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Dubstep: what lies beyond?

Dubstep: what lies beyond?

How do you go beyond a genre without boundaries?

by Thursday, 30 September 2010
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The compilation tries to traverse boundaries - but where are those boundaries?Ministry of Sound

Dubstep is everywhere – and if you will excuse a little self-promotion I have, in my small way, helped this state of affairs come about. The bass-heavy, rhythmically exploratory and very British electronic dance music genre has now – via Magnetic Man and Katy B – proved it can produce bona fide top-10 hits, and it has become the de facto sound of every summer festival to boot, while still keeping both feet in the underground clubs from whence it emerged.

Dubstep is everywhere – and if you will excuse a little self-promotion I have, in my small way, helped this state of affairs come about. The bass-heavy, rhythmically exploratory and very British electronic dance music genre has now – via Magnetic Man and Katy B – proved it can produce bona fide top-10 hits, and it has become the de facto sound of every summer festival to boot, while still keeping both feet in the underground clubs from whence it emerged.

Comments

Submitted by Pete Cogle (not verified) on Thu, 30/09/2010 - 09:40
When and where is this "Are We Here" arts festival in Croydon? Is there a website for a it?

Submitted by Pezholio (not verified) on Thu, 30/09/2010 - 13:05
The 'mongrel music' tag can just as easily be applied to drum and bass, from the early days of jungle it's grown and expanded to take in all sorts of different styles and perspectives, from the stadium rock stylings of Pedulum and the like, through to harder, techy sound of Noisia etc through to more soulful, houesy influences of Calibre et al. In fact, I'd say that drum and bass is at it's worst when it is self-referential and only looks to itself for influences - the same could be said for dubstep too. That being said, dubstep is probably stronger in this area because of its speed, as it's closer to other genres rather than stuck in its own c. 170bpm ghetto, it's easier to mix in a set of say, house, breakbeat or techno, meaning it's got more potential to spread into other scenes and pick up new followers.

Submitted by John Bownas (not verified) on Thu, 30/09/2010 - 18:02
It's in Croydon throughout most of November. Facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5040357&id=517967005#!/pages/Are-W...

Submitted by joe.muggs on Thu, 30/09/2010 - 21:09
Your last point is exactly right Pezholio : Dubstep's tempo - which is now more and more flexible - makes it 'friendlier', more able to cross fertilise. Watching its spread was interesting: the techno scene took it in first, with Ricardo Villalobos, Laurent Garnier etc being early adopters; then drum & bass started having more and more dubstep in the 2nd room of raves; then the house and electro scenes began catching on; then increasingly the rap / r&b world in America got on it; indie bands more and more got into it; the pop world is catching on; and now, thanks to UK funky and grime providing new points of contact, predominantly black clubs in the UK are all over it again, it's being played in Ayia Napa etc... But even as it expands in all these directions, a solid core remains, which may or may not be because of its solid geographic roots in small groups of friends in Croydon, Bristol, Leeds etc...? Drum and bass, for all its strengths, was not able to meet the challenges of reaching out into the mainstream for a long time, and kind of turned in on itself - it's only very recently that it has grudgingly accepted that it's OK for Pendulum, Subfocus etc to speak to audiences that are not "JUNGLIST4LIFE!!!11"

Submitted by joe.muggs on Thu, 30/09/2010 - 21:10
Oh yes, and my event at the We Are Here festival is on Friday the 19th November, it's a discussion featuring Loefah, Artwork, Chef, Goldielocks, Tony "Moody Boyz" Thorpe and Mad Professor, followed by Mad Professor's Dub Club... It should be good.

Submitted by Dmh (not verified) on Thu, 30/09/2010 - 22:33
We've come up through living that British mongrel cultural experience where identity and musical roots are nevessary pluralistic...it speaks to in so many ways, and brings sounds and feelings from many places in our past together in a whole far far greater than the sum of its parts. And unbelievable beats and basslines - long may it continue

Submitted by claire rice (not verified) on Thu, 30/09/2010 - 22:34
I found the LP on soulseek this week and have been listening to it over and over again. Is there a volume 2 on the way? What about more female producers like Ikonica and Appleblim tho?

Submitted by EEEKO (not verified) on Fri, 01/10/2010 - 05:22
hey clare rice last time i checked, appleblim was a fella.

Submitted by joe.muggs on Fri, 01/10/2010 - 06:27
Thanks for letting us know that you downloaded it illegally so none of the artists get paid, Clare. Way to go. And not only is Appleblim male but he's on Vol 1 already - as is Ikonika. And there are two other female producers on there: 8Bitch and Goldielocks.

Submitted by mr_x (not verified) on Fri, 01/10/2010 - 07:01
why on earth is goldielocks on that panel discussion? ridiculous.

Submitted by joe.muggs on Fri, 01/10/2010 - 07:32
Because, "Mr_X", she's a musician who grew up in Croydon, has a lot of connections to the Croydon scene, has worked with everyone from Benga and Mike Skinner to teenagers just coming up into the music world, is pushing new sounds in her own individual way, and is smart and lucid in coversation. Got a problem with that?

Submitted by David Mudkips (not verified) on Mon, 04/10/2010 - 14:42
Small town boy is the first dubstep record. Subversive subcultures, restrained energy, Stark dark synth work, and Massive main room hooks. Welcome your originator. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xuz94ZIPfJk

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