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The Dubstep Thread


scatterbrain
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So I'm wondering to what degree this UK dance music has penetrated the userbase of OCR? Discussion on DJs, producers, labels, releases, etc goes here, I guess!

A little history for those who may be as yet unaware of the style...

Dubstep is a form of electronic dance music that originated in the UK (specifically London) around 2002.

Throughout the early-mid 90s, jungle had been the prevailing underground dance music genre, but as it gradually became more regimented and developed into what is now known as 'drum & bass', UK garage began to gain popularity. UK garage (derived from American garage music which started in New York in the 1980s) was often played at jungle raves in the second room, providing party-goers with a more chilled-out alternative; 'something that the ladies could dance to'.

Towards the turn of the millennium, UK garage began a trend away from the 'girl-next-door' vocal samples and rolling beats and towards a darker ambience, drawing inspiration from grime. Artists such as Oris Jay, Steve Gurley, Zed Bias and El-B were amongst the most forward-thinking UK garage producers making this new, darker, sound.

Soon other producers started picking up on this new sound, and dubstep was born. The regular dubstep club night FWD>> started soon after, with tracks played by Hatcha, Youngsta, Kode9, Skream, Benga, Horsepower Productions and others.

By about 2005, dubstep had gained significant popularity. Its core style had deviated from the garage rhythms somewhat, yet maintained emphasis on sub-bass (bass below 90Hz), dark atmosphere and a tempo of approximately 140bpm. BBC Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs became an unlikely figure in the dubstep movement, featuring top grime and dubstep producers on her show.

Since 2006, the genre has gained more popularity and has, since 2008, partly broken down away from its dark atmosphere and split into an innumerable series of variations and styles, all loosely described by the term 'dubstep'.

A few tracks in somewhat chronological order...

El-B - Buck & Bury

Skream - Midnight Request Line - the first big track to cross over to the UK mainstream

Pinch - Qawwali

Joker - Digidesign

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I have heard A LOT of dubstep at clubs over th epast couple years. Its not really my cup of tea (I'm a funkstyle dancer, which doesn't work so well with dubstep), but its cool to listen to for short amounts of time (gets repetitve after a while). I was at a Reid Speed show just a couple weeks ago that was pretty cool. The bass was so intense you could feel it in every wall and on every floor of the building. She puts on a heck of a show.

It seems that dubstep is making waves in the club scene here now. I'm hearing more and more of it.

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dubstep is really big at my college and my area in general, i think. a lot of the parties i go to have dj's who play it pretty much exclusively. i was way against it when i first heard it a few years ago, but it's grown on me a lot. it's a pretty diverse genre (at least in comparison to the stereotypical sound most people associate it with). most of the stuff that gets played around here is a little different from the links in the first post. it's more along these lines:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Io4wWwsmXg

big, "dirty" drops, more dancefloor style stuff. i've been really into burial lately, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlEkvbRmfrA

i think dubstep gets a pretty shitty rep from a lot of people, which i can sympathize with, but there's some really good stuff out there. i'd love to see a good remix done in the style.

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I have heard A LOT of dubstep at clubs over th epast couple years. Its not really my cup of tea (I'm a funkstyle dancer, which doesn't work so well with dubstep), but its cool to listen to for short amounts of time (gets repetitve after a while). I was at a Reid Speed show just a couple weeks ago that was pretty cool. The bass was so intense you could feel it in every wall and on every floor of the building. She puts on a heck of a show.

It seems that dubstep is making waves in the club scene here now. I'm hearing more and more of it.

Hmm that's odd. If you're a funkstyle dancer, then dubstep should be right up your alley. Part of what makes a song funky is a broken beat and conventional dubstep usually has a broken beat. Even electro house dub can be funky. Although the beat is mostly a 4x4 kick pattern of some sorts, the bass wobbles can still be manipulated to have a funky feel.

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Hmm that's odd. If you're a funkstyle dancer, then dubstep should be right up your alley. Part of what makes a song funky is a broken beat and conventional dubstep usually has a broken beat. Even electro house dub can be funky. Although the beat is mostly a 4x4 kick pattern of some sorts, the bass wobbles can still be manipulated to have a funky feel.

I guess I should have been a bit more specific. I agree with you. It can have a little bit of funky feel to it (probably part of why i still like listenign to it), but while part of that funky sound is a broken beat, there's a lot more to it than that. I find that popping works pretty well with dubstep, but locking (my preference) doesn't. The slower tempo, repetitive nature, and the 4x4 kick pattern don't really work for me. I usually mix popping, and some slower locking which goes ok. I'm sure there are some poppers, lockers, etc for whom it is right up their alley. Its probably more of a personal taste in my case.

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