Dubstep in a lull ?

blackdown · Post by **blackdown** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 5:29 pm

dq wrote:The legacy of tech-step, as militantly forward-thinking as it may have been, is that it alienated party goers by divorcing music from FUN. If the price of progression is taking the party out of the music, then what good is it?.

no fun? try being in front of the bassbins at 2am when Mala is b2b with Loefah at DMZ. red stripe in hand, grin on face. that's fun.

djl · Post by **djl** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 5:31 pm

There's clearly a case for purism going by what Youngsta and Hatcha have done taking this route but I think they are exceptions in a musical lull (which we are coming out of imo) rather than the rule. If to be a DJ means playing in a purist manner then all we will be listening to is Youngsta and Hatcha unless anyone can name others like them? 10p says they diversify from their current selection over the next year.

casino addict · Post by **casino addict** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:08 pm

Blackdown wrote:lets mix Merzbow into Crazy Frog... but it wont have anything to do with dubstep.

No, but if you mix Merzbow into a DMZ tune (well, fair play for a start!) then it 'does' have summat to do with dubstep - I think that's the point some people are making.

Post by **dubway** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:23 pm

i'll start from the begining..

Post by **dubway** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:24 pm

Blackdown wrote:Maybe it's just personal over-saturation, but it feels like we might be in a mini lull.

funny coincidence, i was thinking the same thing last night..

i (also) came to conclusion that i should "try to actively expand my daily music consumption boundaries".

i decided that i should improve my knowledge in berlin techno-dub, BC, detroit, dub, dancehall, grime (yes grime, cos i was never really into grime (except a few infamus producers).. and after hearing Jammer - Fire Hydrant i decided to invest some time in this thing), and even in deep minimal micro (or what's it called) house etc.
i also decided to ask you for help in these explorations and to start my old idea - thread titled like this: Music for dubsteppas - where we will give each other tips what's good and worth of listening outside of dubstep (like martin just mentioned Bhangra..)

Post by **dubway** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:27 pm

Blackdown wrote:
ThinKing wrote:From a UK only stance, I'd like to see more varied lineups reflecting the various facets of what I consider to be one scene - Toasty on the same bill as DMZ, Search & Destroy playing after Hatcha, you get the idea....

Most recordbuyers/club punters/fans of the music buy stuff from across the board at the moment, and for those that only have released tunes (vinyl/MP3) in their record bag are mixing all these styles together as well.

Certainly I like to mix it up, and I like to hear it mixed up as well.
do what you like bro but from a dubstep DJing point of view, historically all the big advances for me have come from purism and not fusion sets.

i could easily agree with you, but your Keysound Radio mix was a dubstep grime fusion

atomly · Post by **atomly** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:32 pm

I can't help but think that dubstep is following the exact same path taken by jungle, but an accelerated rate. It started off as this crazy, new thing that didn't really have any boundaries and couldn't be really defined. It was a mishmash of different things and people all liked it for the things they saw in it. Maybe one person liked the "darkness" while another liked it for the bass, etc... Pretty soon you have people producing stuff focusing on narrow aspects of what they like about the music and DJs playing sets of things that are all in the same vein, and the scene as a whole starts to splinter.

I don't think it's bad for there to be different "styles" of dubstep, but I do think it's bad when people focus too much on one or the other, because it has the ability to derail the dubstep movement as a whole.

The big thing, I think, is to just relax and have fun. People care too much about categorizing and classifying and who's playing the newest this or that. Scenes like techno or house, for example, have thrived for years and years because people recognize that "I may prefer this style of techno or that, but I can go out and have fun to any techno."

Post by **dubway** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:08 pm

Storming Productions wrote:At the end of the day the same people that buy a DMZ or a Tempa record will buy a Storming/Destructive/Hotflush record.

this is mostly true, i haven't seen too much grime fans on this forum and almoust everyone feels "breakstep"

kymatik wrote:Not too mention that I have heard a few people sayin they like the breaky end but not the 1/2step, so maybe that means that a significant proportion of new listeners are attracted to the possibly slightly more accessible breaky spectrum?

this is also true, "breaky spectrum" is much "more accessible"!

and yes, "breakstep" or grime fusion will bring more ppl in dubstep, but is that what you want?
(and don't get me wrong - i didn't say that it won't bring new ideas, but i didn't say that it's crucial also)

i think fusion VS purism debate is meaningless. every person/dj/producer should listen/play/produce what he feels and not what will bring him more audience or what will assure his monopoly on certain sound.
of course, if you like dubstep and breakstep - you will play dubstep and breakstep. that's it. why do you have to prove me that it's much better than playing just dubstep or dubstep and grime? or vice versa

dubmugga · Post by **dubmugga** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:53 pm

Paulie wrote: The bottom line is that the "dubstep" scene is incredibly factionalised, and that is in no way a good thing.

well that doesn't bode well for a couple of good, keen kiwi lads...

