A Brief Introduction On Dubstep Production
June 12, 2012 7:15 AM Subscribe
That was pretty bad. Concept, animation, everything...
posted by erebora at 7:47 AM on June 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by erebora at 7:47 AM on June 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
Wow, that gave me a headache in less than two minutes.
posted by Catblack at 7:51 AM on June 12, 2012
posted by Catblack at 7:51 AM on June 12, 2012
A couple tracks I've been enjoying lately are Rednek - Conspiracy & Knife Party - Centipede.
posted by Edogy at 7:53 AM on June 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Edogy at 7:53 AM on June 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
Liked Conspiracy too but didn't get the joke until I looked up Rizla.
posted by DU at 8:00 AM on June 12, 2012
posted by DU at 8:00 AM on June 12, 2012
You know, I don't really hate dubstep. I can appreciate it, and certainly placing it in the context of electronic music in the last 20 years makes it much easier to understand. It wouldn't be my first listening choice on most days, but I won't begrudge anyone else...
...but for fuck's sake stop playing it over the PA at the goddamn gym! It's making me want to put down my dumbbells and slug the guy next to me for no reason at all!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:32 AM on June 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
...but for fuck's sake stop playing it over the PA at the goddamn gym! It's making me want to put down my dumbbells and slug the guy next to me for no reason at all!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:32 AM on June 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
Lately, I've been feeling like dubstep needs more dub and less step. There are more dub sounds to explore than distorted bass wobble. Enough with the eeeeeAIeeeeAIeeeeAI.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:38 AM on June 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:38 AM on June 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
It's a shame to watch the world slip away while I'm still here trying to enjoy it.
posted by humboldt32 at 8:46 AM on June 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by humboldt32 at 8:46 AM on June 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
Dubstep has no class.
posted by aubilenon at 9:08 AM on June 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by aubilenon at 9:08 AM on June 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
Oh, I disagree.
I got to around 5:00 without hearing much but one vaguely housey lounge diva loop suitable for a Banana Republic dressing room.
Not that it's badly done, that doesn't seem like dubstep to me.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:40 AM on June 12, 2012
I got to around 5:00 without hearing much but one vaguely housey lounge diva loop suitable for a Banana Republic dressing room.
Not that it's badly done, that doesn't seem like dubstep to me.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:40 AM on June 12, 2012
TIL the text-to-speech youtube videos have not improved since the first 9/11 conspiracy videos 10 years ago.
posted by surplus at 10:04 AM on June 12, 2012
posted by surplus at 10:04 AM on June 12, 2012
@snuffleupagus: A local DJ Crew here in Seattle made some stickers with exactly that sentiment: More Dub, Less Step. I can't say I disagree.
posted by cathodeheart at 10:14 AM on June 12, 2012
posted by cathodeheart at 10:14 AM on June 12, 2012
Not that it's badly done, that doesn't seem like dubstep to me
Because dubstep doesn't always sound like Optimus prime taking a shit. The stuff in the cartoon is brostep, not dubstep.
posted by empath at 10:22 AM on June 12, 2012 [4 favorites]
Because dubstep doesn't always sound like Optimus prime taking a shit. The stuff in the cartoon is brostep, not dubstep.
posted by empath at 10:22 AM on June 12, 2012 [4 favorites]
I like listening to genre snobbery while I'm working out.
posted by Edogy at 10:33 AM on June 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Edogy at 10:33 AM on June 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
Sorry, empath, that came off harsher than the playful banter I intended.
posted by Edogy at 10:38 AM on June 12, 2012
posted by Edogy at 10:38 AM on June 12, 2012
Because dubstep doesn't always sound like Optimus prime taking a shit.
I laughed for about 90 seconds!
But, still. That track was like Thievery Corporation meets Kruder and Dorfmeister Midtown. (Again, not a bad thing.) If that's somehow Officially Dubstep then I still must not get it.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:39 AM on June 12, 2012
I laughed for about 90 seconds!
But, still. That track was like Thievery Corporation meets Kruder and Dorfmeister Midtown. (Again, not a bad thing.) If that's somehow Officially Dubstep then I still must not get it.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:39 AM on June 12, 2012
This is also dubstep.
