Alfie Treatment

I'm very excited to be introducing you to a new artist called Alfie. Before I go on, I should say that he is just sixteen years old. Cheap Thrills DJ Detboi stuck a link to Alfie's Soundcloud on Facebook, and my first listen reminded me of my first time hearing James Blake -- except this guy lives up to James Blake's hype more than James Blake does.

This is more like the melodic dubstep we were told to expect. The spacing and artistry often missing from dubstep (but present in the work of Blake and his luminaries) is here, but so is the driving sub bass. On "Treatment," which Alfie has genrified as "warehouse," you can hear the sort of bass usually reserved for industrial drills.

The other half of his debut EP, "So Good," takes a less bassy, more soul-esque route, drawing comparisons with the likes of Julio Bashmore and Ramadanman, pursuing the the future garage genre.

The fact that this EP is a debut is pretty astounding, especially since it comes from a 16-year-old kid -- that makes it even more impressive. Alfie's Treatment EP definitely throws him in the mix as someone to watch out for in the future of dubstep.