Dubstep

[Sick Boy]

igore the idiots and add in funky and hyperdub and things look rosy.

They definitely look rosy - they just don't look at lot like dubstep.

 

[Blackdown]

They definitely look rosy - they just don't look at lot like dubstep.

well now, that just depends on how you see things, dont it!

 

[matmustard]

'you stupid cunt' ep available now. don't all thank me at once.

If you'd told me we'd get from Kode's The Blues to this, in less than 4 short years, I would have called you.. well, a stupid cunt.* Mala, Kode & a couple of Bristolians exempted, it is sadly now Donestep.

Martin - I'll let you and Dusk in, providing you can come with the truly great Funky that I know you have in you.

 

[mms]

'you stupid cunt' ep available now. don't all thank me at once.

If you'd told me we'd get from Kode's The Blues to this, in less than 4 short years, I would have called you.. well, a stupid cunt.* Mala, Kode & a couple of Bristolians exempted, it is sadly now Donestep.

Martin - I'll let you and Dusk in, providing you can come with the truly great Funky that I know you have in you.

i don't reckon it's done at all personally, i think that it's still thriving where producers have decided to do what they want. there is probably going to be some fantastic stuff coming out this year too that we don't even know about, it's an old genre, pretty much 7 years or so, but it renewed parts of itself last year and will carry on doing so as long as the drums + bass and anything inbetween formula is still a good un.
Notable that some of the producers making the most impressive stuff don't see themselves as being dubstep really (zomby springs to mind) or come from backgrounds outside the scene completley, like ikonika and her hardcore band/dilla influences. Or come in and out of the genre, like rustie, it was funny the other day some one decreed to me that burial wasn't dubstep..

 

[Sick Boy]

drums + bass

That combination is ringing a bell...

 

[benjybars]

there's basically so much good music being made by people more or less associated with the dubstep scene.

whether or not you want to call it dubstep is up to you i guess.

if people ask i tend to just call it 'bass music'.

 

[Alfons]

True story - to the hipster crowd wobble is indistinguishable from big room Ram/Playaz style dnb which is generally sneered at as chav scum music..
Tbh i think Rusko's a bit of an anomaly within even the wobble subdivision - the Annie Mac/Switch patronage and ott photo shoot's are pretty far away from say N-Type, Cluekid or even Caspa

This is in London right? Ive seen the hipster-vice-magazine crowd go nuts to rusko type dubstep in other places, by dj's who were predominantly playing blog house type stuff (justice etc).

 

[Alfons]

there's basically so much good music being made by people more or less associated with the dubstep scene.

whether or not you want to call it dubstep is up to you i guess.

if people ask i tend to just call it 'bass music'.

has the mount kimbie thing coming on hotflush been discussed in this thread? I really like it, but is it "bass music"? (its not really dubstep is it).

 

[Sick Boy]

there's basically so much good music being made by people more or less associated with the dubstep scene.

whether or not you want to call it dubstep is up to you i guess.

if people ask i tend to just call it 'bass music'.

This is what I mean. I'm not debating the level of quality of tunes being produced in and around the dubstep scene at all. There has been some great stuff coming out, as Blackdown pointed out.

All I mean is that dubstep seems to be becoming increasingly inclusive. If it continues to do this (clamoring to define itself against the populist wobble stuff by welcoming in increasingly diverse producers) then the term dubstep isn't going to mean much in a short time. Especially if some of these fringe-dwelling people (like those on hyperdub) mature their sound and decide that they don't really feel like dubstep producers anymore.

Or if they ever did in the first place. Samiyam? Funky? Both of these things have nothing to do with dubstep at all.

 

[hint]

I see the likes of Gemmy and Joker as the start of something rather than the end. They're making Dubstep that doesn't lean so heavily on D'n'B, or even Garage. It's exciting and inspirational.

If Funky gets deliberately turned into "2005 Dubstep - 2009 Edition" it will be a shame.

 

[matmustard]

If Funky gets deliberately turned into "2005 Dubstep - 2009 Edition" it will be a shame.

Expand, please. Specifically the 'deliberately' bit..

 

[mms]

This is what I mean. I'm not debating the level of quality of tunes being produced in and around the dubstep scene at all. There has been some great stuff coming out, as Blackdown pointed out.

All I mean is that dubstep seems to be becoming increasingly inclusive. If it continues to do this (clamoring to define itself against the populist wobble stuff by welcoming in increasingly diverse producers) then the term dubstep isn't going to mean much in a short time. Especially if some of these fringe-dwelling people (like those on hyperdub) mature their sound and decide that they don't really feel like dubstep producers anymore.

Or if they ever did in the first place. Samiyam? Funky? Both of these things have nothing to do with dubstep at all.

that sounds good to me, as i said dubstep only needs drums and bass, it doesn't matter that zomby, rustie and others aren't dubstep, or don't define themselves, the more of that the better, infact, i would like maverick producers of all genres of music to defy what they get defined as or define themselves, also gemmy and joker aren't really dubstep they're a kinda hybrid form between grime dubstep and dr dre - purple funk aren't they?, as long as it opens up that's great i think, the more producers that push beyond what the current expectations from inside the scene and outside the better.