Dubstep is basically just half-tempo 2-step garage, and there's a lot of crossover with garage.
posted by empath at 10:42 AM on June 12, 2012
Dubstep is basically just half-tempo 2-step garage, and there's a lot of crossover with garage.
posted by empath at 10:42 AM on June 12, 2012
Yeah, somehow Burial sounds "closer" (heh) to dubstep to me. I suppose my ears aren't as finely tuned to the structures as the more in your face aesthetics.
Is old Smith & Mighty dubstep? (Didn't we already do this in a recent dubstep thread?)
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:50 AM on June 12, 2012
Is old Smith & Mighty dubstep? (Didn't we already do this in a recent dubstep thread?)
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:50 AM on June 12, 2012
Empath, you beat me to it. Burial (and more recently James Blake) was my go-to rainy day headphone music for years so when I heard bros raving about clubbing to dubstep I was really confused at first.
posted by Blue Meanie at 10:53 AM on June 12, 2012
posted by Blue Meanie at 10:53 AM on June 12, 2012
i dont know if 'another girl' is "dubstep" but... it is reallyreally(!) good. if you like your electronic music to lean more towards pop, greene's remix of kelly rowland's "motivation" is sexy. if you like sade ((or even if you don't), here's a wonderful cover of "no ordinary love" with greene's production.
His cohorts on LuckyMe, including Lunice and Rustie, are also putting out some of my favorite stuff. The former's "Hitmane's Anthem" has a snakey arpeggio and hip-hop vibe. Rustie's "Cry Flames" makes me want to flip over a car with my bare hands (as if I was Optimus Prime, maybe).
--
i'd like also like to request a moratorium on "archangel" as the "also dubstep" example. it is one of my favorite tracks of all-time, but i'm certain we can think outside of that box.
can we talk about Digital Mystikz (aka DMZ?) instead? The two producers (Mala and Coki) that comprise the duo were crucial in developing some of dubstep's darker aesthetic. here's their track "anti-war dub", which is more "dub" than "wub". here's james blake covering that track, live.
that guy screaming "OH SHIT" at the beginning of that last clip? yours truly. (hah.)
posted by raihan_ at 11:01 AM on June 12, 2012 [3 favorites]
His cohorts on LuckyMe, including Lunice and Rustie, are also putting out some of my favorite stuff. The former's "Hitmane's Anthem" has a snakey arpeggio and hip-hop vibe. Rustie's "Cry Flames" makes me want to flip over a car with my bare hands (as if I was Optimus Prime, maybe).
--
i'd like also like to request a moratorium on "archangel" as the "also dubstep" example. it is one of my favorite tracks of all-time, but i'm certain we can think outside of that box.
can we talk about Digital Mystikz (aka DMZ?) instead? The two producers (Mala and Coki) that comprise the duo were crucial in developing some of dubstep's darker aesthetic. here's their track "anti-war dub", which is more "dub" than "wub". here's james blake covering that track, live.
that guy screaming "OH SHIT" at the beginning of that last clip? yours truly. (hah.)
posted by raihan_ at 11:01 AM on June 12, 2012 [3 favorites]
and a lot of that sexy 2-step-ish production has bled into the mainstream, as well. i really like this recent usher track, which was produced by diplo... climax. sexyyyy.
posted by raihan_ at 11:02 AM on June 12, 2012
posted by raihan_ at 11:02 AM on June 12, 2012
Or, looking at it from the dub angle, Twilight Circus in....
