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Tes La Rok - Finland's Finest Dubstepper

Author: 3D
Monday, November 3, 2008

Helsinki dubstep producer Tes La Rok may have made a name for himself on the international scene with his remix of Uncle Sam’s Round The World Girls, but through his own label he’s been rather prolific with originals. You’ll hear a lot of them when he drops in to play Void. 3D had a chat to the hooded hero.
 
Is there much of a dubstep scene in Finland- What about when you began producing dubstep tracks yourself-
Yes man, Helsinki is crazy on dubstep like all Europe. We have around 700 people for each show. It’s cold, you know, in Helsinki so people like a warm club, warm beats and heaps of bass. Before dubstep I liked garage tunes, and I played some back then but dubstep I got 100 per cent involved in. To me dubstep reminds me of the golden age of jungle; lots of direction to go as a producer, so many doors yet to open. It’s all about music and talented producers and musicians.

You were producing drum n bass as Dice, with Darma1. Was it a natural progression into dubstep-
Not natural really, some bits are similar but not many. Like [there’s] not really any reggae or dub in drum n bass these days. Before there was, [but] it was called jungle and a lot more open and a lot closer to dubstep. Yes, I did write drum n bass but not much similar to what I do now. I was young and dubstep wasn’t even invented yet!
 
You run dubstep raves, a forum dedicated to the style, and host a radioshow. What is it you love the most about dubstep-
The groove, man. This music has so much groove when done good – you have to move. When you get a wicked bass line and some vocals by a wicked MC you’ve got a good tune. But not only this, there is more 2-step beats with heaps of groove and funk too – listen to some new Martyn tunes or early Horsepower or more reggae vibe like Cotti or me. All different...
 
You’ve your own label, Noppa Recordings. Can you tell us about some of the artists featured on the label-

The next 12 Inch contains both my tunes. Bwooy and Dub Ting: two deep and dark rollers. More dub-side! After that two talented up and coming artists from Finland, Late & Desto.

What distinguishes your music from your peers’-

Maybe my vocal stuff lately does a bit. Maybe like similar styles of Cotti, Rusko and Caspa but we all love heaps of reggae and dub and we hear it in our music. It’s only natural. Maybe some of my early tunes are darker like Benga but I still do a bit of stuff like this, definitely more for dancefloor now though.
 
 You’re playing VOID in Sydney, which has been championing dubstep here for a while now. How have you found your reception in the various locations you’ve visited outside of Europe-
Yeah I see Void’s last tours are heavy man. Australia is really far for us but we know there is big scene there and internet makes everything close. Everyone’s who already played in Sydney says it’s sick so I am looking forward to it. A lot of people have hit me on MySpace to say they’re looking forward to my beats in Australia.

Do you have an artist album in the works-
Well it’s my next big project my album which I’m working on right now. Don’t know when it’s ready … maybe 2009 or 2010, who knows! I will be playing the finished tunes in Sydney and maybe I’ll get another hit like Round the World Girls!

WHO: Tes La Rok
WHAT: Plays VOID at Phoenix Bar
WHEN: Friday 7 November
MORE: voidsound.com

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