Adventure Club is Committed to 140 BPM
The Canadian dubstep producers stick to what they know.
After waiting over an hour to be taken backstage to interview Adventure Club, I received a text from someone who introduced himself only as “Shaggy.” He told me to meet him to right of the stage if I wanted a chance to speak with the Canadian producers. I pushed through an eclectic, neon crowd and caught the eye of a man with a thick beard and an electric blue hat with the brim bent up. Shaggy waved me in and we hustled to the back of The Howlin Wolf. I was then introduced to Leighton James and Christian Srigley, the technically gifted producers that make up Adventure Club.
I’ve been a fan of the duo’s music since they erupted on the scene with a dubstep remix of “Crave You” in 2011. Over the past year, I hadn’t heard any standout tracks, but a little over a week ago, they released an original song, “Fade.” With support from Zak Waters, the pair reconnected with the sound that first got people's attention. When I asked them about it, Srigley said, “It’s nice to have a sound to go back to.”
“Fade” has got such a good response that the duo plans to “revamp old projects that didn’t work,” Srigley said, and hold on to making music that clocks in at a speedy 140 BPM. It’s a bold strategy considering how most well-known dubstep producers including Skrillex are moving in other directions.
Adventure Club, by Justin Picard
Adventure Club uses the program Cakewalk for its production work, which is unusual. Ableton and Logic have become the industry standard for more DJs and dubstep producers.
“I’ve always used Cakewalk, and once you understand DAWs, you realize they’re like a different language,” Srigley said. "With practice, you can get really good at speaking that language.” He similarly took a homemade approach to learn how to program drum tracks and synths, getting much of what he needed to know from instructional YouTube videos.
Srigley looks up to Flux Pavilion and Skrillex, and the duo shares a common background in hardcore punk with the latter. Sonny Moore--Skrillex's real name--was a lead singer for From First to Last, and Srigley and James played in a screamo together before breaking off and starting Adventure Club.
“I think dubstep draws so many screamo fans because of the structural similarities--especially in the hardcore breakdowns,” Srigley mused. He then took a swig of his Red Bull and offered me a double shot of Jaeger. After we’d knocked them back, he started to tell me about one of his favorite songs, “Sleep With One Eye Open (Tek-One Remix),” but duty called and he was pulled to the stage before I could hear more. I was only disappointed for a moment before the room began to vibrate from the wobbling basslines. I quickly poured myself one last Jaegerbomb and ran to the stage to see the Quebeckers prove that 140 BPM is here to stay.