1997 (Thunder)
2011 (Nu Doom) -- note linked in response to Burial, tagged "dubstep"
Huh. Twilight Circus Gone Dubstep playlist on YT turned up this apparent Burial/Michael Rose remix....the source track is little too dancehall for me, but still interesting.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:05 AM on June 12, 2012
1997 (Thunder)
2011 (Nu Doom) -- note linked in response to Burial, tagged "dubstep"
Huh. Twilight Circus Gone Dubstep playlist on YT turned up this apparent Burial/Michael Rose remix....the source track is little too dancehall for me, but still interesting.
posted by snuffleupagus at 11:05 AM on June 12, 2012
Ohhh. I was hoping this would be a dubstep aerobics class.
posted by msalt at 11:32 AM on June 12, 2012
posted by msalt at 11:32 AM on June 12, 2012
I actually loathed the old, dubby dubstep and only started liking it once they added in all the glitch-y, mid-range rave sounds -- I actually liked stuff like Skrillex and Feed Me at first, just because it sounded so new and heavy. But that got boring and formulaic really fast, so I went back to the more minimalist/garage sound, which is what I prefer now.
posted by empath at 11:52 AM on June 12, 2012
posted by empath at 11:52 AM on June 12, 2012
That's brostep, and it's generally considered the Korn of today's popular music.
Burial's "Untrue" is something of the "Kind of Blue" of dubstep and is what many electronic music types consider to be the real thing.
ps where's the drop bro?
posted by four panels at 12:06 PM on June 12, 2012
Burial's "Untrue" is something of the "Kind of Blue" of dubstep and is what many electronic music types consider to be the real thing.
ps where's the drop bro?
posted by four panels at 12:06 PM on June 12, 2012
Now I'm reminded why I usually stay away from music posts on MetaFilter and discussions about electronic music genres in particular. Think I'll go ride around in my car and listen to some like the uneducated Philistine that I am.
posted by Edogy at 12:17 PM on June 12, 2012
posted by Edogy at 12:17 PM on June 12, 2012
I actually a bit surprised that no one has coined a new name for the old "rainy day/Bladerunner" dubstep, to differentiate it from the now way-too-popular brostep, which is largely considered derogatory, like Clownstep was for jump-up.
Edogy, most criticize the style because there is very little range in the style, but it's so popular that anyone can "drop a wubwubwub on it" and it gets popular.
four panels: That's brostep, and it's generally considered the Korn of today's popular music.
I hate to link this, but Korn actually worked with Skrillex on a few new tracks (NSFW lyrics and flashing text). Sadly, the Korn tracks have more dynamic range than your typical brostep track.
Speaking of Skrillex, here's his favorite track, as mentioned in the Facebook post linked by four panels. It's Aphex Twin's "Flim," from the Come to Daddy EP. Surprising that Skrillex likes something so melodic, especially with a wicked track, full of distortion and heavy drops (not to mention a freaky video) on the same EP.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:29 PM on June 12, 2012
Edogy, most criticize the style because there is very little range in the style, but it's so popular that anyone can "drop a wubwubwub on it" and it gets popular.
four panels: That's brostep, and it's generally considered the Korn of today's popular music.
I hate to link this, but Korn actually worked with Skrillex on a few new tracks (NSFW lyrics and flashing text). Sadly, the Korn tracks have more dynamic range than your typical brostep track.
Speaking of Skrillex, here's his favorite track, as mentioned in the Facebook post linked by four panels. It's Aphex Twin's "Flim," from the Come to Daddy EP. Surprising that Skrillex likes something so melodic, especially with a wicked track, full of distortion and heavy drops (not to mention a freaky video) on the same EP.
posted by filthy light thief at 12:29 PM on June 12, 2012
This track by Photek seems like dub step by way of breakbeat/progressive trance. Definitely classy, though. If anyone has any recommendations for similar style tunes I'd appreciate it.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 2:04 PM on June 12, 2012
posted by Jon Mitchell at 2:04 PM on June 12, 2012
MeFi, loving to hate the Dubstep. Can't we spread the hate around? Maybe some prog rock. Or country. Or, of course, we could LOLPOP. Maybe its time for another GaGa thread, though she been quiet lately.
posted by Bovine Love at 2:11 PM on June 12, 2012
posted by Bovine Love at 2:11 PM on June 12, 2012
MeFi, loving to hate the Dubstep.
I think we all like dubstep. We just don't really like the formulaic shit that's in this video.
I even kind of like some of the harder stuff. I saw flux pavilion a few weeks ago and enjoyed the shit out it, but his opening act was pretty much everything I hate about bro step and made me want to die.
posted by empath at 2:24 PM on June 12, 2012
I think we all like dubstep. We just don't really like the formulaic shit that's in this video.
