Dubstep
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Dubstep
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| Development phase: | 2001 |
| Place of origin: | South London |
| Stylistic precursors | |
| Reggae , Dub , Garage , Two Step | |
| Instruments typical of the genre | |
| Turntables , drum computers , synthesizers , personal computers | |
| Stylistic successor | |
| Brostep , Chillstep , Future Garage | |
Dubstep refers to a genre of music that was largely created in South London and emerged from reggae , dub , garage and two step . The creation began around 2001, although there is no consensus as to which was the first dubstep record. UK garage DJ El-B is listed as the first dubstep producer in several sources. The term dubstep comes from the club Forward , which was looking for a suitable term for the newly emerging music genre.
The music quickly took on a variety of influences - from electro , jungle and other electronic styles, for example - and many artists such as Skream or Benga developed the style further and further away from the garage roots.
A kind of “sister genre” is grime , a British form of hip-hop that has similar roots, but unlike the mostly instrumental dubstep, it also includes rap . There are and have been prominent examples of intermingling and influencing at all times in the history of musical styles. Many producers of grime instrumentals also made a name for themselves as dubstep artists.
German dubstep musicians include Zedd , Ghosthack , INFRA , Quio , Sven Weisemann , Tua and D-Bo .
development
The term "Dubstep" was originally coined by Ammunition Productions and was first used on a cover of the XLR8R magazine, with which the Horsepower Productions were introduced. However, the term only became fully established with the “Dubstep Allstars Vol. 1” sampler (published on Tempa and mixed by DJ Hatcha ).
The most important port of call in the early years of dubstep was the former Croydon Big Apple Shop, supported by the former Big Apple Records. Early dubstep producers and DJs in Croydon were El-B and Jay Da Flex from Ghost Records and Hatcha , Menta / Artwork, Skream and Benga from Big Apple Records and Horsepower Productions. In addition, Zed Bias was able to contribute a large number of publications to the early sound of dubstep. Steve Gurley (former member of Foul Play) also experimented with dark two step.
Horsepower was one of the first notable Dubstep labels with their releases on the Tempa label, together with the Big Apple . Tempa, led by Ammunition Promotions , was the other important point of contact in the early development of dubstep. After 2001 Ammunition Productions were responsible for the establishment of a mass of labels such as Soulja, Tempa, Road, Vehicle, Shelflife, Texture, Stealth People, Bingo and the like. a. responsible. However, nowadays only Soulja, Bingo, Road and Tempa exist.
In the course of 2003 DJ Hatcha began to define a new direction for dubstep on Rinse FM and through his sets in Forward, a direction that ultimately shaped dubstep into an independent musical direction. By using 10 ″ single print reggae style dubplates , he made exclusive use of a rich pool of South London producers - for the first time Benga and Skream, later also Digital Mystikz and Loefah - and thus pioneered a dark, precise and minimalist one Dubstep. With the inclusion of Digital Mystikz in his sets, the range of sounds became more and more extensive and gained new sounds with a wide variety of influences, the most important of which were reggae and dub .
South London-based Digital Mystikz (Mala and Coki) and Loefah soon brought their own ideas, influences from dub and a jungle-based understanding of the priority of the bass to the dubstep scene. After their first 12 " releases on the Big Apple, they founded their own label DMZ, which has released twelve 12" records to date. The DMZ night, which took place every two months in Brixton and presented the latest dubstep talents (e.g. Skream , N-Type, Scuba, Kode9, D1, Random Trio, Chef, Joe Nice, Pinch, DJ) went hand in hand with the establishment of the label Youngsta, Distinction, Vex'd and Blackdown). With the unique sound system, the DMZ night is the worldwide reference in matters of dubstep, which can only be compared with the Subloaded, Bristol's dubstep night, for the DJ Pinch and the context crew.
Another crucial point in the history of dubstep were the two incorrectly named "Grime" compilations by Rephlex Records (supported by Ammunition). With a line-up of musicians like Plastician , Mark One and Slaughter Mob on Volume 1 and Kode9, Loefah and Digital Mystikz on Volume 2, dubstep was brought before the world of electronic music. The influences of these crucial compilations can still be clearly seen in today's releases and club nights.
In 2006, there was a massive increase in interest in dubstep. After the success of Skream's “Midnight Request Line”, the hype surrounding the DMZ night and the support from online forums and blogs , the scene literally exploded when DJ Mary Anne Hobbs on a BBC Radio 1 show called “Dubstep Warz “put together the best the scene had to offer. Since then, after years of being underground, dubstep has opened up to a new audience, not just in Great Britain but worldwide for the first time .
