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I 111! M14 feature
Nightshade Family
ATHENS’ UNDERGROUND DUBSTEP RECORD LABEL AND COLLECTIVE
By Sam Lipkin editorial@flagpole.com
recent years as the Athens music
scene has steadily revived from the
blow of the pandemic, an outlier genre has
emerged as a contender for music commu
nities that put the local storied scene on the
national map: dubstep. One of the respon
sible entities for this is Nightshade Family,
the deep dubstep record label, DJ collective
and promotion company led by husband-
and-wife duo Dado and Curst.
Nightshade Family was officially cre
ated by artist and producer Dado in 2021
with the goal of providing guidance and
support to fellow artists, building com
munity through sound system events, and
pushing the roots of deep dubstep. As a
promotion company, the collective hosts
three different types of events: resident DJs
Izzy and Karezza run a free, all-skills-level
Open Decks night every other Thursday
at Mai Kai Kava Bar; Homegrown is a free,
monthly community building event show
casing different local and regional produc
ers and DJs of various genres; Nightshade
Family Presents are ticketed, curated events
showcasing national and international deep
dubstep producers.
Bringing this vision together, specifically
in Athens, has been a journey for Dado, who
grew up here with family in the music scene.
Dado worked at local venues and built a
resume around running sound and the tech
nical side of live music, but he was unable to
break through as the artist he wanted to be.
After Curst graduated from college, the cou
ple moved to Seattle when she received a job
opportunity, and Dado quickly fell into work
that aligned him with the DJ culture there.
“When I got to Seattle, I was ready to
play, and I was ready for a shot,” says Dado.
“The people that empowered me out there
were people of color. It was different than
it was here. There was a lot more diversity.
And so there was an opportunity for me to
be myself.”
In Seattle, Dado gained a working knowl
edge of how to build a sound system and a
vast network of national and international
dubstep artists. One such artist
that he considers a mentor is
Joe Nice, a DJ from Baltimore,
MD who is recognized as the
ambassador of the dubstep
sound in North America and
was the first person to host
dubstep nights in the U.S.
Educating both the wider com
munity and the artists about
the roots of dubstep, the differ
ence in UK-style deep dubstep
from what’s common in the
U.S. and the rich culture behind
the music is an important goal
of the Nightshade Family, and
figures like Joe Nice are inte
gral to this understanding.
The next Nightshade
Family Presents event is this
Saturday, Dec. 3 with Joe
Nice as the headlining DJ. Of
the collective’s three types of
events, this one is specifically
curated as an exploration of
the deep dubstep sound and
culture with the intent of
connecting the Athens com
munity to those around the world through
notable DJs. The most important element
of authentically portraying deep dubstep is
using proper sound systems that emphasize
the minimalist side of its production and
how it’s meant to be heard.
“The biggest misconception is that this
North American genre of music that pejora
tively has been called dubstep is what dub
step actually is,” says Joe Nice. “Dubstep is
bass, pace and space. [It] is a sound system
genre of music that is designed to be heard
on loud sound systems with smart speak
ers. I’ve seen considerably more sound sys
tems popping up that properly present the
music and properly represent the cultures.”
Sound system culture originates from
Jamaica, where dub (a precursor of dub
step, which came out of the UK) grew out
of late 1960s reggae as a new electronic
music style. Dubstep itself is a multicultural
creation that has experienced offshoots and
whitewashing that have created misconcep
tions about the genre or new genres entirely
removed from its origin. On a local level,
Nightshade Family is working to create a
community built on the foundation of the
genre in a city where dubstep has previously
lacked any organized support.
“Part of cultivating that culture is giving
people an opportunity to feel as if they
are a part of something that is bigger than
themselves and something that they can
feel personally invested in. That’s how you
create a culture, and that’s ultimately how
you create a sustainable community,” says
Joe Nice. “The dance music experience was
never meant to be just a one way trans
action where it’s ‘I’m the DJ, you’re the
customer.’ When I play and when I sit at my
desk and create, it is an extension of me.”
Beyond event production, Nightshade
Family is a record label that releases albums
from artists under the collective umbrella,
each featuring album art based on a differ
ent nightshade family plant chosen by the
artist. The Dec. 3 show at the 40 Watt Club
will be an album release party for Qilin’s
Clear Your Corners recent release, with
support from Ellwin and Guille. Limited
edition Nightshade Family merch will also
be available.
Building camaraderie and
healthy competition is at
the core of Dado’s vision for
Nightshade Family in hopes of
creating a platform that ele
vates everyone involved. Curst,
who is new to producing,
sees the future of Nightshade
Family involving more educa
tional opportunities for those
interested in learning how
to produce or don’t have the
proper equipment to practice
with, which is costly and often
a barrier to entry for the genre.
This year the collective has
created a growing connection
to the Atlanta scene as well,
running back-to-back nights of
shows in each city with touring
artists, and strengthening ties
with resident artists who have
moved from Athens to Atlanta
during that time.
“I realized I had done all this
work to become an artist and
empower myself, and all these
people that I had connected
myself with and my network, that I could
actually help artists that didn’t have struc
ture or somebody to speak for them here in
Athens,” says Dado. ©
WM0: Joe Nice, Qilin, Ellwin and Guille
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 3,9 p.m.-2 a.m.
WHERE: 40 Watt Club
HOW MUCH: $10
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