Now, while I wouldn’t say I’m ‘losing my shit’ for dubstep per se, there still remain a number of tunes (in my admittedly limited catalogue) that have impressed me no end. While I harbour severe doubts about its club-worthiness (methinks a full night might kill me with boredom), I see dubstep as one of the better experiments in electronic atmospherics to have emerged in the past decade or more. To my mind there is nothing being created at the moment that seems to more simply and effectively convey the anxieties, energies and various darknesses of nocturnal urbanity than a good, solid slab of melodic dubstep. Drive through empty, rainy streets at 3 am while listening to it and you’ll know what I mean.
Perhaps this is all just a carry over from Burial’s sublime 2007 album ‘Untrue’, my first entry into the genre, and itself one of the most evocative and comprehensive pieces of electronica I’ve ever heard. Heavily filtered garage vocals and hollowed out 2-step drum lines spar with seeping, emotionally charged synth washes, all riding upon the morphing, and almost overwhelming basslines on which so much of the genre is pinned. The end result is a smeared representation of the loosely glimpsed and fragmentary experiences of the city at night, but one that nonetheless feels intensely personal and hopeful. While the album’s claim to proper dubsteppiness is rather sketchy (it’d be a brave man indeed who played any of these tunes in a club environment), it remains out and out one of the best and most listenable albums I’ve ever heard.
But I think ‘Untrue’ has led me to seek out forms of dubstep that carry forward Burial’s atmospheric ambivalence and occasional throw to poignancy, rather than the more jungle-derived output that colours most dubstep evenings. While all of these tunes are far heavier and more active than Burial’s work, I still gotta say banging this ain’t. But nonetheless, I think that in its own way dubstep can be as creative and interesting a genre as anything else out there, even if it doesn’t make me want to dance like a crazy thing. Does kinda make me want to dance like I’m running on the moon though.
It goes without saying that these should be listened to on very good, bassy set of speakers at a more than reasonable volume.
‘Bushido’ by The Others was one of the first pieces of non-Burial dubstep that I was introduced to. Ludicrously heavy basslines and sparse but heavy snares set to sad and slow-moving Japanese string samples. Sounds odd, and it is, but it remains one of the better dubstep tunes I’ve heard. It also works surprisingly well when played out. It can be found on the Africa 12″, which is out now through Dub Police.
Zomby’s ‘Mush’ has just been released on Hyperdub (the same label as Burial) and it’s an edgy, string-laden number, with understated basslines, a brilliant 4×4 breakdown and squelchy synths that sound almost 8-bit in execution.
‘Simulacrum’ by Ikonika on the other hand makes no apologies for its retro-influences. Apparently this is an example of dubstep’s new bastard child wonky, a bizzaro combination of chiptune, analogue basslines and quirky samples, set to the off-beat, narcotized percussive mania of dubstep. Quite the combo. But still very cool. It’s out on Hyperdub too.
And finally we have ‘Need You’ by Darkstar, an organ and vocoder driven number with one of the catchiest basslines I’ve come across in quite some time. I’m not usually one to swear on the redemptive power of bass, but this tune makes me feel like a true believer. For the past couple of weeks I’ve found myself as liable to be humming away this dark and funky bass blitz as I am any other piece of brain-catching pop. Definitely worth a listen. And guess what? It’s out on Hyperdub. What a surprise.
Alright, that’s plenty for today’s edition. Hopefully you’ve all discovered something new and exciting in there – I may do another when the music warrants it. And when I can find some tunes I really like that haven’t been released on Hyperdub. Bass out.
-luke
3 Comments
Cool post moite, luvin the dub
Its nice to read about someone else having the same experience with dubstep that I am having. I have been a fan of jungle/dnb for years but always knew dubstep to be the stepchild of garage which was just sped up rnb to me. However when I first heard Burial’s album I was blown away. I feel that this sound which is not entirely dubstep can be further expanded on. What makes Burial so exciting is there is so much room left to grow and it could go in any direction. Lets hope there are those out there (including burial) that can take this sound to new heights because these genres definitely need a breath of fresh air.
I first found Bowzer’s mixes a couple months ago, and now it has expanded from there. There is no better music for cruising in my car than dubstep. Hands down. Keep it up guys!
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