Little something I wrote at the end of last year for Remix Magazine... I knew this sh*t was gonna blow up large but had no idea *how* large!
http://remixmag.com/artists/remix_go_fo ... index.html
GENRE WATCH: DUBSTEP (Jan 1, 2007)
Although the term has been around for a while now, dubstep is now poised for its big takeover: The mutant South London sound that fuses 2-step, grime, dub and other influences has become the premier playground for some of the UK's most innovative new producers.
If drum 'n' bass is a supersonic fighter jet, then dubstep is the armored-tank division. Originally centered in garage's 138-bpm mark, the possibilities exploded when the tempo halved — providing room to play with cavernous dubbed-out sounds, breakbeats stripped and clipped into half-tempo heaviness and the signature bass sculptures that pick up where jungle left off. This heaviest of low-end sounds is massive and articulate, and it makes the bass bin bounce off the dancefloor if not bolted down.
Yet despite simple shared elements, which loosely define the current style, the real appeal lies in the
differences among the main players making dubstep. Each has its own distinct feel, and influences run the gamut, from Indian and industrial to crunk and heavy metal, but all are infused with dub's core ethic of studio as both instrument and imaginary space. “At the moment, dubstep has no boundaries, no set formulas or clichés,” says H.E.N.C.H. crew's Komonazmuk.
Some acts to watch for include Kode9, founder of the seminal Hyperdub label. With a sound equal parts collage, atmospherics and abstraction, alongside MC (something rare in dubstep) Spaceape, Kode9's tunes are often downright cinematic in scale. Meanwhile, young heavyweight Skream produces irresistibly catchy head-nodders, including the first UK-charting dubstep song, “Midnight Request Line.” Another serious contender, Loefah, offers tunes that seem simple initially but offer something new with each listen — and all produced impeccably. Digital Mystikz, the collective behind London's successful DMZ club nights, offers minimalist dub that's equally dark and eerie. Then there's Shackleton (half of the Skull Disco imprint with Appleblim), who could be easily and seamlessly played back-to-back in a set including traditional Middle Eastern music, French avant-garde and uptempo club beats. Vex'd, on the other hand, is like some unimaginably perfect mash-up of hip-hop and industrial and Edgard Varèse.
And there are many more up-and-comers out there, such as the two-man act Cloaks, which has a sound like rust: the organic decay of man-made metals. “We like the idea that our tunes can destroy a sound system as well as satisfy the ears of an experienced producer,” says Cloaks member Carl J. “The emphasis being that we produce music; we don't make beats.”
For now, dubstep is safe from being pillaged by the mainstream, at least according to Hyperdub's experimental artist, Burial. “The music is in good shape because everyone's in splinter cells,” he says. “They're in the ditch — there's no highway to attract the rubbish producers. The lights of the highway, that's when it goes wrong. But right now it's just darkness; everyone's just off wandering.”
