Looking back on the myriad of ways that the genre now known quite loosely as ‘bass music’ has mutated, one of the key figures in its evolution would have to be Bristol’s Rob Ellis, better known simply as Pinch. His fascination with what the outer limits of the dub sound can achieve, has made him a distinct figure within the fluid group of like-minded dubstep musicians that defined the so-called Bristol sound.

In 2003, a Kode9 set at London’s seminal FWD>> became the stepping-stone into dubstep that inspired him to start the first pure dubstep night outside of FWD>>, Subloaded, in his hometown. With the city’s love of dub and long musical lineage, plus Pinch’s dedication to the importance of the actual sound, it quickly formed a dedicated community and became a yardstick by which other nascent events were measured.

This had all been driven by a key moment in his own musical evolution which as he explains, “I lost interest in D&B and started buying minimal Basic Channel style techno, garage, grime and electronica instead – trying to mix them up together,” pre-empting the dominant sound of 4/4 dub-techno embraced by today’s crop of young producers, like Hessle Audio, who regularly cite the Bristol sound as a big influence. This embrace of a starker, dubbier sound became the seed from where his Tectonic label grew, and by championing artists like 2562, led to his eventual release of work with dub legend and King Tubby apprentice, Scientist.

His recent FABRICLIVE offering comes hot on the heels of mixes from Pearson Sound and an artist with whom he’s just recently released a collaborative album on Honest Jon’s, Shackleton. These are all producers who work in a similar vein, that is, impeccable attention to sound detail, continual experimentation with rhythm whilst always maintaining a definitive ‘sound’ which can be traced throughout all their production.

View his full discography on Discogs here:  http://www.discogs.com/artist/Pinch+%282%29