There is no question Brooklyn duo Sub Swara has been at the forefront of US dubstep for the past three years. Since 2007, Sub Swara founders Dhruva, Haj, and Sunder have played host to Mary Anne Hobbs, Poirer, and The Bug at their monthly club night, solidifying them first as tastemakers. Dhruva and newcomer Sharma now make up the production chapter of what is Sub Swara, having released their first album, Coup d’Yah, to critical acclaim in 2008. The Sub Swara sound is never easily pinned down—the duo has done a wide swath of unofficial and official remix work for everyone from Mos Def to Balkan Beat Box, but dubstep is certainly in the foreground. That said, Sub Swara’s second full-length Triggers, out November 9 on Low Motion Records, will showcase the duo’s increasing interest in live instrumentation and collaboration—album guests include Dead Prez, Lyrics Born, Kendra Foster of Parliament Funkadelic, and even session horns from the Antibalas Afrobeat crew. “Steam” is taken from the album, and it’s a thundering piece of percussive energy that brings to mind UK funky’s drum love and kuduro’s relentlessness, all before the track does an unexpected, albeit brief about-face into dubstep’s familiar shuffle.

SubSwara_Steam