weren't getting it. Fast-forward seven years, and it's totally different.
Your label releases a lot more than just straight-up dubstep -- you've used genre terms like "future bass," "post step," "future garage," and more to describe some recent releases. Are you afraid of or concerned about getting lumped in with dubstep and people's (often incorrect) perceptions of it?
This is actually something I was discussing a few weeks ago with my business partner, Lauren. I was definitely worried that we were getting lumped and overlooked due to the Skrillexes of the world giving dubstep a mainstream definition. So I spoke with a few friends and got their take on it. Dub is a genre within itself and a culture I love deeply.
You're a female working in and around music subgenres that are super male-dominated. Has that affected your dealings with people at all regarding the label? Are you more inclined to release music by female artists?
Being a female hasn't really affected my DJing career or dealing with artists at all, actually, and I'm very lucky to have a badass female business partner and best friend that helps me with everything day to day. We currently have 21 artists signed worldwide and actually one of them is female, the very talented Inanna. I'm definitely seeking out more female artists at the moment though; the hunt is on.
What recent or upcoming releases are you most excited about with the label? When and where are your various artists playing out in Miami?
As far as Miami artists, we recently released the fantastic Dirt EP from Chalk, for which we had a release party at the Vagabond -- thanks to Jason Jimenez and the Shake crew. These guys are amazing. You can catch Kairo of Chalk playing at the W, Bardot, and Cafeina.
We'll be releasing El Topo's EP soon as well. We're holding a Dubporn Records showcase on March 23, and a venue will be announced soon.
We were also lucky enough to pick up a release from Fau & Deam, a team of ultratalented Polish producers. They're releasing their Life Act EP on our label on January 30. This is also our first vinyl release! I just got the test presses in, and it sounds amazing. After that I've got the Illegitimate Children EP coming out as well as the Shemo Neat EP.
I'll be at Proper Dosage on February 8 at Respectables, and I'm opening for Com Truise on February 11 at Bardot, in Miami. My very close friend Afro Monk, of AfroMonk.com fame, and I have started a downtempo, trip-hop, and lounge weekly at the Stage, in Miami, starting February 19. You'll be able to catch a lot of local Dubporn artists like Adames, Gray Ghost, and our not-so-local artists performing there. Shemo Neat will be there February 26.
Also, I have to throw this in there, I've started a sublabel of sorts called Night Porter Recordings. Its gonna be a shoegaze/art rock/ambient/experimental/noise/black metal label. Keep an ear out!
