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So, can someone please explain dubstep to me?

TheWoodShed

TheWoodShed

Sep 21, 2009
1,013
33
Columbus, Ohio
#1
Just to preface, this is NOT a slam against the genre. I believe there are only two kinds of music: good and bad. The genre from which it derives has little to do with that.

That said, I am sincerely interested in learing about this style of music. I am a 43 year old bassist, and maybe it is a generational thing but I just don't understand it. Yet, it hold some appeal to me that I have yet been able to define.
 
#2
I certainly can't speak for everyone else, but here's what turned me on to it:

I love techno/electronica/whatever-hell-you-want-to-call-it. But to the extent that there are any basslines in most techno, it's just friggin quarter-notes playing the root. Boring. Especially if you're trying to play techno in a live group. REALLY friggin boring for a bassist. But in dubstep, the bassline is the king. The entire song is built around a heavily modulated, distorted, effected bass line. Which makes it a TON of fun to play live.
 
#3
Dubstep is basically drum n bass at half tempo. I'm personally a fan of Liquid drum n bass artists like Commix Logistics etc. Both styles have basslines that drive the music. They both have drums that play snares on the two and four, and bass drums on the one and upbeat of three. Dj's are often intermixing these two genres now.

Also if you want to find good electronica like dubstep or drum n' bass, check out www.beatport.com You can listen to long samples from tons of music. Lots of us dj type people use it to find electronic sources of songs.
 
#4
My background is metal and I like industrial influenced metal like Fear Factory. It brings a nice flavor to the sounds, and it seems like a marriage there is possible. Maybe taking industrial in the evolutionary step would be to fuse a heavier dubsteb influence into it, or possible adding a heavily distorted guitar to a more dubstep based style.

bigchiefbc said:
I certainly can't speak for everyone else, but here's what turned me on to it:

I love techno/electronica/whatever-hell-you-want-to-call-it. But to the extent that there are any basslines in most techno, it's just friggin quarter-notes playing the root. Boring. Especially if you're trying to play techno in a live group. REALLY friggin boring for a bassist. But in dubstep, the bassline is the king. The entire song is built around a heavily modulated, distorted, effected bass line. Which makes it a TON of fun to play live.
Click to expand...
 
#5
Some really interesting stuff.

Ironically, i can't figure out why I like it but I think I am starting to realize part of the appeal for me: it's highly structured. At the same time though, it seems to get boring after a while. I mean, that's certainly not my final outlook on it, but for some reason as much as I like it I can't seem to listen for an entire song.

Mirios said:
Dubstep is basically drum n bass at half tempo. I'm personally a fan of Liquid drum n bass artists like Commix Logistics etc. Both styles have basslines that drive the music. They both have drums that play snares on the two and four, and bass drums on the one and upbeat of three. Dj's are often intermixing these two genres now.

Also if you want to find good electronica like dubstep or drum n' bass, check out www.beatport.com You can listen to long samples from tons of music. Lots of us dj type people use it to find electronic sources of songs.
Click to expand...
 
#6
This is a pretty funny website tracking the evolution of electronic music from Pink Floyd to trance, but I don't see dubstep in there. Maybe I missed it. Anyhow, it's worth a look and may cost you several hours of your life in browsing and listening to samples: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#8
Not wanting to sound patronising but do bear in mind you don't have to like it. :)

I really didn't like drum n bass when it became huge here in the UK in the '90s, to be honest I didn't like house music much at all. I did like old electro and big beat and hip-hop but this super high-tempo stuff and the ecstasy culture left me cold.

I think dubstep is much more interesting rhythmically and much more mature, I think generally the artists are working harder on it than with those old scenes that it sprang from.
 
#9
I'm about your age, WoodShed, and I also like to check out new types of music. I think dubstep is cool, but I also have trouble with characterizing it. Music, like any art, rarely fits into neat categories anyway, but in the last 15-20 years the variations in music styles have exploded to the point where trying to classify them becomes a futile exercise. I think the internet has had a big role in this. That link I posted shows some of the relationships between various types of modern music, and you see how ridiculous it is. The cool thing is the author's smart alec remarks and sense of humor really makes me laugh.
 
