The Heatwave Talked Us Through the 10 Most Insane Jamaican Basslines Ever

Since 2003, Gabriel Heatwave and Benjamin D have been smashing parties as the Heatwave. While they play out in clubs incredibly regularly, it’s the August bank holiday weekend where they really get to live it up. As you can’t help have noticed by now, it’s very, very nearly time for the Notting Hill Carnival, and the Notting Hill Carnival means the Heatwave are coming to town.

The lads are hosting a party with the esteemed Island Records crew on Sunday and Monday, and they’ll be using the fearsome Different Strokes Soundsystem, an authentic, heavyweight Caribbean rig that boasts over 20 years’ carnival history. They’ll also be hosting their Hot Wuk party at Koko in Camden on Saturday night, so if you so wish, you can spend an entire weekend in the Heatwave’s company.

If that sounds up your street, why not tuck into the ten juiciest, thickest, deepest basslines in Jamaican musical history, handpicked by the boys themselves.

1. Punanny Riddim

It’s hard to explain how central to dancehall culture this riddim is. It’s played in every clash ever, it’s had more dubplates voiced on it than any other riddim—on a molecular level the vibrational frequency of this bassline is etched onto every single speaker cone on the island of Jamaica. Jamaican speaker boxes feel happy and content playing this rididm—everything else they just tolerate.

2. Charly Black & J Capri – Wine & Kotch

Hearing this tune loud on a fully rigged up soundsystem is insane—the weight and energy is endless.

3. Beenie Man – 100 Dollar Bag

Classic 90s ragga bassline—stabs create hype and sub mirrors the pattern at the low end. Very little room for improvement. Pretty much perfect.

4. Red Rat – Dwayne

Similar formula to the Beenie Man. Mountains of movement and bounce.

5. Cham – Jump Off

This is a new one from Dave Kelly—the man who blew the whole of Jamaica’s mind with his incredible string of productions in the late nineties. The bassline is actually mind boggling.

6. Damian Marley – Welcome To Jamrock

This tune sometimes gets overplayed but if you actually listen to the bassline, it’s incredible. Hip Hop blended with reggae—so robust and sturdy.

7. Super Cat – Mud Up

This is not even a walking bassline. It’s a bassline that’s gone on a jog after a coffee and stopped to chat up a girl on the way.

8. Terror Fabulous & Gary Minott – Yaga Yaga

If you hear this get played loud at carnival at four in the afternoon you get superpowers and you can actually levitate a bit.

9. Mad Cobra – Yush

If this bassline was human it would wear bleached out ripped up jeans

10. Spice/Alkaline – Boom Box Riddim

Solid and minimal piece of bass line science. This is one of the hardest riddims out of Jamaica in the last five years.

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