I even kind of like some of the harder stuff. I saw flux pavilion a few weeks ago and enjoyed the shit out it, but his opening act was pretty much everything I hate about bro step and made me want to die.
posted by empath at 2:24 PM on June 12, 2012
I find it odd how people are pretty accepting of similarity in food they like, but not in music.
Like, I like chocolate. Not all chocolate, but for the most part, I like that taste, and whether there are 3 companies making chocolate or 100 companies making chocolate doesn't affect whether I like that taste. I've never stopped liking chocolate because it has become "too formulaic".
I also like the drop in brostep. I don't like all brostep, of course, just like I don't like all chocolate. But, for the most part, I like that sound. But, for some reason, because a lot of people make really similar brostep, I'm supposed to dislike it, because it's formulaic.
Now, I can understand if all I listened to was brostep, then, yeah, formulaic would be terrible. If all I ate was chocolate, too, I'd get mighty tired of plain chocolate every time. But few, if any, of us here listen exclusively to one kind of music, so I don't really think that applies.
Of course, if you don't like the sound in the first place, then of course it makes sense that you don't like it. But to say "I don't like it because it's formulaic" seems so odd to me.
posted by Bugbread at 5:40 PM on June 12, 2012 [4 favorites]
Like, I like chocolate. Not all chocolate, but for the most part, I like that taste, and whether there are 3 companies making chocolate or 100 companies making chocolate doesn't affect whether I like that taste. I've never stopped liking chocolate because it has become "too formulaic".
I also like the drop in brostep. I don't like all brostep, of course, just like I don't like all chocolate. But, for the most part, I like that sound. But, for some reason, because a lot of people make really similar brostep, I'm supposed to dislike it, because it's formulaic.
Now, I can understand if all I listened to was brostep, then, yeah, formulaic would be terrible. If all I ate was chocolate, too, I'd get mighty tired of plain chocolate every time. But few, if any, of us here listen exclusively to one kind of music, so I don't really think that applies.
Of course, if you don't like the sound in the first place, then of course it makes sense that you don't like it. But to say "I don't like it because it's formulaic" seems so odd to me.
posted by Bugbread at 5:40 PM on June 12, 2012 [4 favorites]
That's the second best classroom-themed dubstep video I've ever seen!
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 6:56 PM on June 12, 2012
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 6:56 PM on June 12, 2012
I also like the drop in brostep. I don't like all brostep, of course, just like I don't like all chocolate. But, for the most part, I like that sound. But, for some reason, because a lot of people make really similar brostep, I'm supposed to dislike it, because it's formulaic.
Dance music sub-genres have a fairly short life span. It goes from underground to played-out in about 18 months. Bro-step is well passed played-out and into joke territory at this point, imo. By the time that 13-year old suburban white kids are 'raging' to it, it's just tired.
posted by empath at 8:25 PM on June 12, 2012
Dance music sub-genres have a fairly short life span. It goes from underground to played-out in about 18 months. Bro-step is well passed played-out and into joke territory at this point, imo. By the time that 13-year old suburban white kids are 'raging' to it, it's just tired.
posted by empath at 8:25 PM on June 12, 2012
empath: "Dance music sub-genres have a fairly short life span. It goes from underground to played-out in about 18 months. Bro-step is well passed played-out and into joke territory at this point, imo. By the time that 13-year old suburban white kids are 'raging' to it, it's just tired."
I understand that that's true, I just don't get why it's true. I guess among aficionados, it's the gorging effect: Discover a new food, eat it every day, and you'll get sick of it mighty fast. But if you're not an aficionado, and you never gorged in the first place, but just ate it from time to time, then it seems like either you'll still like it (if you ever liked it), or still dislike it (if you disliked it in the first place).
posted by Bugbread at 8:50 PM on June 12, 2012
I understand that that's true, I just don't get why it's true. I guess among aficionados, it's the gorging effect: Discover a new food, eat it every day, and you'll get sick of it mighty fast. But if you're not an aficionado, and you never gorged in the first place, but just ate it from time to time, then it seems like either you'll still like it (if you ever liked it), or still dislike it (if you disliked it in the first place).
posted by Bugbread at 8:50 PM on June 12, 2012
I think we all like dubstep. We just don't really like the formulaic shit that's in this video.
