DUBSTEP- breaking news, gossip, slander, lies etc

[nomos]

cross-posting this but...

http://www.rinsefm.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13516

the reincarnation of dubplate.net?

any of you tempa-connected lot have details?

 

[Grievous Angel]

Obviously I loved it and it WENT RIGHT OFF. That crowd was absolutely gagging for it, really well mixed too. And even though it was way too full for my taste - it was pretty hard to get space to dance - there was still that fabulously happy sweet DMZ vibe. Other than one bloke who hadn't clocked that you're really not supposed to make space by throwing your weight around, and the knobhead bouncer. I reckon there will be twice as many people trying to get in next time cos every new DMZer is bound to tell all their mates how much fun it was - and it was rammed all the way to the end of the Mala / Loefah set, so they were clearly well into it.

Kode 9's set was the most artful of the lot. Dropping Prince was a masterstroke (and demonstrated how sadly lacking in swing too much halfstep is). I think Loe pulled it up for him. 9's set structure thereafter was really good, lots of chuntering breaky details. And his "On the Corner" t-shirt is the bizzle, I want one.

Mala and Loefah were fab, nice bit of sleng teng action at the start, plus all the big tunes you wanted (could maybe have done with a few more new ones?). The system was to my ears very obviously much louder and deeper for them, on the stage the low end made all your bits wobble. There was a lot of soul starting to come through, more so on Mala's bits, which I would have liked more of, that "belaeric" stuff.

Skream much better than I thought he would be -- class tunes. His stuff seems mastered louder and with much clearer mid range (that "plasticky"vibe) than the other big producers. But enough nerdery -- the three things I loved most about Skream's set was first, the sheer bouncy energy of it, second, the magnificent hooky tunefulness of it, and last, those vocals. Add them together and it was just huge fun. And he's got some gorgeous melodies nestling in those tunes.

Downsides? Well, there's still too many monotone, dull halfsteppers around. I'm aching to hear more vocals on dubstep records. There were a few too many rewinds. And I didn't quite get that incredible spiritual sense of flight that I got from seeing Mala play a complete two and half hour set solo. I see what Gek Opel means about the flow of Mala / Loefah.

But none of those minor criticisms matter. It was a great night; I'd go so far as to say it was a legendary night. I loved it.

Big up Marcus for going with me and putting me up for the night (errr morning).

 

[Grievous Angel]

yup really fun night. that mala track that switches into triplets and then halftimes the beats is percussively amazing.

Yeah, sounded like two completely seperate time signatures coming in and out of sync over 16 bars... very clever programming.

 

[UFO over easy]

Downsides? Well, there's still too many monotone, dull halfsteppers around.

I find the whole halfstep thing really frustrating, but incredibly interesting. It's so difficult to place what makes tracks like Mud, Ruffage, Horror Show, Third Choice rmx etc such fantastic tracks compared to the lacklustre efforts from other producers who are aiming at the same sort of vibe, as superficially everything is the same. When there's so few elements its impossible to explain why the tunes work, or why they don't, which must make them incredibly difficult to make.

Having said that, when it's done well, 'monotone halfsteppas' are still my favourite aspect of dubstep, and I thought Skreams darker, more minimal efforts were far more exciting than the bouncier, overly melodic numbers. The deep concentration remix he played at the start of his set absolutely blew me away!

 

[nomos]

I find the whole halfstep thing really frustrating, but incredibly interesting. It's so difficult to place what makes tracks like Mud, Ruffage, Horror Show, Third Choice rmx etc such fantastic tracks compared to the lacklustre efforts from other producers who are aiming at the same sort of vibe, as superficially everything is the same. When there's so few elements its impossible to explain why the tunes work, or why they don't, which must make them incredibly difficult to make.

my feelings exactly. people trying to capture that feel and missing, en masse, are really bringing the dirge. i don't mind it as a subset of the sound but it's threatening to become THE sound.

 

[nomos]

re: the new Ammunition forum I mentioned above, luke.envoy says it's a hoax. kind of weird hoax if you ask me.