...we have to wait ages for a few choice releases on vinyl but then again no one here in CHCH is into it anyway so we can't even buy ourselves a gig

the thing is, and this is what killed d'n'b for me is...

...once you get the boys trying with each trak to outhard or outdark each other on the dance floor and the chicks stop dancing, it's over !!!

and that's what happened with techstep bout 95/96 onwards and it's what i hear now with producers getting darker and harder and alienating the chicks, I mean just look around where are all the dubstep babes ???

...the funniest thing I can imagine is some hot unco white chick dancing all spasmodic while some grimey hoodrat stares at the floor and shuffles his feet while the DJ switches between 1/2 step and industrial breakz

in it's current guise I still say dubstep is not dance music, is not suited to vinyl and producers need to flood the market with more mp3 beats so that naturally the cream will rise to the top instead of being so bloody exclusive and passing round dubs between each other or hoping to make some bucks of selling vinyl...

...sounds like more labels need to get into putting on their own gigs as well instead of looking to crash other peeps

and also someone needs to fly us over from NZ, sign all our traks and headline us on the biggest lineup of dubstep producers ever...

IMHO

atomly · Post by **atomly** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 9:11 pm

http://www.atomly.com/blog/archives/200510251551/

doomstep · Post by **doomstep** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 9:34 pm

easy atomly, represent with the albini knowledge, essintial reading.

big up to everone puting their hands in their pockets and everyone that belives in what they're doing.

r33lc4sh · Post by **r33lc4sh** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 9:34 pm

atomly wrote:http://www.atomly.com/blog/archives/200510251551/

great one!
read and learn all of ya stars

joenicedj · Post by **joenicedj** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:33 pm

Distance wrote:Some of the best responses Ive had to beats is when I mix styles, its all about the switch!!!..... If your playing an upbeat tune then suddenly switch into a dubbed out/ grimey track the audience goes crazy and visa versa.

A prime example is when Joe Nice played at DMZ. He switched styles and the whole place went nuts!!!!

big time. thanks ! That was the whole idea. I still didnt get to rep for everyone...but that's ok. I'll continue do rep for everyone in my sets and ...as always....LIVE.

this is a fascinating thread. I'm not in London, but i dont feel that dubstep is in a "lull", but i do see the community as somewhat "divided". If a particular sound isnt your thing....fine, but you're only telling 1/2 of the story.

The talent is here and it needs to be heard.

bunzer0 · Post by **bunzer0** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 10:53 pm

atomly wrote:http://www.atomly.com/blog/archives/200510251551/

interesting "external" point vue...

rickyricardo · Post by **rickyricardo** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 11:45 pm

I don't think it's in a "lull".

I've been more excited about dubstep just these past few months than I think I ever have been before. What I think may be occurring is the output (pressed vinyls) isn't keeping up w/ the demand....which is making people anxious.

nonseq · Post by **nonseq** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 11:47 pm

While it might perhaps be good to have some more stylistic variation in line ups, I disagree with the idea that individual djs / producers should fuse different styles or else something bad will happen.

The techstep-scenario seems almost like a scare tactic, a 'slippery slope' fallacy. It doesn't mean the same will happen to dubstep no matter what.

Great things can happen when a group of producers focuses on a certain style for an extended period, e.g. the music of basic channel/chain reaction we all love so much.

Fusion is the prime fixation of the now dominant pomo culture, but there is more to creativity than recombining pre-existing elements.

dubmugga · Post by **dubmugga** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:00 am

I dunno eh nonseq...

...there is already a division between the 1/2 step dub oriented stuff like kode9, DMZ which equates to conscious jungle and the hard industrial breakz of S&D and vex'd which would be the equivalent of techstep yet both come under the same dubstep banner

and then you got peeps like boxcutter and toasty riding the line and fusing shit...

...but actually i don't really care if the 2 sides come together cos i like it all

here's what happens when we throw a nasty droning filtered nothing of a bass over some nice ambient noise...

...dunno if it fuses but slip it in the mix and it opens up new directions for the next tune

collider_HELL SCIENCE DEPT...
http://s24.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2GRO ... MKGBCV91V0
...this link will self destruct in 25 downloads

chur

dq · Post by dq » Wed Oct 26, 2005 1:36 am

feeling this. a lot.

mind if i play it out?

autonomic · Post by **autonomic** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 4:15 am

^^ This track is fantastic! :shock:

dubmugga · Post by **dubmugga** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:13 am

yeah sure dq...

...play it out, it's just an old 128bit unmastered unfinished mp3 demo we had lying round the place cluttering up the puter anyway

personally, I think it's only good for scaring the neighbours...

...you should hear our new shit !!!

Dubstep in a lull ?

Who is online