What ever happened to the innovation?

[Be-1ne]

Discuss

[wub]

Discuss

The same thing that happened with DnB when neurofunk took over. Producers became obsessed with getting the filthiest growl, the most neuro-esque riff, the phattest snare hitting at exactly 200hz, the perfect mixdown.

Innovation and song writing took second place to technical expertise and audio processing. The big name producers started pushing the minimal-yet-clinical sound, the up and coming producers tried to copy this and make tunes that sounded like the stuff they were hearing on the radio and at the clubs.

This in turn led to musical inbreeding and a further dilution of ideas to the point where everyone is trying to copy what's already been done without any external (outside the genre) influences. As I mentioned in another thread;

if you were spending your time listening to Kryptic Minds tracks and watching the Kryptic Minds tutorial and reading Kryptic Minds interviews all the while trying to make music that sounds like Kryptic Minds, you might need to stop and take a look at yourself

[Raad]

Came out a couple of weeks ago.



And outside of dubstep this is out this week.

Tbh, when this topic comes up I always wonder when this amazing golden era of dubstep was. There's always been loads of generic shit and loads of great stuff coming out. Although I too sometimes feel as if nothing exciting is really happening with UK club music but then every month theres suddenly like 10 great releases that pop up in the shops. I don't think the scene is particularly stale right now. If it was then there would be a lot more money left at the end of the month.

[jrkhnds]

I don't understand why everybody is losing their mind over the impending apocalypse that will destroy dubstep and swallow its parts. most of us have witnessed what happened to drum'n'bass - as stated by wub - and have also witnessed how the scene got back on track. today, drum'n'bass has to offer more diversity than ever before.
just stick around, observe, check back on matters once a month. in a year or three there will be another generation of young guys pushing the boundaries of 140 even further, creating new sounds, new athmospheres and a thoroughly new experience.

I won't name the obvious ones that are imho already doing massive work in terms of re-innovating dubstep, since it's been done a thousand times before.

[alphacat]

I don't understand why everybody is losing their mind over the impending apocalypse that will destroy dubstep and swallow its parts. most of us have witnessed what happened to drum'n'bass - as stated by wub - and have also witnessed how the scene got back on track. today, drum'n'bass has to offer more diversity than ever before.
just stick around, observe, check back on matters once a month. in a year or three there will be another generation of young guys pushing the boundaries of 140 even further, creating new sounds, new athmospheres and a thoroughly new experience.

I won't name the obvious ones that are imho already doing massive work in terms of re-innovating dubstep, since it's been done a thousand times before.

TBH I think abandoning 140 as some sort of set-in-stone definitive tempo is one of the first things that has to go if things have a chance of staying remotely fresh/inventive at all.

[OGLemon]

Innovation is always going on in music. It's just harder to see in dubstep because there is an oversaturation of shit (dungeon + brostep)

[Geey]

i use to think this, but then i realised i was just listening to the same big labels releases their mates records.

las and mikael have taken percussion to another level with dubstep

[jrkhnds]

I don't understand why everybody is losing their mind over the impending apocalypse that will destroy dubstep and swallow its parts. most of us have witnessed what happened to drum'n'bass - as stated by wub - and have also witnessed how the scene got back on track. today, drum'n'bass has to offer more diversity than ever before.
just stick around, observe, check back on matters once a month. in a year or three there will be another generation of young guys pushing the boundaries of 140 even further, creating new sounds, new athmospheres and a thoroughly new experience.

I won't name the obvious ones that are imho already doing massive work in terms of re-innovating dubstep, since it's been done a thousand times before.

TBH I think abandoning 140 as some sort of set-in-stone definitive tempo is one of the first things that has to go if things have a chance of staying remotely fresh/inventive at all.

like dnb did around 2009 when they dropped the 174bpm in favour of 170? lol.

[fiveone]

so much thought is put in to what tempo shit should be...... shouldn't the riddim you're making dictate what tempo it is later in the project?

[jrkhnds]

so much thought is put in to what tempo shit should be...... shouldn't the riddim you're making dictate what tempo it is later in the project?

chicken - egg
dj - producer

[fiveone]

well i mean it like, you start a project and it's at 140. it was sick until up to a point and you feel the tempo should be pushed up (or down) later - now the project sounds live again and it's different to what you started with. i think i'm just explaining my point a bit weirdly, so tired and have had my eyes glued to a computer screen all day and night

[Taiken]

I actually think big labels like chestplate are strongly loosing creativity. Almost every release sounds the same. And they have a guiding function to the scene.

In my opinion this is coherent to the expectations of the massiv. Even if you play on a "real dubstep clubnight", with "real heads" its sometime hard to drop the really innovativ sounds. Of course, I know, thats my duty as dj, and I try to deliver as much cutting edge music as I can. Not because I have to, because I love it. But everyone experience a crowd just want to skank out to heavy dungeon sounds all night long....

[Muncey]

I actually think big labels like chestplate are strongly loosing creativity. Almost every release sounds the same. And they have a guiding function to the scene.