 

[the undisputed truth]

has anyone please got the link to the ammunition fwd podcast ???

thing about the wobblestep is if it strays too far from that then it runs the risk of not being *dubstep* and alienating the scenesters

we need more slaughter mobsters, search n destroyers, mark 1's and oris jays not lo budget wobbleclones of Loefah, DMZ & K9...IMHO

 

[shudder]

slightly anal question: i just picked up the dubstep allstars vol. 3 CD in nyc and it has a different cover (a slab of vinyl being manufactured) from what i've seen elsewhere (close up shot of the "9 samurai" record). another difference is the front cover "mix by kode 9..." credit is also very faint, can hardly read it.

wonder if i have an early edition? a late edition? a boot?

my edition (ordered online off of caiman.com from the amazon marketplace) is the same as yours.

 

[nomos]

@ hell_sd

will this do? feed://feeds.feedburner.com/Fwd

edit - the forward site: http://ilovefwd.blogspot.com/

 

[the undisputed truth]

^^that'll do nicely thanks...

 

[Blackdown]

Kode 9's set was the most artful of the lot. Dropping Prince was a masterstroke (and demonstrated how sadly lacking in swing too much halfstep is). I think Loe pulled it up for him.

no that was me. going on that kinda different in a dubstep club needed to be rewarded

Re halfstep i wrote something about that over the weekend: here. i dont want to diss the style totally, because i think in its own right it's probably the most progressive and daringly experimental of all the dubstep flavours, but if it becomes the norm and gets done badly by people other than loe etc, that would be a step too far.

 

[elgato]

we need more slaughter mobsters, search n destroyers, mark 1's and oris jays not lo budget wobbleclones of Loefah, DMZ & K9...IMHO

Im intrigued as to which tracks are responsible for the sins being discussed...admittedly i feel the same way, that quality is dropping somewhere, and monotony is creeping in, but then i try to work out exactly what im thinking about and i struggle, especially if i think about the tunes that the djs are gonna be playing at DMZ. Who are the loefah clones? And anyone trying to clone DMZ are (a) in trouble (b) gonna come out with something far from the 'halfstep dirge'. Likewise with kode9.

As for those in the quote, I feel that they themselves (no disrespect intended) have been responsible for a variable output, sometimes really really hitting the spot, but for me, sometimes coming with some very average material, to the point where 2nd wave producers in their vein would most likely make more of a hash of it than many of the 'halfstep clones'. It goes without saying that copyists are gonna fall short of the mark, but this seems to be the case no matter which style they look to emulate.

 

[elgato]

i think in its own right it's probably the most progressive and daringly experimental of all the dubstep flavours

Thats it man, spot on. Its important that people dont let any of the poorer material push them away from what is in essence wonderful.

 

[Grievous Angel]

no that was me. going on that kinda different in a dubstep club needed to be rewarded

Your chest.

Re halfstep i wrote something about that over the weekend: here.

Noted and commented. Thought it was excellent, wanted to say so in the queue before you took off to be a continental media star .

i dont want to diss the style totally, because i think in its own right it's probably the most progressive and daringly experimental of all the dubstep flavours, but if it becomes the norm and gets done badly by people other than loe etc, that would be a step too far.

Yes. It really is too easy to make dull halfstep. It would be OK if nobody bought it. I think we need the main players to, quite simply, release more records.

I also happen to think that Hotflush is becoming a very useful oasis of interesting, groovy, progressive dubstep. They're beginning to remind me of R&S.

And everything will change when Lata is released.

 

[elgato]

In my opinion hotflush have been smashing it since the beginning...Nomad, Candyfloss, Knowledge, Angel, Brood/Sunshine, Sparkle...all phenomenal tunes, departing from the central blueprint but retaining the excitement and progression offered by the sound / movement. Watch for Gravious as well, his tunes are on a very interesting tip from what ive heard. Paul Rose is an obvious dan, never scared to draw for tunes others would dismiss as too far from the norm, but retaining a focused creative vision and continuity.

About the dullness again though, i do feel that its easy to make dull/lacklustre tunes in any style.