Speak for yourself, I fucking love it. Also, I think the video is hilarious. The original tune is by one Dubba Johnny, and part 1 of a 2-part musical joke.
Dance music sub-genres have a fairly short life span. It goes from underground to played-out in about 18 months. Bro-step is well passed played-out and into joke territory at this point, imo. By the time that 13-year old suburban white kids are 'raging' to it, it's just tired.
a small group of pterodactyl-like creatures in lurex
I'm with bugbread on this one. 'Formulaic' is a criticism thrown at genre music that has developed a grammar within which more complex ideas can be expressed. You're confusing the letter with the envelope it arrived in. If brostep isn't your thing that's fine, but I think there's a good chance the style will outlast the current rash of instant pop remixes, much as psychedelic/goa trance has continued to evolve long after its brief moment in the public spotlight, and despite the coming and going of more cheesy trance flavors.
posted by anigbrowl at 1:38 AM on June 13, 2012
Speak for yourself, I fucking love it. Also, I think the video is hilarious. The original tune is by one Dubba Johnny, and part 1 of a 2-part musical joke.
Dance music sub-genres have a fairly short life span. It goes from underground to played-out in about 18 months. Bro-step is well passed played-out and into joke territory at this point, imo. By the time that 13-year old suburban white kids are 'raging' to it, it's just tired.
a small group of pterodactyl-like creatures in lurex
I'm with bugbread on this one. 'Formulaic' is a criticism thrown at genre music that has developed a grammar within which more complex ideas can be expressed. You're confusing the letter with the envelope it arrived in. If brostep isn't your thing that's fine, but I think there's a good chance the style will outlast the current rash of instant pop remixes, much as psychedelic/goa trance has continued to evolve long after its brief moment in the public spotlight, and despite the coming and going of more cheesy trance flavors.
posted by anigbrowl at 1:38 AM on June 13, 2012
psychedelic/goa trance
And which is itself an offshoot of acid house, I forgot to add.
posted by anigbrowl at 1:45 AM on June 13, 2012
And which is itself an offshoot of acid house, I forgot to add.
posted by anigbrowl at 1:45 AM on June 13, 2012
I find it odd how people are pretty accepting of similarity in food they like, but not in music.
I'm a bit of a counterexample then, because I don't mind listening to "formulaic" or "samey" music like e.g. the lesser funk bands (Heatwave or Gap Band or Mandrill or Instant Funk) even if nothing they do is all that new or different.
The same with prog rock or straight up geezer rock, where you have plenty of bands following in the footsteps of the masters but never once stepping on the grass so to speak, but I'm happy to listen to them. I'm not the only one either; a lot of people want their bands to be more of the same, just different.
But because so much music criticism is about the thrill of the new and written by people who've professionally o.d-ed on dozens of new releases each week, consistency is underrated. You can't really say that much about the new Status Quo album other than that it sounds exactly like every other Status Quo album.
(Meanwhile I'm a lumper, not a splitter and all those *step and *trance subgenres get thrown under "electronica" in my itunes.)
posted by MartinWisse at 6:25 AM on June 13, 2012
I'm a bit of a counterexample then, because I don't mind listening to "formulaic" or "samey" music like e.g. the lesser funk bands (Heatwave or Gap Band or Mandrill or Instant Funk) even if nothing they do is all that new or different.
The same with prog rock or straight up geezer rock, where you have plenty of bands following in the footsteps of the masters but never once stepping on the grass so to speak, but I'm happy to listen to them. I'm not the only one either; a lot of people want their bands to be more of the same, just different.
But because so much music criticism is about the thrill of the new and written by people who've professionally o.d-ed on dozens of new releases each week, consistency is underrated. You can't really say that much about the new Status Quo album other than that it sounds exactly like every other Status Quo album.
(Meanwhile I'm a lumper, not a splitter and all those *step and *trance subgenres get thrown under "electronica" in my itunes.)
posted by MartinWisse at 6:25 AM on June 13, 2012
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