The trendy electronic music genre dubstep is dominated by aggressive rhythms. The genre appeared at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries on the outskirts of the capital of Great Britain, but dubstep came into fashion only a decade later. It is generally accepted that this trend in music primarily attracts adolescents.
What is dubstep
Dubstep is a relatively new genre of music. It appeared in the early years of the new millennium in south London, becoming one of the offshoots of the then fashionable garage style. In terms of its sounding dubstep, this style is characterized by a peculiar tempo - from 130 to 150 beats per minute. It is also characterized by "crumpled" low-frequency bass, in which there is sound distortion, and a sparse breakbeat in the background. Dubstep is somewhat similar to hard style: there is also a snare drum and a "sharp kick".
Dubstep: the emergence of the genre
Back in the 90s of the last century, the garage-house style began to enjoy popularity in Britain. This genre of electronic dance music came from the United States. In the British Isles, this genre split into two varieties: first, speed garage appeared, and two-step came into vogue at the end of the decades. Already in 1999, two-step began to change. He acquired a "dark" sound, in which the bass line stood out. The musicians from Croydon, a suburb of London, were among the first to promote two-step sounding.
Against the background of these transformations, Sarah Lockhart and Neil Jolliffe began throwing parties in 2000 that focused on the new sound of the already popular two-step.
The parties were named Forward. Initially, they were arranged in the popular Velvet Rooms club, and five years later the organizers moved them to Plastic People. DJ Hatcha took part in the music events. In 2001, he also hosted the first nascent dubstep radio program. The show was hosted by the pirate radio station Rinse FM.
The sound of the new style was formed mainly at underground parties. The musicians Benga and Skream took part in the formation of the genre. The pioneers of the new direction were united by the Big Apple vinyl store. It became something of a dubstep headquarters. In fact, a new genre was born in communication between musicians from Croydon who knew each other well.
At first, this music was called shortly: "138". This meant the tempo of the performance of the compositions. It is not known for certain who exactly gave the genre the now well-established name "dubstep". Some music lovers credit Jolliffe with the authorship. In 2002, DJ Kode9 released a dubstep mix, after which the authorship was attributed to him. The term dubstep itself hit the covers of American magazines in the same 2002. After that, the name was officially assigned to the new musical genre.
Experts see the origins of the genre in the Jamaican dub. This style of Jamaican reggae is characterized by an emphasis on heavy bass and a complete lack of vocals. In Jamaica, dub was the instrumental processing of a track in the absence of recitative. Apparently, dubstep got its name because of the similar sound. Standing out from two-step, dubstep abandoned vocals, got a broken rhythm and a bass line of low frequency.
The rise in popularity of dubstep
Dubstep began to go beyond the relatively narrow limits of Forward and radio stations in 2003. The new genre was heard in other clubs and on the waves of other radio stations. DJ Hatcha brought dubstep closer to the mass audience: in 2004 he brought out a mix in a new genre. After a couple of years, the dubstep style had a lot of fans and admirers. Over time, serious music publishers (for example, Rephlex) drew attention to dubstep. However, for some time dubstep was still in "semi-underground" conditions.
In the spring of 2005, a party was held at Brixton's elite club Mass, which was attended by Mary Ann Hobbs, host of BBC Radio 1. She decided to get closer to the underground genre. Dubstep impressed the radio host. BBC Radio 1 soon aired a special on this topic. Within two hours, listeners could get acquainted with several sets from a number of dubstep DJs of those years, among them:
- Skream;
- Distance;
- Kode9;
- Mala;
- Hatcha.
Before the airwaves, dubstep was just music for a small circle of people from Croydon. Now the genre has gained genuine popularity and even worldwide fame.
The next impetus to the growth of dubstep's fame were two albums of the musician, known under the pseudonym Burial. They came out in 2006 and 2007. The first album had the greatest success with music critics: it reached the top of the list of the best publications of the year. These collections of compositions were not pure genre, but contained many elements of dubstep. Both albums helped dubstep gain new artists and listeners.
Dubstep began to develop actively in 2007. By 2009, the genre could be found all over the world, although in many ways it still continued to be considered "underground" music. To get out of the underground it took popular musicians to play this music. Such an impetus was the track of the world famous rapper Snoop Dogg. Since 2010, dubstep has been recognized by the charts. In 2011, country singer Taylor Swift used dubstep elements in her performances. One of her compositions was on the first line of the Billboard charts.
Currently, dubstep is slowly but surely transforming. In contrast to this genre, the so-called bass music arose: it uses dubstep bass lines and synthesizer sounds in the middle frequencies. The confusion between these genres has led to a debate about what is "real" dubstep."
Features of dubstep
Having heard dubstep at least once, a person will not be able to confuse this genre with other musical styles. The sound of this music penetrates into every cell of the body. Dubstep has absorbed all the best that existed in music by the end of the last millennium. This genre is developing as time suggests.
You can find a lot in dubstep: from slow tracks with elements of meditative music to aggressive notes in which protest sounds. The attractiveness of this direction is precisely in the variety of its manifestations.
The first careful experiments in dubstep were a mixture of two-step, grime and garage. It is not surprising that the origin of the direction took place in London. This city has a special atmosphere, it cannot be compared with other cities of the Old World. Life in London is a constant movement and interaction with people of different cultures and backgrounds. Dubstep has absorbed all the peculiarities of London life.
Main features of dubstep:
- low frequencies;
- "Viscous" bass lining;
- broken breakbeat.
The melody in dubstep serves only to create a very specific mood. Musicians working in this genre are constantly on the lookout. Therefore, here you can often find a pulsating, changing rhythm.
The sound that dubstep has now was formed back in 1999 as a result of experiments with garage. Dubstep is "great and terrible." There is hardly any other musical direction today that would cause such an ambiguous reaction. For many, dubstep has become a kind of monolithic obelisk that spreads around itself countless networks of various sounds.
Dubstep began under the concrete pavement of two-step, where all the most interesting took place under cover of secrecy. The further, the more musicians were involved in the fascinating process of forming a new underground direction. The music, which was created in underground musical circles, was liked by young people - it carried a spirit of protest. It took a while for a new genre to rise to the surface.
Now many reputable music publications write about dubstep. Films are made about him. The fact that dubstep was formed without strong support from the popular music press inspires respect for the genre.
Each new performer brings something new and unique to dubstep. The faster sound, which the musician Skrillex gave to dubstep, brought huge popularity to the style. Another star of the club scene, Emika, impressed the audience with its intense and deep sound. These truly cosmic, addictive sounds are great for contemplation. Experts believe that dubstep can be considered not only a club direction, but also complex and deep music that can develop a wide variety of moods.
Nowadays, almost every new composition of this genre is accompanied by the creation of a mix. Sometimes, in order to hear something really worthwhile, it is necessary to put aside a lot of monotonous, almost unremarkable tracks. The last word remains with the listener - it is he who determines those dubstep compositions that will go to the top.
