Dubstep

[Johnny Rebel]

OK... My identity outside of the boards here isn't a big secret.

I'm a youth pastor and I spend the majority of my time in youth culture. However, the older I get the more difficult this is becoming.

The music genre dubstep has officially landed in my sleepy little town in West Virginia and I don't have a fricken' clue as to where to begin. I understand that it primarily originated in the UK and has branched out here in the states with people like Deadmau5 and Skrillex.

What should I be listening to? Who would be the leaders of the whole dubstep movement?

[Michael Callahan]

I'm not sure how much you know so I'm gonna' give you my comprehensive guide to dubstep. It's a style of electronic music that comes from South London and features excessive amounts of bass and repetitive drum beats. It's been around and evolving since the late 90's and is characteristic by its "futuristic" and "industrial" sound.

To be able to hold a conversation about dubstep, the people you HAVE to know about are Skrillex, Deadmau5, Chase + Status and Nero. These are the big four at the moment (Nero are sort of taking a backseat lately though which is a shame as they're the best of the bunch) and if you want to look like you know your dubstep onions you have to know these guys. The rest of the artists of Dubstep (such as DJ Fresh, Flux Pavillion and Doctor P) are kind of important but you won't get called out of touch and old school for not knowing them, but those are the main four you really need to know.

Dubstep itself is largely influential for its core artists, but beyond the sort of "mainstream" dubstep artists that everyone loves, there is a massive culture of Dubstep Remixes which feature usually the intro to a classic song as per standard until the part where it starts to pick up tempo. Then there there's a massive bassy drop and that usual wobble bass sound you get in dubstep tracks.

The best dubstep remix by far is the Ministry of Sound remix of "Bonkers" by Dizzee Rascal, with a honorable second place to "We Like To Party" by the Vengaboys.

The culture itself doesn't really have an associated image like say emo or heavy metal does. I know punks, preps and pretty much people from all walks of life that are into this dubstep craze and it's not really limited to a particular social clique or style.

The key elements that people like about it are the "Wobble Bass" (listen to any dubstep track and you'll hear it, the classic impersonation of a dubstep track is to say "Wub Wub Wub Wub" repeatedly at varying speeds and pitches) and "the drop" when the proper scratchy remix part gets kicked in.

That's about all you need to know really.

For your listening pleasure, I've selected six of the best (imo) dubstep songs to listen to, to get a feel for what it's all about;

"Bonkers" by Dizzee Rascal (Ministry of Sound Compilation Album Remix



Chase & Status' "Blind Faith"



"We Like To Party" by The Vengaboys (Dubstep Remix



"Antidote" by Swedish House Mafia (theme song for Benny Horrowitz)



"Cinema" by Skrillex (theme song of our own beloved Chris Hart)



"Guilt" by Nero

[Jake Venom]

I've always been confused on the difference between Dubstep and say, Techno or House.

[Michael Callahan]

Techno these days is generally a catch-all term for sort of standard, repetitive electronic music but it's more industrial, electronic sounding music whereas House is a halfway between Techno and Trance which aims to make natural sounding instruments, electronically to give it a less sharp, electronic sound. Trance on the otherhand is all the other way and is very soothing in its sound and tends to hold notes for ages.

[Jake Venom]

Apr 23, 2012 15:56:15 GMT -4 Michael Callahan said:

Techno these days is generally a catch-all term for sort of standard, repetitive electronic music but it's more industrial, electronic sounding music whereas House is a halfway between Techno and Trance which aims to make natural sounding instruments, electronically to give it a less sharp, electronic sound. Trance on the otherhand is all the other way and is very soothing in its sound and tends to hold notes for ages.

I guess it just takes some time, and listening, to sort out what's what.

For example, I listen to a lot of Screamo, Hardcore, Post-Hardcore, Metalcore, etc. And to a lot of people, they sound very similar, but once you listen to the different genres, you can definitely begin to hear the differences in the styles.

BTW, thanks for posting some of the Dubstep songs! I've been wondering what exactly Dubstep is/sounds like.

