Music reflects the times

[tronn]

This is definetely going to be sort of rambling; hopefully you all can catch my drift lol....

I think dubstep, like all music, is a reflection of the artists mindset and social conditioning, all applied to the aspects of that particular genres sound.

Most dubstep has that low beyond low sub bass, so based on that right there you can expect a dubstep track to have a heavier, deeper sound. Im not a producer, but I am guessing its alot harder making a happy/uplifting track with such a low rumbling bass

Bass in general adds alot of tension to any musical track, I feel its that tension that connects the listener to the track. To me, tension is what connects human beings to anything that causes emotional reaction, or feel something, whether it be positive or negative tensions. Its very hard to feel anything when listening to a track without a bassline.

This is why drums solos are cool, but get boring after about two to 3 minutes, you really can't feel anything when listening to a solo, but you can appreciate the drummers skill. You put a bassline on top of that solo, and you start imagining little movies in your head, or reflecting on an event, or just have a reaction in general, based on the tension created by the song and your own social conditioning.

A really heavy, sub bassline can produce alot of dark, brooding tension, it doesnt have to be particularly negative or violent, it only will perceived as such if the intention of the producer is too push that button inside of you, and even that will only be achieved based on your social conditioning (if you have that button at all). This is achieved more so by the accompying drums, and synths/guitars other instruments. You can take the bassline from Skreams 'Rutten' put some headbanger drums and synths on it and that will completely change how the track is perceived by the listener.

So thats the bass part of it. The mindset/social conditioning part comes in when the producer makes a track based on the type of feeling they want to invoke in the listener of the track. Im not from the UK but I get the gist that dubstep was created in part because of the wussification of alot of drum and bass music. So early dubstep was probably meant to sound dark and heavy, just to fulfill that need to go back to the sound of those darker days. The heavy sub bass made it easy to achieve that.

The social conditioning of the artist plays a huge part when they make their music ; burial's sound reflects his life the way he tells it in interviews. Catching the night bus or the night train home in the early morning hours in rainy london. Distance's sound reflects his heavy metal background. When you listen to his tracks you can totally see him as a former headbanger thats heavy into metal. This is all generalisation but I'd guess that this is how those two grow up.

The mindset part comes in when the artist wants to push a particular button with a track, in stickin with the two examples Burial's track Unite, isnt dark at all (to me at least), but is an emotional, uplifting track, at least thats the button it pushes with me. It still is burials signature sound, therefore it still is dubstep. Distance's track 'Feel me' also isnt dark at all, but its a driving, sensual track, great to listen to with a chick, at least thats the button it pushes with me. It still is Distance's sound, so its still dubstep.

Im done typing. In summation, the dubstep sound depends on however the artist wants to take it, and thanks to certain artists pushing the boundaries, producers have more freedom than ever to experiment with the sound and still have it stay dubstep. End rant.

[utopian]

Burial's track Unite, isnt dark at all (to me at least), but is an emotional, uplifting track, at least thats the button it pushes with me.

You see, that pushes a different button for me, because I perceive it as a bit of a melancholic track, a sort of yearning one.

Interesting stuff to ponder in this thread, but I'd say more lyrical music frequently provides more of a social commentary obviously by virtue of its words. People might just have a point when they say that if anything, the music doesn't reflect the times but reflects the opposite in the form of escapism from the general world mood.

However, I think this is reading into it too much and in essence, the music is escapism from anything else in life, or not even escapism but just enjoyment for its own sake.

[jonnyrebel]

great thread.

I agree with the music as escapism view but I think if you look at the say what underworld did in the mid 90's you find that the music told a story about a generation and a powerful movement without being politically inclined. It could be considered high art. Born slippy crossed over to the mainstream in a big way and has become an cliched anthem of what it initially mocked.

Electronic music had gone away from trying to capture a mood or an ideal but i find with dubstep the soundscapes within say burial or with flying lotus etc capture the mood of a generation.