#10
Dubstep covers a massive range of music at the moment. I really like the garagey stuff of Burial, the jazzy stuff of Benga, the reggae influenced stuff of DJ /rupture, the moody atmospheric stuff of Kode9. Not so much into the generic wobbly bass though.
 
#13
kevteop said:
I think dubstep is much more interesting rhythmically and much more mature, I think generally the artists are working harder on it than with those old scenes that it sprang from.
Click to expand...

To be fair, those scenes that dubstep came from have progressed in their own right. The new drum n bass has changed as much from the 90' style as dubstep has. It has become much more mature and I bet the producers of the new drum n bass would argue about the dubstep is being "worked on harder". Especially since these producers are often the same people. Noisia is an example of a great producer doing both styles. There are others he is just the first that comes to mind.
 
#14
Dubstep was a term originally used to describe an offshoot of 2-step Garage (examples here: YouTube - ‪UK Garage Mix - Old Skool 2 Step Anthems‬‏) that was influenced by dub mixing style (hence the name).

This early dubstep was essentially a reduced version of UK Garage with the emphasis on the bass and drums, sounding a little bit like this: YouTube - ‪Benga - Skank‬‏

The style progressed a new offshoot known as half-step began to emerge. This featured the half-time feel that is prevalent in almost all dubstep today. Something like this: YouTube - ‪D1-Dubstep Warz‬‏ or this: YouTube - ‪Plastician - Japan‬‏

As this sound progressed, the bass programming became more intricate, leading to the phenomenon known as wobble bass: YouTube - ‪RUSKO - WILLY WONKA‬‏

The use of wobble bass became more and more popular as time progressed, and the programming became far more intricate and aggressive. This is where it has reached the height of its popularity. Those outside of the UK will now be used to sounds such as these: YouTube - ‪Medison - Harry feat. Skrein (Bare Noize Remix)‬‏
YouTube - ‪Funtcase & Southbound Hangers - Wizard Sleeve‬‏

Some of the more recent subgenres include drumstep (dubstep merged with drum and bass) and lovestep (mellow dubstep inspired by electronica).

Here are examples
Drumstep: Invalid Link Removed
Lovestep: YouTube - ‪James Blake - CMYK‬‏

Hope this clarifies.
 
#19
Thanks sir juice. I really liked some of that you linked, like the Rusko- Willy Wonka. It was a very good explanation.

sir juice said:
Dubstep was a term originally used to describe an offshoot of 2-step Garage (examples here: YouTube - ‪UK Garage Mix - Old Skool 2 Step Anthems‬‏) that was influenced by dub mixing style (hence the name).

This early dubstep was essentially a reduced version of UK Garage with the emphasis on the bass and drums, sounding a little bit like this: YouTube - ‪Benga - Skank‬‏

The style progressed a new offshoot known as half-step began to emerge. This featured the half-time feel that is prevalent in almost all dubstep today. Something like this: YouTube - ‪D1-Dubstep Warz‬‏ or this: YouTube - ‪Plastician - Japan‬‏

As this sound progressed, the bass programming became more intricate, leading to the phenomenon known as wobble bass: YouTube - ‪RUSKO - WILLY WONKA‬‏

The use of wobble bass became more and more popular as time progressed, and the programming became far more intricate and aggressive. This is where it has reached the height of its popularity. Those outside of the UK will now be used to sounds such as these: YouTube - ‪Medison - Harry feat. Skrein (Bare Noize Remix)‬‏
YouTube - ‪Funtcase & Southbound Hangers - Wizard Sleeve‬‏

Some of the more recent subgenres include drumstep (dubstep merged with drum and bass) and lovestep (mellow dubstep inspired by electronica).

Here are examples
Drumstep: Invalid Link Removed
Lovestep: YouTube - ‪James Blake - CMYK‬‏

Hope this clarifies.
Click to expand...
 

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