In my opinion, lata will change little, as wonderful a record as it is, i think its going to preach to the converted as it were...i think that those wanting 'souless'/empty music as it were will continue to pursue that and those who currently fail to see the subtlety and emotional depth of other sections of the scene will continue to do so. There are already examples of material in the scene which is pushing similar boundaries and i dont think the direction the scene is arguably moving in can be reversed, i just think it will split and take different paths. Im still interested for someone to tell me of music they heard at dmz which exhibited these qualities (/deficiencies) though, it seems rather to me that the undesirable aspects of the music are still coming from splinter groups, not yet playing a role in the 'mainstream'

 

[Grievous Angel]

^^^ Great post elegato...

Im still interested for someone to tell me of music they heard at dmz which exhibited these qualities (/deficiencies) '

Too much of N-Type's set had stiff beats, monotone basslines that just wobbled a bit, and overall lacked that propulsive, rocking groove that "proper" halfstep has in abundance.

it seems rather to me that the undesirable aspects of the music are still coming from splinter groups, not yet playing a role in the 'mainstream

Probably true, I just fear what will happen if the d&b crowd comes in and swamps the current post-garage crowd, and if d&b producers, who apparently think that making halfstep is "easy", start churning out soul-less metallic dirges that are lapped up by their old fans. Yuck.

 

[elgato]

Couldnt agree more, but while in a perfect world its undesirable for the likes of us, i just dont see it as too much of a problem. It seems to me most likely that that style/movement will become very popular, lots of people will probably lap it up, but it wont necessarily come to dominate the scene we know and love... this is what im saying about splinters....most dmz-loving djs arent going to start playing dirge, whatever masses of people want. And i dont think most producers who found dubstep with big apple, early tempa, dmz, hot flush etc (not to mention those raised on ghost, shelflife, locked on etc...and even further back into garage) are going to start producing it either.

I am also of the opinion that fusion is necessary for development...i dont reckon mala would be making some of the music he does if he hadnt listened to a bit of techno and house in his time, loefah with hip-hop, blackdown with bhangra, classical indian, desi etc, kode 9 and pinch with basic channel and chain reaction...etc etc, we could go on...so i guess you have to take the rough with the smooth, accept some mutations which are not to your liking in exchange for the inspiration which drives those that you do love...take what you love, follow those you love, and try to forget what a shame it is that its no longer the golden age where everyone shares the same values and everything hits the mark

I dont mean to sound preachy by the way, the written word can be deceptive...im working a lot of these thoughts through as i speak!

On a seperate but related note, i think that its unfair to place headhunter under that banner (at least for now) the material ive heard from him has a definite softness and emotive quality. I havent heard enough from the others to say what i feel, although i do know that i dont rate it at all that some of them are saying dubstep is easy to make, it speaks volumes really. As you say, anyone, even i, can make a shit dubstep tune (but then i can make a shit dnb tune easy enough as well)...

 

[tryptych]

Bit late on, but I really enjoyed myself at DMZ on saturday. Still got a stiff neck from nodding today...

Like everyone else has said, I thought Kode 9 was the most interesting, and some bits of Mala and Loefah's set did drag a bit.

Funny that so many Dissensians were there - were you all hanging out together or roaming the place in lonely ones and twos (like I was ).

Also, what was the tune that Skream played third from last in his set - that sounded (to my ears) like an old 2 step track?

 

[UFO over easy]

Too much of N-Type's set had stiff beats, monotone basslines that just wobbled a bit, and overall lacked that propulsive, rocking groove that "proper" halfstep has in abundance.

Yep, exactly. Iron Soul/Kromestar is responsible for most of the beats he played.

The thing that rescued the set for me was the ridiculously good mixing

 

[Blackdown]

Thats it man, spot on. Its important that people dont let any of the poorer material push them away from what is in essence wonderful.

it's not just the risk with a lot of halfstep being made badly, it's a lot of it being played. it is so down and skunked out that it can be too much sometimes. given it came through in 2004, i'm more into a mix of rhythms right now.