When did dubstep lose the plot?
- Thread starter john eden
- Start date
bassbeyondreason
Chtonic Fatigue Syndrome
I support "Chainsaw Caligraphy" in theory, it's like those old rave tunes with the whistling kettles and slamming doors, I just wish it didn't sound so...shit.
same with cockney thug, where the sample is taken from this pisstake cockney 'ardman character in an Armando Iannucci show...
i dont mind chainsaw calligraphy so much, i mean its pretty shallow, but my main problem with wobble is the monotony of a whole set, coupled with the actuall physical pain of hearing it on a soundsystem, i mean a whole set of subby halfstep may be samey at times but can at best induce this sort of tranced state of mind, which certainly isnt what wobble is attempting.
however, i can still see some potential in coki's stuff, that incredibly thick overtone rich dissonant synth he uses, its on the cusp of being jump up and hypnagogic to me, which is pretty amazing, i feel its like some black metal or merzbow where the propulsion gets smeared out into this oppressive atmosphere. maybe a bit masochistic for some peoples tastes still.
bassbeyondreason
Chtonic Fatigue Syndrome
Yeah, I definitely think some Coki tunes (like "Road Rage") as well as some stuff I've heard by Stenchman and others, are pushing the wobble into some interesting, psychedelic realms. Just wish the drums would get weirder.
absolutely! i think coki is in a different league - no matter how aggressive his music its still got this weird dub influence and a kind of hypnotic heaviness to it. it's also pretty deranged and thc drenched. unlike the coked up, beer fuelled sound of caspa et al these days!
most importantly it hasn't got that weedy "farting" mid range sound that a lot of producers are using that borders on comical, like aww nein says its a much thicker, richer sound that he sculpts in a really loose way, almost deliberately "wrong" but with real precision and momentum.
also he's very versatile, he can work with all kinds of sounds. some of his dubs around the time of spongebob were crazily deep, like some endless dark tunnel..
i think he gets unfairly pigeonholed - to be honest i think both him, mala and loefah are musical geniuses but that's me
wise
bare BARE BONES
I thought that sample was from Lock Stock?
CrowleyHead
Well-known member
i think he gets unfairly pigeonholed - to be honest i think both him, mala and loefah are musical geniuses but that's me
It's so awkward to see Coki disdain. I mean, I don't care for his stuff, but, the man's one of the people who made tunes like fucking "Haunted"! And then somebody actually said in a review of Mala live:
"The Intelligent Half Of Digital Mystikz"
worse yet
"He even made Coki's 'Spongebob' seem less cringe-worthy"
That's a really big WTF!? for me. So what, Coki's the sidekick goonman now, because he has tunes w/ wobble?
mistersloane
heavy heavy monster sound
I didn't like dubstep until it started getting wobbly. I know it's not cool to say but I just didn't, I thought it was boring stoned wank, and I still do to a certain degree. Sixth form.
Got bored of wobble after about three tunes, but it's been Ben UFO really and that Hessle lot who totally turned my head around, and thanks for that, it's been a fun education for me, and I just think it's getting better and better now - not the wobble stuff but it's quite nice to be around squatters and that and for them not to play relentless fucking drill n bass; wobble's been quite a relief really, I think you have to cut people slack about what subculture they are from, it's all about context.
Got bored of wobble after about three tunes, but it's been Ben UFO really and that Hessle lot who totally turned my head around, and thanks for that, it's been a fun education for me, and I just think it's getting better and better now - not the wobble stuff but it's quite nice to be around squatters and that and for them not to play relentless fucking drill n bass; wobble's been quite a relief really, I think you have to cut people slack about what subculture they are from, it's all about context.
benjybars
village elder.
nah definitely from the armando ianucci show.
Corpsey
bandz ahoy
Wobble tunes are usually played in sets rammed full of other wobble tunes. As mad and inventive as the oscillations are, you always know exactly what's coming - see: Kode 9 'vs' Plastician at DMZ a while ago - never knew what Kode was gonna play next, didn't know most of the tunes Plastician played and knew exactly how each one would sound before the kick drum fill came in and it dropped WAGAWAGAWAGA
Some DJs vary it up enough... you can appreciate wobble tunes more if they're not part of a 40 wobbler set. But if you were really into that sound I can imagine it could easily be all you want to hear - there's plenty to be said for DJ sets that just hit full throttle the whole way through. I can't sneer at that cos I remember watching DNB Djs playing identikit banger after banger and going absolutely mental to it...
Just not what I'm on with dubstep though.
Also a lot of those tunes are just SHIT, no matter how you cut it.
Some DJs vary it up enough... you can appreciate wobble tunes more if they're not part of a 40 wobbler set. But if you were really into that sound I can imagine it could easily be all you want to hear - there's plenty to be said for DJ sets that just hit full throttle the whole way through. I can't sneer at that cos I remember watching DNB Djs playing identikit banger after banger and going absolutely mental to it...
Just not what I'm on with dubstep though.
Also a lot of those tunes are just SHIT, no matter how you cut it.
nomos
Administrator
Yeah agreed on all of that. I'm just saying that people keep getting hung up on whether wobbling in itself is a good or bad thing. It could just as well have been another overcoded aggro/macho sound that took hold - e.g. Distance's metal stuff instead of Coki clones. The interesting/frustrating thing is the condition that produced it: dubstep's fan/producer/DJ base exploded and at the same time the music's creative ambitions radically contracted. The influx of a new fans had a distinctly juvenile and aggressive character, on the whole. Can opener wobbles ended up being their weapon of choice for taking over the space and rinsing out whatever they found threatening. It was also a cash cow (in relative terms) for labels. So, this metallic wobble as a sound could have remained this fun, idiosyncratic thing that DJs use to weird up a set. Instead it became a symptom of that whole cultural shift - a plague on the decks (when you get night after night of the stuff with barely any variation) and signifier of everything behind it.
he thinks its going to kill off dubstep? as if. maybe kill off dubstep for HIM.
haha. same here (apart from a few tunes here and there). though it was more wonky that made me like it more.
haha. same here (apart from a few tunes here and there). though it was more wonky that made me like it more.