Its kinda always been like that tbh, you can't tell me the releases in 2011 or 2012 didn't sound a like from either Chestplate or Osiris.. its just during that period there was a lot more to compare it to, there was a lot more releases, a lot more active producers, lot more active labels. The lack of choice recently magnifies the impression that these labels are boring or loosing creativity.

TBF the names that crop up all the time that 'sound the same' are chestplate, osiris and tempa, without those we may as well just change the name of dubstep to Deep Medi and forget about it.

I don't really think any label or individual producer has lost creativity its just the scene going a bit stale because of a lack of choice out there atm.

We should be thankful those guys are still grafting


Calm before the storm tho, potential for a big shake up in dubstep!

[particle-jim]

still plenty of innovation within the sound imo, it'll just keep mutating and evolving much like it always has done, still plenty of life left in the old beast

[Taiken]

I actually think big labels like chestplate are strongly loosing creativity. Almost every release sounds the same. And they have a guiding function to the scene.

Its kinda always been like that tbh, you can't tell me the releases in 2011 or 2012 didn't sound a like from either Chestplate or Osiris.. its just during that period there was a lot more to compare it to, there was a lot more releases, a lot more active producers, lot more active labels. The lack of choice recently magnifies the impression that these labels are boring or loosing creativity.

TBF the names that crop up all the time that 'sound the same' are chestplate, osiris and tempa, without those we may as well just change the name of dubstep to Deep Medi and forget about it.

I don't really think any label or individual producer has lost creativity its just the scene going a bit stale because of a lack of choice out there atm.

We should be thankful those guys are still grafting


Calm before the storm tho, potential for a big shake up in dubstep!

yeah, I see your point. But imho the difference is that, back then this sound was fresh, now it isn't. Of course not every label can move fwd all the time like deep medi, but some of those remain too much the same as I think. Plus there is many going on to compare to, there are so many interesting new ways (apart from juke & trap). Producers like Wen or Beneath really push the classic sound into new territory. Gantz, Tmsv, Las are a new generation with a different background and a fresh view of the sound. Kahn and those boys focus more on the dub history of the music.

I don't think that there is a lack of choice, I think it's even bigger than ever, and thats why it's harder to dig out the real jewels because the output of "worse" bass music is huge. I believe that storm is already starting!

[Muncey]

I wouldn't say the sound was any fresher back in 2011/12 and those labels aren't doing much different now than they were then. I guess it depends on your scope, I consider Wen/Beneath and the whole Keysound gang garage.. sort of like a new branch of dark garage. 2002ish grime and dubstep branched off, decade later another branch in between dubstep and grime with the Keysound lot, thats the way I see it anyway I don't consider them dubstep.. but related.

Again, out of the Young Echo lot I really only consider Kahn dubstep. TMSV has been around for ages, LAS has been floating around for a while too.. thinking back to the 'who to look out for in 20XX' threads in previous years theres been lists and lists of new producers.. all with a few or no vinyl releases, this time last year names like Compa and Wayfarer being thrown around with very few releases to their name, 2011 Commodo & Kahn ect; to think how they've progressed.. a list like that this year in comparison would be weak, it'd just consist of 130 or grime guys + Gantz lol.

[Taiken]

that's true! there should be more guys like gantz!

[Alert1]

Discuss

The same thing that happened with DnB when neurofunk took over. Producers became obsessed with getting the filthiest growl, the most neuro-esque riff, the phattest snare hitting at exactly 200hz, the perfect mixdown.

Innovation and song writing took second place to technical expertise and audio processing. The big name producers started pushing the minimal-yet-clinical sound, the up and coming producers tried to copy this and make tunes that sounded like the stuff they were hearing on the radio and at the clubs.

This in turn led to musical inbreeding and a further dilution of ideas to the point where everyone is trying to copy what's already been done without any external (outside the genre) influences. As I mentioned in another thread;

if you were spending your time listening to Kryptic Minds tracks and watching the Kryptic Minds tutorial and reading Kryptic Minds interviews all the while trying to make music that sounds like Kryptic Minds, you might need to stop and take a look at yourself

Truth

[_Agu_]

I have been thinking.. What would EDM be if Native Instruments would never been in existence?

[ultraspatial]

I don't understand why everybody is losing their mind over the impending apocalypse that will destroy dubstep and swallow its parts. most of us have witnessed what happened to drum'n'bass - as stated by wub - and have also witnessed how the scene got back on track. today, drum'n'bass has to offer more diversity than ever before.

imo it's going down that route again and it just seems more exciting then say dubstep cause there's more producers and labels pushing it. but still some good stuff popping up so w/e

I wouldn't say the sound was any fresher back in 2011/12 and those labels aren't doing much different now than they were then. I guess it depends on your scope, I consider Wen/Beneath and the whole Keysound gang garage.. sort of like a new branch of dark garage. 2002ish grime and dubstep branched off, decade later another branch in between dubstep and grime with the Keysound lot, thats the way I see it anyway I don't consider them dubstep.. but related.

yeah this
dubstep as it came to be known in the last few years isn't really healthy, but if you take a step back there's loads of interesting shit happening

and sorry for stating the obvious but this bpm "war" is fucking stupid. it's not like dubstep was strictly 140...

also i'd bet that if this tune came out today it wouldn't be considered dubstep
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