After helping propagate the dubstep genre since 2009 as Run DMT, John D Robbins has officially returned to bass music with a brand alter ego. On Friday, March 3, the legendary dubstep don celebrated his arrival as deemster with his debut EP Topsail through Gravitas Recordings, marking his first official release since 2017.
Spanning across five mesmerizing tracks, Topsail serves as an ode to both his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina, and the spirit that guided his sound at the start of his career.
Blending everything from trip hop to jungle, breaks, and more, deemster is able to create a sound that’s both nostalgic and new. From the dreamy ambiance of Ebb to the tranquility of Johnny Was A Surfer, Topsail is a sonic experience that’s highly captivating and cinematic in nature.
“This record is a love letter to the place where I live and to the kind of music that got me interested in producing in the first place. This project is also a reflection of my love for cinema, as I approach each record like a director approaches a film, where style and atmosphere dictate the creative direction rather than a specific genre, deemster explained. “It’s also a collection of vibes that have lived in my head rent-free since I was a teenager; trip hop, jungle, breaks, etc, were the soundtrack to most of my life, and I am thrilled to lay them out on a single project. The deemster project is where my heart is.”
Alongside the EP, deemster also released a mind-melting AI visualizer synchronized to the record for an even more stimulating sonic experience, which you can check out below.
You can stream Topsail HERE!
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