I conceptualised and produced a video series for Red Bull Music South Africa documenting Button Bashers, a monthly producer beat battle. The series followed each producer’s journey, showing how they flipped a provided sample into a finished track, culminating in a final showcase where their beats were judged and a winner was crowned.
Button Bashers is a monthly beat battle hosted by weekly hip-hop party Uppercut, created to scope out South Africa's most talented Beat Makers and DJs and to build a community in a space where ideas and skills are nourished and honed.
Founded by Matt Hichens and Luc Veermeer in 2013 they joined forces with Alvhin Adendorff and Stephan Viollier of Uppercut soon after to bring it to the Waiting Room. At the core of each battle is a sample which is given to the producers a week before the battle. In this week they get to chop, edit and flip this sample into a new track.
This video was produced and first appeared on Red Bull.
On the night of the battle the judges, selected from Button Bashers alumni, first play the original sample for the crowd before playing the new tracks from the four producers. Taking into account how well the sample was used and its originality, the judges then decide the winner, but if they can't agree it's down to how much noise the crowd makes for each producer.
A sample was handed out to 4 producers who will have one week to flip/rework the track and to play their version at the event. A winner will be decided on the night. This month features Damascvs, Kay Faith, Hawkword & Sumo Jac, a selection of Button Bashers alumni that showcase the variety of styles represented at Button Bashers.
One half of hip-hop duo The Word Is Uhh, Damascvs is a rapper and producer who views music as a spiritual undertaking. Layering chopped up drums, sampled loops and analog synths he creates an audio palette that is both danceable and meditative. With an organic feel and natural swing, his beats move like a living, breathing creature.
Going back to his underground hip hop roots, he approached his rework by building on top of loops from the original sample. Repitched and chopped, these loops were layered with a bassline and melodies played on his Roland Juno-60, a vintage analog synthesizer. To give the track some extra groove he also added some boom-bap drums. The result is a dreamy and slightly eerie, head-nod inducing track.
Hawkword are a production duo whose sample-heavy, hip hop infused, jazz influenced future beat sound was born four years ago. The name comes from their self-admitted awkwardness combined with the fact that they featured bird sounds in their first track ‘Hawk Swoops Again’. With releases on numerous labels including On A Break, Tokyo Women, Soultrade and Pop On Demand Music they’ve built a loyal online following.
By not taking themselves too seriously their tracks come across as natural and slightly playful. Approaching their rework from the cut ‘n paste angle, the chopped the sample up and rearranged it to form the foundation of their track. Adding strings, organs and dirty lead synths on top of broken drums their version is a bouncy flip of the original.
Kay Faith is an audio engineer and producer who has become the go to name for recording hip-hop in Cape Town. Having worked with the likes of Reason, Kwesta, Da Les, Tweezy, Youngsta, Ejay and Psykobeats her ear for mixing and mastering is critical yet fresh. Kay is a lover of local hip-hop and is passionate about elevating the music from her surrounding artists.
Having taught herself finger drumming she entered the world of production, with her recent debut mixtape ‘In Good Faith’ featuring her ranger as a producer as well her friends from the Cape Town hip-hop scene. Her rework saw her take the sample and slow it down to give it a slightly more laid back feeling, adding some booming 808s, heavily swung drums and fat bassline.
DJ and producer Sumo Jac has a long history in bass music, having explored its numerous sub-genres over the course of his almost decade long career. From drum n bass to dubstep and now grime, his love for sub-heavy music is evident. His most recent release ‘Sumo Jac and Frenz Volume 1’ is a 6-track, collaboration driven EP featuring TehSynes, Adam De Smidt, DPlanet and Omar Morto and explores the sounds of grime, house and garage.
A member of Cape Town’s Lit Squad he helps curate events that aim to bring good vibes through soulful music. For his rework he sliced the sample into tiny slivers and used these bits to create new sounds out of which he built the basslines and melody. With two distinct breaks, the track goes on a sonic journey with the listener never sure what to expect next.
With each producer bringing a different style and approaching the sample from a different angle, it’s not going to be an easy decision for the judges. Keep your eyes on this page to find out who won the battle.
These videos were produced and first appeared on Red Bull.
Friday the 10th of November saw Button Bashers return to Uppercut at the Waiting Room in Cape Town for their monthly beat battle which pits four producers against each other. Given the same sample, each producer had a week to rework it into something new.
From the analog synth-driven production of Damascvs, to the 808-heavy boom-bap rework by Kay Faith, to Sumo Jac's sub-bass heavy grime track & Hawkword's layered cut & paste flip, it was a close battle, but in the end it was Hawkword's creative take on the sample that earned them the win.
Watch the producers play their flip for the crowd & find out who won this edition of Button Bashers
This video was produced and first appeared on Red Bull.