Dubstepforum.com

Ossia wrote:fuck taking dubstep in one direction or the other...thats what i like about it - its still open....

x2

what u doing up so early fella!?

if u read this today, come round and make a tune!

Blackdown wrote:

elgato wrote: you like it deep, they like it banging...

that is an innacurate simplification. i love dark dubstep: Skeng, Mud, ASBO1, 50k Watts - they're amazing tunes. And i love really aggressive tunes: Tempa T on the Stageshow Riddim: can you get any more aggressive than that? It's just that going out recently you mostly get the impression dubstep has only one style...

Sorry yeh you're right it was inaccurate, it was more illustrative of my general point, but its not fair to misrepresent you. So rather we can say that you like it balanced and varied, others like a single, concentrated vibe (dark, silly, meditative etc or otherwise), or steady rhythms which they can get their head around? For me the point is that I cant find a way to say that one preference is 'better' or more correct than another, so the subjugation of producer/dj/promoter etc to listener boils down to the same thing

don't get involved in these sort of discussions because i have nothing constructive to add, but

I dunno I find this quite difficult. Currently I'm very ill at ease with the idea of people's tastes being affected by any strain of thought which imposes any sense of authority/authenticity/objectivity. I like the idea of people embracing the things that I do about music, but I hate the idea that they're doing so because they feel they 'ought' to.

completely agree with this; the "does this sound like dubstep?"-type threads in the production forum are a bit depressing, aren't they.

Corpsey wrote:First DMZ I went to was wicked because it went all over the place- Kode, Digis, Skream, Plastician- all different sets.

Actually haven't been to a rave in a while but I get the impression that diversity's been lost a bit.

I went down to FWD the night after Dubraizer (my first one) and it was pretty empty, but Youngsta was doing a "roots of dubstep" set, and considering a lot of the tunes were 2003 or earlier, it did strike me that there was a lot more variation in those tunes, from the HP tracks to Hype's Pussy Track. Tubby later went on to play some fine older tunes and some newer grime but the energy levels seemed pretty hyped from the get-go.

And pretty much all I hear now as the prominent sound is the one-note wobble bassline (or maybe two if they're getting adventurous, three if they're really pushing the avant garde) and there's not much that grabs my interest there. Seems like half the tunes coming out are just going through the motions and it's really disappointing given how open things were at the start.

And if you think this is just a whinge about how it was better back in the day, it should be noted that a lot of these clone tracks are harking back to sounds that the originators have since moved on from some time ago.

Blackdown wrote:in 2007 too many dubstep DJs are afraid not to smash it with every dub, so much so they daren't play the odd slower/deeper/percussive/swung/vocal tune (anything but hard wobble basically). Even something like "Skeng" sounds "different" these days.

that's why ... I WAIT

elgato wrote:but in pushing for change through public pressure are you not just advocating the same process albeit with a different interest being served? you like it deep, they like it banging...

I think the Random Trio post a while back was significant - lots of people like deep stuff, it's just that they display their enjoyment less visibly than when an absolute banger goes off and they brock out.

I think showing support on a forum for the DJ's who are playing good deep stuff is actually a positive thing if it lets them know that we weren't all stood there bored to tears and encourages them to stick with it (which is presumably what they wanted to do anyway). Complaining about DJ's who don't play 'enough' deep stuff is a bit less helpful, though, if only cos it tends to put peoples' backs up.

I find most has taken on a very "dnb" mentality.

pretty lame imo

Slothrop wrote:Complaining about DJ's who don't play 'enough' deep stuff is a bit less helpful, though, if only cos it tends to put peoples' backs up.

Well, i think it's more helpful than not having the debate at all.

I like dark music.


and happy music.

Fushimi wrote:Re. Dub Police, yeah they do have a kind of house sound, but I think L-Wiz is a bit of an exception to that.

Also their latest signings are definitely on a deep cinematic tip:

http://www.myspace.com/dubwoofa (although not all their deep cinematic tracks are up now..... )

The dnb-afication of modern "dubstep" is so ironic. Bieng that old dubstep (re garage) was itself a reaction against dnb-afication of jungle.

Truth is, most of the original dubstep people think techy big drop dubstep is long, but they're outnumbered by younger, more enthuasiastic, louder, forum-loving dnb recruits, who think dnb-afication is great.

Really, there's so many more interesting ways it could go. Dubstep could re-acquaint itself with grime, we have bassline / niche now, zomby was fucking with that, skream is bringing in a bit of nu rave (2d, klaxons), hip hop crossovers via matty g and loefah, minimal by pinch and peverlist, metal by distance and vex'd, dancehall by bug and kode9.. there's bare ways it can go.

A little less evangelicalism might help. Go to other raves, listen to other music. Be influenced by it.

personally i would like to see the tribal styles come back into it. beats dont have be steppy but defintlly more up beat....beats like twisup.

jera wrote:personally i would like to see the tribal styles come back into it. beats dont have be steppy but defintlly more up beat....beats like twisup.

Oingy boingy!

daddek wrote:The dnb-afication of modern "dubstep" is so ironic. Bieng that old dubstep (re garage) was itself a reaction against dnb-afication of jungle.

Yeah. It's also strange how it's only now reaquainting itself with minimal techno which seemed to be a big influence on the early Horsepower stuff

I agree with corpseys statement about tunes seeming more leftfield now which would have been standard a year or 2 ago. If you check dmzs back catalogue - who makes tunes like that now? Apart from them. There is so much ATMOSPHERE in those tracks and maturity.

Now I am not expecting dubstep to provide the sources for a phd (although I am sure it's already been done - big up the meditation crew) - but I totally agree with the what daddek said about the dnb-afication of the sound.

I think that has got something to do with the scene opening up to a wider audience - (ex/current dnb heads?) who react better to wobbly bangers.

Does anyone think it's an age thing too? I have always appreciated deep music but my appreciation for this has defo grown over the years at the same rate as my lack of tolerance for immediate stuff (well apart from the odd Loefah tune).

It would be interesting to find out the age range of people who like the deep stuff against the people who like the bangers....

And also the other genres that they dig. I like disco, old electro, wonky hip hop, krautrock, detroit, broken beat, real house music etc... hence I find the half time stuff limited and prefer the martyn/trg/old dmz stuff

What's the lifespan for a banger? I defo tire of the immediate stuff a lot quicker. Will Cockney Thug stand the test of time against Goat Stare?

D-Nile wrote:Will Cockney Thug stand the test of time against Goat Stare?

a perfect summary of this thread.

Blackdown wrote:

Misk wrote:Its not our job to try and control it. Its not our job to "keep it underground". We participate in the glory of this music we've all come together for because we love it. and thats all that matters.

To be honest, this kind of hippy shit will get you nowhere. Dubstep was build by people who actually went out and built what could be, not sat back and basked in the glory of what already was. Lots of times recently I've been out and seen sets and I dont "love it". And having seen d&b ruined by some of the same problems, "all that matters" is that the scene regains some of the ballance it needs right now.

no, dubstep was built by people who were driven by a vision, and wanted to have a good time doing something different than what has come before. By the way, your "hippy" accusations hardly constitute a discussion.

Misk wrote:

D-Nile wrote:Will Cockney Thug stand the test of time against Goat Stare?

a perfect summary of this thread.

I get the feeling that Cockney Thug might well break through more than Goat Stare to be honest

Yeah - I think you should level the hippy stuff at the meditation crew!

hmmm - I meant be held up in years to come as a classic rather than be appreicated by people outside of the scene...

Cockney Thug = Can

Goat Stare = Cluster

I know what I am gonna listen too...