Rusko

with an upcoming collaboration EP with Cypress Hill on the horizon (the lead track of which can be yours, in exchange for your email address) i thought that now would be a perfect time to take a closer look at the musical output of Rusko.

fans of throbbing basslines will already be well aware of the impact Rusko has had on the musical landscape of dance over the last few years, yet even i was surprised quite how far reaching his influence had been.

firing up raves and hype-raising blogs with the harder edged dubstep that superseded the sparse atmospherics pioneered by the likes of Burial, Rusko was part of the charge that forged the fledgling niche genre into wider territories and onto wider recognition.

with a full length album released on Diplo's Mad Decent label in 2010, which was bolstered by the likes of the squelching, bass-heavy Woo Boost and 2-step flavoured Hold On and a follow up album, Songs, being preceded by current single Somebody To Love, Rusko has proved himself to be an in demand producer and remixer, as evidenced on a 16 track remix collection that is available to download guilt free.

having tackled and retooled heavyweight dance acts like Basement Jaxx and The Prodigy, releasing a single that splices old skool jungle with the current incarnation of dubstep, and with the first taste of the Cypress Hill team-up already upon us, i was slightly bemused to find that there was one other collaboration that had slipped under my radar.

little did i know that Rusko had taken himself completely out of his comfort zone to give girl-next-door turned sex-kitten Pixie Lott a top ten hit in November of last year, shrugging off all expectations with a far funkier affair than we are used to that proves that he is certainly an adaptable beast that can even handle pop in his stride.