 

[Poet for Hire]

I see the likes of Gemmy and Joker as the start of something rather than the end. They're making Dubstep that doesn't lean so heavily on D'n'B, or even Garage. It's exciting and inspirational.

If Funky gets deliberately turned into "2005 Dubstep - 2009 Edition" it will be a shame.

Gemmy, Joker and Guido make instrumental grime, not dubstep.

There are plenty of tracks in funky that sound a bit like 2005 dubstep e.g. sirens but the rhythms have such a different energy that I don't see how this is an issue at all. The problem isnt 2005 dubstep, or funky becoming like it, the problem is funky becoming like shit dubstep or shit grime or getting swamp by shit uk vocalists who cant write decent songs. these are all pressing dangers for funky.

 

[Blackdown]

Martin - I'll let you and Dusk in, providing you can come with the truly great Funky that I know you have in you.

haha. tbh i dont see the point of us "going funky". i'm happy to play it as and when but it's 8bpm from our set, we can do the same ideas at 138 and still interact with grime/wonk at 140.

 

[Corpsey]

I got into dubstep in 2006 and at that time it seemed to have a particular sound/aesthetic/mood to it which unified tunes as different as 'Anti War Dub', 'Request Line' and 'Mud'... minimal elements, sparse melodies, warm/forceful sub bass, a laidback, stoned, slow-mo swing/swagger... actually I can't really put my finger on it without using the word 'vibe' (which I don't really know the meaning of, even while knowing the meaning of). Maybe it IS something to do with mood/attitude, and how that relates to grooves and rhythms? edit: 'seriousness' is a ridiculous word to use here lol

Anyway, I don't really hear the same thing in much of the new stuff (for better or worse), except for in the tunes of a few producers like Quest and Silkie, Mala, RSD... I say 'for better or worse' because I don't really hear it in Joker tunes at all, though Joker is to me one of the best producers in the scene (or, in fact - full stop). Also, in stuff like 'Midnight Oil' I hear that old vibe being carried through in music which is aesthetically very different from the 2006 stuff. And in stuff which sounds extremely similar to 2005/6 stuff (Kryptic Minds springs to mind), I don't really hear/feel it at all. I suppose when you're analysing music you really want to talk about tangible technical details to justify your feelings towards it, but maybe feeling/mood is more important than the standard analysis allows for?

 

[mms]

I got into dubstep in 2006 and at that time it seemed to have a particular sound/aesthetic/mood to it which unified tunes as different as 'Anti War Dub', 'Request Line' and 'Mud'... minimal elements, sparse melodies, warm/forceful sub bass, a laidback, stoned, slow-mo swing/swagger... actually I can't really put my finger on it without using the word 'vibe' (which I don't really know the meaning of, even while knowing the meaning of). Maybe it IS something to do with mood/attitude, and how that relates to grooves and rhythms? edit: 'seriousness' is a ridiculous word to use here lol

Anyway, I don't really hear the same thing in much of the new stuff (for better or worse), except for in the tunes of a few producers like Quest and Silkie, Mala, RSD... I say 'for better or worse' because I don't really hear it in Joker tunes at all, though Joker is to me one of the best producers in the scene (or, in fact - full stop). Also, in stuff like 'Midnight Oil' I hear that old vibe being carried through in music which is aesthetically very different from the 2006 stuff. And in stuff which sounds extremely similar to 2005/6 stuff (Kryptic Minds springs to mind), I don't really hear/feel it at all. I suppose when you're analysing music you really want to talk about tangible technical details to justify your feelings towards it, but maybe feeling/mood is more important than the standard analysis allows for?

Sounds good to me, sounds like it's moved on in 3 years, which is pretty positive.

 

[hint]

Expand, please. Specifically the 'deliberately' bit..

I think Funky is sometimes pushed as the new refuge for people disillusioned with Dubstep.

Dubstep seemed to follow the evolution of D'n'B so closely, albeit at an accelerated pace. If Funky does the same, people will be moaning about Wobble Funky in 5 years' time.

 

[Blackdown]

wow, just listen to this hive of positive debate! something healthy must be happening. it'll be Wot Do You Call It: dubstep in a sec.

 

[mms]

I think Funky is sometimes pushed as the new refuge for people disillusioned with Dubstep.

Dubstep seemed to follow the evolution of D'n'B so closely, albeit at an accelerated pace. If Funky does the same, people will be moaning about Wobble Funky in 5 years' time.

house is a bit too wide a genre already for that to happen though, plus it's already worldwide and it's 20 years old - funky itself is almost a genre where producers or whatever are either copying or evolving from their favorite strictly rhythm and defected records that happen to sound like grime + house. i can see funky being copted into house more, which is fine with me.

 

[Sick Boy]

I think Funky is sometimes pushed as the new refuge for people disillusioned with Dubstep.

It's more the refuge for people disillusioned with grime, really. More power to the DJ, girls in the club, etc. A lot of the producers and DJs are ex-grime producers and DJs or have strong links to that crowd. I can see why a lot of dubsteppers would be flocking towards it though (e.g. Geeneus)