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Not trying to cause undue controversy, but does anyone else find it a bit dull? I much prefer the pacier stuff e.g. on Search and Destroy's Back To The Underground mix. As Skream said in that interview on Blackdown, a whole night of half-step can feel 'a bit much, a bit dead'. I certainly found that at DMZ (although I still had a great time overall, and there are still individual half-step tunes that I love). I'll be disappointed if dubstep as a genre concentrates on half-step at the expense of all other styles. Am I alone?

Yes.

Just jokin...

I think a healthy blend of all the flavors is best. Half step done right is earth shattering. Breakstep done right is mind blowing. etc etc etc...

Keep it fresh, keep it changin...

what is this half step

it works sometimes better than others. i do find it a bit dull when prolonged, thats why mala b2b loefah sets are so good

I'm sure half-step could be really boring but i haven't heard any tunes yet that are. certainly not Loefah's stuff which is the shining of example of how fucking awesome half-step can be.

IMO, it's much easier for the breakstep stuff to fall into the trap of total snoozefest. dnb tunes + a few bpms less than usual + subbass does not = dubstep. i think i've heard some tunes that almost approximate that already and it's pretty whack.

we've already got IDM and breakcore producers trying to cop the style since theirs have fallen out of favor (in the US at least)...that's bad enough

Yup, we've totally never had this discussion before.

Alex bk-bk wrote:it works sometimes better than others. i do find it a bit dull when prolonged, thats why mala b2b loefah sets are so good

sactly

UFO over easy wrote:Yup, we've totally never had this discussion before.

you know ...

distort wrote:I'm sure half-step could be really boring but i haven't heard any tunes yet that are. certainly not Loefah's stuff which is the shining of example of how fucking awesome half-step can be.

IMO, it's much easier for the breakstep stuff to fall into the trap of total snoozefest. dnb tunes + a few bpms less than usual + subbass does not = dubstep. i think i've heard some tunes that almost approximate that already and it's pretty whack.

we've already got IDM and breakcore producers trying to cop the style since theirs have fallen out of favor (in the US at least)...that's bad enough

truth. this man speaks for me aswell.

Can someone explain halfstep to me. I'm knew to this and don't know all the terms yet. Is this pretty much tunes like Rottan, Candyfloss Remix, Haunted etc.. as opposed to pretty much the Search & Destroy stuff

set your tempo to 138 but half the timing when making the beat, so you get a slowed down staggered feel but can chuck in real time breaks as fills...

...kinda like how you can double time ragga to jungle only backwards

nedbeauman wrote:Not trying to cause undue controversy, but does anyone else find it a bit dull? I much prefer the pacier stuff e.g. on Search and Destroy's Back To The Underground mix. As Skream said in that interview on Blackdown, a whole night of half-step can feel 'a bit much, a bit dead'. I certainly found that at DMZ (although I still had a great time overall, and there are still individual half-step tunes that I love). I'll be disappointed if dubstep as a genre concentrates on half-step at the expense of all other styles. Am I alone?

^^^100% agree

imho halfstep is much easier to produce and that's the main reason it is so popular among producers

nedbeauman wrote:I'll be disappointed if dubstep as a genre concentrates on half-step at the expense of all other styles. Am I alone?

no, you're not.

half step is a good sound. I don't agree that is easier to produce tho. All tracks have beats, bass, atmosphere and melody so i can't understand how changing the rhythm slightly makes it easier to produce. The difficulty comes with the complexity of the track not the style.

Dubstep is great at the moment as each producer has their own sound which gives a good variation to the scene.

Just coz half-step got space it doesn't mean it's easier to make than say a 4x4 beat. doing 4x4 isn't hard at all.

Put it this way, anyone can do a half decent 4x4 loop in seconds that sound authentic, I dare anyone to try and make a beat like Ruffige or Mud that sounds as good.

If you succeed, email it to me.

Just coz the music aint over loud and midrangey it doesn't mean it's easier to make.

Chef wrote:Just coz half-step got space it doesn't mean it's easier to make than say a 4x4 beat. doing 4x4 isn't hard at all.

Put it this way, anyone can do a half decent 4x4 loop in seconds that sound authentic, I dare anyone to try and make a beat like Ruffige or Mud that sounds as good.

If you succeed, email it to me.

Just coz the music aint over loud and midrangey it doesn't mean it's easier to make.

agreed
agreed
agreed

it's runnin

i don't think he meant that dead serious (noticed the ?) - imo good halfstep is way more difficult to produce than faster styles.
or generally: the slower - the more difficult. because every sound needs more depth, more quality and has to be exactly 'on point'.

I do prefer breakier stuff myself, so half-step sometimes bores me a little bit. What's best though is when a tune never quite settles on one or the other. Bit o' rhythmic tension keeps things lively. Errr... trying to think of examples.... erm, I suppose N-type's "Square Off" tune is one.