Everyone talks about grime...what about 4/4?

jeffthedeaf

Active member
Obviously grime is the "in-thing" right now and rightly so, but there is also a thriving 4/4 scene out there. You could say very much rising from the ashes of their predecessors are some very good (technically and track-wise) producers out there right now. My personal selections are Duncan Powell, Delinquents, Misty Dubs, Artifact and a couple of others bubbling underneath.

Anyone with any thoughts or is this a bleeps-and-bass board only?
 

gabriel

The Heatwave
bit of an off-topic but this is something that i've needed to get off my chest for a while now...

*pedant alert*

is it just me that finds it annoying the way the term '4/4' is used? grimy garage and pretty much ALL contemporary music is 4/4 (apart from the occasional 6/8 ballad e.g. unchained melody, that crazy indian rhythmic stuff and some other things i can't think of).

i always refer to dancehall rhythms that go boom-boom-boom-boom rather than boom-boom-clap as 'four to the floor' though it's a bit of a mouthful. any other suitable term we could come up with?

*end pedant alert*

btw not really into the 4/4 side of garage though the occasional thing lights me up a bit... having said that, the same is true of my attitude to the grimy stuff though i like the bashment-style vocals more
 

cooper

Well-known member
xiquet said:
i always refer to dancehall rhythms that go boom-boom-boom-boom rather than boom-boom-clap as 'four to the floor' though it's a bit of a mouthful. any other suitable term we could come up with?

i agree and have found this annoying for years. personally i prefer 4x4, "four by four" since it's easier to say and makes sense - four kicks by four beats.

the new 4x4 stuff is ok but hardly new exciting music - nothing i've heard from these guys strays too far from the dem 2 / todd edwards / ice cream template - even mj cole's new stuff (and 4 years ago i would have thought he could do no wrong!) sounds just like his old releases to me. it's pleasant for a while, but all the shuffles and clickety syncopation just sounds muddy to me over a big system now that 2-step->grime has moved on from that.
 
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Omaar

Guest
If someone could please invent a shorthand musical language for describing where kicks and snares fall within a bar ....
 
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Omaar

Guest
Actually I just remembered that a drum teacher I once had used something like:

1-e-And-a 2-e-And-a 3-e-And-a 4-e-And-a

for 4/4 beats (not to be confused with 4x4 beats)

But I have no idea how that would work when a beat is shuffled like with garage.

I wish there was more exciting stuff coming out in this area, cos most of the grime I've heard is a bit dark and heavy for me. I hope I don't get kicked off dissensus for saying that ;) Checked out some misty dubs stuff but wasn't that thrilled :(
 
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Omaar

Guest
yeah sorry that was a little unclear - I meant for use in an actual conversation, or on a discussion board - a language that you can either speak or type
 

jeffthedeaf

Active member
Sometimes I think some of you take the concept of music and stretch it a liiiitttle too far....

Personally I enjoy it, its nice to see some quality garage back in its original form. Can't beat a good breakdown and a funky bline, MJ Cole is king of those at present. But fair enough, I guess it isn't "cutting edge" enough for you peeps!
 

redcrescent

Well-known member
Omaar said:
yeah sorry that was a little unclear - I meant for use in an actual conversation, or on a discussion board - a language that you can either speak or type
I guess you'd have to sing it or tap it out on the tabletop, both of which are impossible on an online forum! Maybe do an approximation of drum notation, like an online guitar tab.
 
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