[B.A. Styles]

Thank goodness someone clarified it because I know little about "Dubstep." In fact, the only dubstep I've listened to is "Zeldastep" by Ephixa, lol.

[Michael Callahan]

In my teens I was a born and bred die-hard metalhead but as I come into my late teens (I turn 20 next year. That's a horrific thought) I started to branch out into psy and goa trance, brain dance, electro, techno, all the good stuff. My taste tendrils have spread so far I'm almost taken aback when I look at how narrow my old iPod playlist is.

[Smash INC]

I'll say this before anything else, dubstep is not about "the drop." I've got no issues with "the drop" but I don't exclusively listen to dubstep for that. Right now it is probably the biggest issue involving people that hate the genre or those who have limited knowledge of the roots of the music. It reminds me of the whole drum & bass kiddie phase where they could only ever mention Pendulum because Pendulum were famous. The same thing is happening now with Skrillex and dubstep. The best analogy I can make is talking about wrestling but only ever mentioning the last year of WWE, you'd be missing out on everything else.

Dubstep to me is like a joining of Jamaican dub and 2-step, there are other interpretations of the genere which are probably more accurate but that has always worked for me.

"Brostep" might be a word that crops up, it basically is a slur against the style that relies on wubwubwub and massive drops.

Skrillex is a polarising figure in dubstep and is very much entry-level in terms of knowing about the artists/groups within the genere. Yes, he is mainstream but at the cost of turning the genere into something that people assume is all about them massive bassline drops, word. The track mentioned is probably his best but the source track was fairly solid in the first place. I'm not a big fan of Skrillex as you might tell.

Deadmau5 only started doing dubstep recently (to my knowledge) and the more famous songs from him are generally more aligned with techno and house. Chase & Status would be hard to corner into one genre anyhow, but the track listed is supposed to reference 90s' club music more than dubstep. They do a variety of genres so they're not the best reference point for dubstep despite being a fantastic group.

Nero are good as well but somewhat hard to classify since their style is fairly unique. Dubstep is certainly involved but there is a massive influx of electro, house and drum & bass. the track listed is a definite example of dubstep though.

DJ fresh is drum & bass primarily. Flux Pavilion is a great example of dubstep with the massive drops that are inventive. Doctor P is someone I'm not familiar with so I'll take Callahan's word on that.

In terms of what I think you should give a listen, pick a couple or a few of these and see how you feel. I won't clog up the thread with Youtube videos but these can all be found there:

Skream - Exothermic Reaction
Benga ft Coki - Night
Mt Eden - Sierra Leone
Digital Mystikz - Anti War Dub
Mala - Alicia
Plastician ft Lethal B - Funeral Vibes (Plastician used to be called Plastic Man)
Magnetic Man - I Need Air (Magnetic Man is actually a trio comprised of Skream, Benga and Artwork)
Katy B - Katy on a Mission (Katy B is probably the face of mainstream/accessible dubstep in some ways)
Ms Dynamite - Neva Soft (Ms Dynamite is much more established as a garage artist, this is a rarity of sorts)
UKFDubstep, a Youtube Channel that covers a lot.
Rinse FM, former pirate radio station that got granted a radio licence. Can be found at rinse.fm

Well... there is one video that would actually cover the basics

[Smash INC]

Damn I must've spent some time writing that with the replies that have been posted inbetween.

[Michael Callahan]

This is my favourite electronic song right now.

[Jason Cashe]

Hmm...I'm gonna back away slowly..

[The Soul Of Philly]

I'm sorry, but dubstep is terrible, I understand why people like it though, but let Dave Grohl say it for me



Any idiot can take parts of songs and put new music to it, really, half the idiots at my high school did it, sure, Shrillex and the rest of them are the most artistic of the bunch, but again, any idiot can do this with a computer. People who "create" dubstep don't really create anything.

That all said, I don't mind it when someone like Tech N9ne raps over it

As a pastor, I hope you condemn this and anyone who listened to it to hell. "Thou shall not Listening to Dubstep" should be the 11th commandment.

[goodburn]

Rebel, don't be the guy asking what he should listen to...