In Germany , too, a steadily growing dubstep scene has come together in recent years. With the release of Untrue , Burial's second album , the term dubstep gained further attention in the German-speaking media. de: bug wrote an article in December 2007 about the stylistic overlaps between dubstep and minimal techno . An example is minimal DJ Ricardo Villalobos , who has already remixed dubstep pieces and regularly plays them at raves .
A more recent development in the Scottish , English and US American scenes from around 2008, which affects both the dubstep and grime scenes, is the so-called wonky or aquacrunk , in which the bass takes a back seat and instead rhythmic sound textures complex and unquantized synthesizer riffs shape the music.
Since 2010, more and more artists in Great Britain have succeeded in drawing attention to the genre through chart successes. Thus achieved Magnetic Man with their first single I Need Air to enter the Top 10th Chase & Status reached number 5 in the UK charts with their single Blind Faith , the album even reached number 2 in February 2011. Dubstep producer Rusko has worked with Britney Spears and Rihanna , among others , who have tracks with dubstep influences in their current albums released as a single. British singer Katy B is considered the heroine of mainstream dubstep in Great Britain . Her album On A Mission was a surprise hit in the UK charts and drew three top 10 singles with it. The album was also released in Germany and the USA. In July 2011, DJ Fresh's single Louder Ft Sian Evans finally reached the top of the UK charts.
style
Dubstep is mostly minimalistic and is characterized by a great emphasis on the bass in the sound, similar to dub and drum and bass .
Dubstep has a variety of playing styles, ranging from extremely reduced, rhythm-heavy tracks to those with drum-and-bass-like, hard lead basslines. The most spectacular sound changes possible in the bass sound are also popular, for example the filter modulations known as wobble basslines (examples: Skream - Stagger , Digital Mystikz - Haunted ) and many other "gimmicks". Arrangements with more melodies and more or less subtle techno / rave references are also popular.
Since it took shape as an independent genre, dubstep has processed more and more elements from many other styles besides dub and reggae . In recent times the musical development of dubstep has been moving in the direction of minimal techno and comparable forms of electronic music, which can be justified by the more recent collaboration between techno and dubstep producers and DJs.
The well-known dubstep pioneer Kode9 responded to the question of what distinguishes dubstep with "Bass and space" and is now often quoted. Space here primarily refers to the arrangement and extreme minimalism.
Rhythm and tempo
Dubstep's tempo is usually around 135-145 BPM , just like Garage or Two Step . The rhythms used are varied and often heavily syncopated . The use of triplets is also not uncommon. In the early days of the scene, the garage-like, often shuffled rhythms prevailed , which then more and more gave way to the “half-step” beats. The two-step-inspired beats are now being used more frequently again. There are also rhythms with a slightly modified 4-to-the-floor beat.
In the “halfstep” the emphasis is on the first and third quarter notes, which reduces the perceived tempo of around 140 BPM to half. For example, the snare no longer sounds every second quarter, but only half as often. These "heavy" looking, "sluggish" beats are partly reminiscent of dub or hip-hop . Rhythms are also popular, combining this heaviness with dense, faster percussions. The half- step rhythm is only one aspect of dubstep, there are also beats reminiscent of dancehall or electro , as well as the two-step influences mentioned.
Club Forward
Ammunition was also responsible for a club called Forward , which was originally housed in the Velvet Rooms in Soho and is now held twice a month in Plastic People in Shoreditch . The club was instrumental in the development of dubstep as it was one of the first venues just for dubstep and gave producers a chance to introduce new releases. Forward also held a radio show on East London's black channel Rinse FM , hosted by DJ and producer Kode9 .
From the beginning, Forward was also known for other variants of the garage. A form of early grime, later 8bar, was played here by DJs like Slimzee (later with Pay As U Go, now with Rinse FM). This also allowed producers like Plastician from Croydon and Mark One from Manchester to bring their own variants of grime to the people.
Forward also caught the attention of Rinse FM, who opened their program to dubstep DJs around 2003, at a time when the traditional garage scene had turned its back on dubstep. Rinse FM became a vital authority, strengthening the connection between dubstep and its urban London background, but also allowing the scene to develop new ideas at the same time.
See also
Web links
- de: bug - Article about dubstep and minimal techno
- Intro - German article about Dubstep and its development
- Pitchfork ( Memento from July 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) - Article about the development of grime and dubstep (English)
- Dubstep Basics on Bonedo.de
- Dubstep Howto - German speaking dubstep and wobble bass howto.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Adam Harper: Loving Wonky , Rogues Foam, June 2009
- ↑ Archive Charts: [1] , February 2011
- ^ Andrew Winistorfer: Britney Spears Working With Dubstep Producer Rusko On New Album. In: Prefix. May 13, 2010, accessed May 11, 2016 .
- ↑ Katy B. On a mission ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , on Freeload.de, June 2011
- ↑ DJ Fresh Ft Sian Evans: "Louder" in the Official UK Charts (English)
