One song that defines a genre

[leyenda]

So yeah


Horror show.

Runner up: Fat Larry's Skank (Kode9 Remix)

[fractal]

surely it's natalia's song? zomby wrote it on a gameboy advance in the bathroom at elephant and castle fwiw

I'm guessing you didn't see this then mate

http://soundcloud.com/reark/natalia-original

sorry

why horror show? because it's halftime and minimal? god help us if that defines dubstep. don't get me wrong, it's a great tune, but dubstep can be so much more than just halftime, minimal beats. it's a great part of it, but only a slice imo. i think the find my way remix is a good example, as it switches percussion a few times, like dubstep itself

[Drstrangelove]

id say the goat stare or something.

naw actually scary monsters

[Sexual_Chocolate]

why horror show? because it's halftime and minimal? god help us if that defines dubstep. don't get me wrong, it's a great tune, but dubstep can be so much more than just halftime, minimal beats. it's a great part of it, but only a slice imo. i think the find my way remix is a good example, as it switches percussion a few times, like dubstep itself

horror show is a great example of what people believe dubstep to be though... halftime music with heavy bass.

but it has the elements of which this entire genre was built on.... space,atmosphere & weight.

[leyenda]

surely it's natalia's song? zomby wrote it on a gameboy advance in the bathroom at elephant and castle fwiw

I'm guessing you didn't see this then mate

http://soundcloud.com/reark/natalia-original

sorry

why horror show? because it's halftime and minimal? god help us if that defines dubstep. don't get me wrong, it's a great tune, but dubstep can be so much more than just halftime, minimal beats. it's a great part of it, but only a slice imo. i think the find my way remix is a good example, as it switches percussion a few times, like dubstep itself

I went for it more because it probably shows the emphasis on bass more than any other track in the genre. And that's as close as you can get to grouping it all together in my opinion. The remix of Fat Larry's Skank is also very bass focused but loses some of it'd ability to convey the whole genre as it's got those eastern influences which although heavily present in dubstep at one point barely ever figure anymore.

[garethom]

Feel like I should expand on my choice of Misty Winter now I have more time.

Sparse vocal samples, interesting percussion that keeps you on your toes (rather than just kick on the first, snare on the 3rd), variation in the bass (almost Coki-esque for a Mala track IMO), plenty of elements but importantly they convey a sense of space in the tune. It's not necessarily my favourite dubstep tune (or maybe it is, it's definitely up there) but it is the very definition of dubstep to me.

If not that, then maybe Peverelist - Roll With The Punches, or Ramadanman - Blimey.

[Maccaveli]

Here's something different. I was listening to this the other day and it occurred to me that this tune pretty much encompasses dubstep to me:


Obviously it doesn't represent every sound, but I think it includes all the important elements

[dickman69]

all this Misty Winter talk has me thinking about New Life Baby Paris (probably my fav Mala tune)

[Sonika]

Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites

[leeany]

why horror show? because it's halftime and minimal? god help us if that defines dubstep. don't get me wrong, it's a great tune, but dubstep can be so much more than just halftime, minimal beats. it's a great part of it, but only a slice imo. i think the find my way remix is a good example, as it switches percussion a few times, like dubstep itself

If I were to describe dubstep to someone who's never heard it, I'd say dark, minimal music which focuses on subbass and is at around 140 bpm, often with halftime beats.

If I were to describe Horror Show to someone who's never heard it, I'd say a dark,minimal tune with a focus on subbass, at around 140 bpm with a halftime beat.

Surely my above description doesn't apply to every dubstep tune since they're not all dark and minimal, but in my opinion those are key elements to the genre.

[Scylla]

For some reason reading this thread toasty - knowledge came into my head. Cant believe it was made in 2004

[davwuh]

Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites

surprised it took 3 pages for someone to say this

[fractal]

why horror show? because it's halftime and minimal? god help us if that defines dubstep. don't get me wrong, it's a great tune, but dubstep can be so much more than just halftime, minimal beats. it's a great part of it, but only a slice imo. i think the find my way remix is a good example, as it switches percussion a few times, like dubstep itself

If I were to describe dubstep to someone who's never heard it, I'd say dark, minimal music which focuses on subbass and is at around 140 bpm, often with halftime beats.

If I were to describe Horror Show to someone who's never heard it, I'd say a dark,minimal tune with a focus on subbass, at around 140 bpm with a halftime beat.

Surely my above description doesn't apply to every dubstep tune since they're not all dark and minimal, but in my opinion those are key elements to the genre.

it truly shows how different dusbtep is to each of us.

if i were to describe dubstep i would say it is around 140 bpm with sub bass and anything you want over that. major elements I love are swing, skip, shuffle, vibes, bass and pace. i wouldn't say that it is dark since some of my favorite tunes are not... as for minimal? hmmm, maybe at times

[Sonika]

I'd say 140 bpm, sub bass, and also very rhythmically driven/centered around the percussive arrangement, which a lot of times can lead it to sound more minimal

[leeany]

When I say minimal I don't mean that there's few elements, but I mean that there's not 50.000 different sounds all in your face at the same time. Most of my favorite dubstep tunes contain tons of layers, but most of them are very subtile and used to create depth. I wouldn't even necessarily call that minimal, but stuff like Burial and Kryptic Minds is considered minimal by a lot of people. The fact that space is an important part of dubstep would also contribute to it being considered minimal. It doesn't have to be dark by definition but I do think that darkness is an important element of the genre ; it used to be called 'dark garage' for a reason.

Again, I know that this doesn't apply to all dubstep since Vex'd definitely aren't minimal and Mala - Alicia (as an example) isn't dark, but this would be how I would describe the genre to an outsider.

[muntz]

GRIME:

[Sonika]

When I say minimal I don't mean that there's few elements, but I mean that there's not 50.000 different sounds all in your face at the same time. Most of my favorite dubstep tunes contain tons of layers, but most of them are very subtile and used to create depth. I wouldn't even necessarily call that minimal, but stuff like Burial and Kryptic Minds is considered minimal by a lot of people. The fact that space is an important part of dubstep would also contribute to it being considered minimal. It doesn't have to be dark by definition but I do think that darkness is an important element of the genre ; it used to be called 'dark garage' for a reason.

Again, I know that this doesn't apply to all dubstep since Vex'd definitely aren't minimal and Mala - Alicia (as an example) isn't dark, but this would be how I would describe the genre to an outsider.

This.

Well put. A lot of tunes I like are anything but minimal, they are very layered, they just maintain a very clean ish sound that some would consider to be minimal, because it isn't a mish mash of every possible imaginable sound

[scattybeanhead]

for me it's gotta be this


i reckon it has all the elements of most dubstep tunes, it's kinda minimal and dungeon and whatever but more than that. it's hard to describe but this is where my vote lies

[dickman69]

finally figured it out...

the subbass
the intricate percussion
the minimal sounds
the spooky vocals

[the_disconekt]

it truly shows how different dusbtep is to each of us.

I think this, more than anything else, is what is most important.




minus the typo