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Genre Confused: Dubstep

It’s 1.07 in the morning, in Farringdon, North London. Caspa’s remix of “Where’s my money?” rips through Room 3 at Fabriclive, the floor becomes a sea of limbs and bouncing “nu era” caps. If you could hear yourself think you might wonder at how anything got so big so quickly.

Seven years ago the creators of Dubstep could not have anticipated the wide-ranging affects of their innovations. The genre started in the South London suburbs where young DJs remixed garage tracks for the b-sides of their white label releases, incorporating their dark mood and strung-out beat, mixing in a minor key. Producers like Skream and Oris Jay resented the high-speed bass that dominated garage, so, taking influences from the Brixton Dub scene, they slowed the bass to 69 bpm and kept the kickdrum syncopated.

This created the perfect foundation for the brooding bass drops that define Dubstep’s grimy style. In 2001 Forward>> held the first Dubstep nights at the Velvet Rooms Club in Soho, while DMZ records was founded in 2003 by Digital Mystikz and soon hosted a night at Mass Club in Brixton with Benga (pictured left), Kode 9, Hijack and Skream, heralding the development of Dub in areas away from South London estates.

These clubs are essential to Dubstep’s development because a pair of laptop speakers cannot express what the genre has to offer; namely, deep, deep bass. Combined with clashing harmonies and a relentless beat, it is hypnotic, dirty, incredible music.

Dubstep is best heard in a club with a speaker system that will ‘make your chest cavity shudder’, where the sweaty, euphoric crowd add their style to the mix.

Recently Benga and Skream released the CD albums Diary of an Afro Warrior and Skream respectively. While the two albums are at first glance very different, they both contain accessible tracks that have stayed true to Dubstep’s roots. This release, marking the South London style’s entrance into mainstream music, now appears in CD shops and clubs across the country.
However, there has been a backlash against this new-found credibility. Skream’s track ‘Midnight Request Line’ is often dropped at commercial club nights, due to complaints from hardcore fans, who believe the genre has sold out.

They are right to stand up for their individuality; while similar artists Pendulum’s Hold Your Colour album was a drum n’ bass masterpiece, its commercial success encouraged a splurge of generic imitation tracks that stagnated the creative side of drum n’ bass music.

Thankfully, the emergence of Japanese and American Dubstep has kept the music fresh. The internet has turned Dubstep into a global phenomenon; fans can hear the newest tracks for free on music blogs and Dubstep forums, although nothing can compare to the grime and bass of a real night.

For new, innovative artists try the up-and-coming labels ‘Hench’ and ‘Tectonic.’ Otherwise give yourself a break from the indie norm and get to a Dubstep night.

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