what has happened to dubstep?

[doomtube]

What has happened to dubstep?
…this is my first post here for years!!!


Right off the bat I should say this is my own personal opinion and my be wholly incorrect/wrong/stupid. Also I have never been to a dubstep event/night, although I heard a bit of it played at the Notting Hill carnival, I have been following the scene since about 2007, the reason? Well I live in South London and was looking into music coming from the local area and stumbled upon the black sheep bar, I don’t think it had the thumb print scanning back then (does it still?)

Anyway enough about that, this is my idea:
Dubstep is, in a way a genre that has behaved very much like a band or individual performer. For years it laboured hidden away and, sort of almost sounded hidden underground. I would listen to it on the last train back from London bridge looking out the windows at the sprawl of the London night and the spacey sounds of Loefahs ‘ruffage’ and Digital mystikz etc and it would be the perfect downbeat soundtrack. Is down beat the right word? It certainly sounded bleak. I read about K fuelled nights and heard ‘South London buroughs’ and imagined moonscapes and half step dancing space men. The subwoofer vibrating to those super heavy basslines and the strange clicks and spray can percussion sounds seemed so fresh and new and at the same time aeon ancient and soulful….. I digress.
I suppose I think I’m trying to say dubstep sounded like it was hidden. Now it sounds like it has been found, found and rewarded. This has changed it. It has become famous. It was once writing lyrics (continuing the band/person metaphor) about New addington crack houses, the kebab shops you can weed from, dodgy taxis etc. Now dubstep has money, fame, recognition, it has lost touch with that part of itself. Is this a bad thing?
Well Like I say, I’ve never been to a dubstep night, but I imagine now there are a few more bright colours girls and E’s than there used to be!
Did dubstep go rave?
Yes.
Is this a good thing?
Well it certainly isn’t that dark spacey sound anymore!
I re-listened to ‘this is dubstep 2011’ release by the get darker people and it has 28 grams on it. I think this actually came out in 2005, and it certainly sounds like it. Some of the other tunes on there could be called 2-step-house, or ravestep. Of course there is now this thing called ‘brostep’ although I remember people saying Caspa was ‘ladstep’ years ago. The genre itself has mutated and grown, possible outgrown its darker atmospheric roots altogether.

Dubstep used to be dark and deep and hidden, it came out into the light and got puffed up and proud and leery, but like that band that got famous, or the singer who got a number one, where does it go now? … can it stay true to itself when it isn’t going to that seedy kebab shop any more….

Does any of that make sense?

[SloppySeconds]

this discussion had been done to death so bored of hearing it now

[Muncey]

this discussion had been done to death so bored of hearing it now

[Refuzed]

this discussion had been done to death so bored of hearing it now

[particle-jim]

this discussion had been done to death so bored of hearing it now

[fassyman]

dubsteps dead, u not get da memo fam?

[murky21]

http://www.chemical-records.co.uk/sc/se ... Medi+Musik
http://www.chemical-records.co.uk/sc/se ... =Black+Box
http://www.chemical-records.co.uk/sc/se ... Box+Clever
http://soundcloud.com/lasvain
http://www.chemical-records.co.uk/sc/se ... &Lab=Tempa
http://soundcloud.com/commodo
http://soundcloud.com/lurka
http://ninjatune.net/artist/emika
http://www.chemical-records.co.uk/sc/se ... Recordings
http://soundcloud.com/kahn
http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=116932