Or else you turn into this guy.

[[ManiC]]

Aphex Twin > Dubstep.

Seriously, I can listen to, and generally do listen to almost anything (ranging from the blackest of black metal, through techno through to Brit-Pop) but Dubstep is the one music style I just cannot get into (Save for Skream, I like a few of his tracks).

[Kevin Dahlia]

Really Kane? I first discovered this new wave of North American "Brostep" dubstep (Skrillex, Kill the Noise, Big Chocolate, Ephixia) from partying. Drunk or blitzed, the bass-driven grooves just get me moving, haha. I love it.

Perhaps peculiarly, I don't quite enjoy actually Dubstep. At-least the early, first wave stuff.

Really pushed me into the IDM/EDM genre as well.

But I'll be damned if anyone denies this being the greatest bass drop, ever(!);

[Kevin Dahlia]

Jun 6, 2012 20:43:56 GMT -4 The Soul Of Philly said:

any idiot can do this with a computer. People who "create" dubstep don't really create anything.

As someone who dabbles in the art of mixing, I have to say, that's absurdly inaccurate and disrespectful.

www.Audiotool.com

There you are sir. Make me a dubstep song. Good luck using that Low Frequency Oscillator. Hope you don't mind spending hours upon hours to write an approximation of 28 seconds of a song.

As someone who writes Progressive Death Metal songs, and mixes EDM, I have to say, the mixing takes a lot more time.

[[ManiC]]

Brett, you know I think Dubstep's shite.
I'm pretty sure you also know I don't drink, smoke nor do drugs and haven't for about 9 months.
Time consumption =/= talent

My main gripe with Dubstep is that it is to EDM/IDM what Metalcore/Deathcore is to Metal. Bass drops are breakdowns and equally as pointless when it comes to song structure.

In conclusion:

[The Soul Of Philly]

Jun 22, 2012 12:55:36 GMT -4 [ManiC] said:

Time consumption =/= talent

It takes me alot of time to take a shit after a big lunch, doesn't me I'm a talented shitter

It takes Nic Cage alot of time to be in a movie, doesn't mean he's a talented actor

I mean, like any other art, you're going to have people who are better at it than others, but a talented guy cutting parts of songs and putting them together and then adding WUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUB to it is only as talented as the college guy whose been experimenting with his guitar for the last 3 years of his life.

I will say this, if they just made beats for people, I wouldn't mind dubsteb "artists"

[Kevin Dahlia]

I never directly stated time = talent. What I'm rather inferring is the fact that time and work goes into the composition of 'brostep'.

What both of you seem to be having a real issue with in the misinterpretation of what the genre itself is. There is a substantial difference between remixing; chopping up a song and adding drops, and actually making a dubstep song. i.e, mixing the entire thing from scratch.

And while time =/= talent, more time spent = better. If you disagree (Kane) I will point you to Into the Moat. Remember what happened to their last LP, the one they spent NO time on, compared to the LP before that, which they spent a LOT of time on?

In terms of bassdrops Kane, I've actually made numerous post on FB saying that bassdrops have become equivalent to the crutch that breakdowns in the core genres. Bugger off if you haven't seen them. I'm fairly certain you liked one of them.

My main gripe with the arguments being presented is that it takes no talent. Of all IDM/EDM, I'd easily say brostep/complextro/NA Dubstep (whatever) is by far the hardest. Just because, the actual building of that bassdrop is extremely difficult and time consuming. The insinuation that 'any idiot can do it' is an unbelievable hyperbole. And once again, if you believe this: www.audiotool.com

^
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go make me a dubstep song that "any idiot can make" then.
I realize you don't need to be able to DO something to make criticism of it, but to say ANYONE can do it, kind of destroy's that defence.

[[ManiC]]

I never claimed anyone can do it, I recorded some bass for a friend of mine who turned it into a dubstep track for his music technology course, so in aware it takes time, my argument is that it is shite.

I also disagree with more time = better.
This is definitely confusing necessary and sufficient condition, correlation not causation ( from your example) and a hasty generalisation.