Normally my posts here are just me recommending chunks of tune for you to dabble, but i thought, why not write a wee article for those who are somewhat interested in what I have to say, and those who are just really bored. (I would expect pretty much everyone reading this to fall under the latter label).
As you've probably realised by this point being the observant bugger that you are, this short article is about the suddenly ballooning genre, Dubstep. 2 years ago, the term would have probably meant nothing to you, and maybe, if you're a bit slow, it still doesn't. Basically, it's the dark and lumbering creature that evolved from late 90's 2-step Garage taking snippets of influence from what is now somewhat regarded as it's sister genre, Drum n Bass. Growing up on the streets of Croydon, London, Dubstep really started off as a hobby for the few blokes who had a passion for the more ominous sounds of 2-step Garage. Nurturing Dubstep up through the 00's was the job of a small group of London producers, Benga, El-B, Mala, Kode9, Coki and a few others, but most notably, Bromley born Oliver Jones, AKA Skream.
With the genre being pretty underground during the early 00's it wasn't really until 2005/06 that it really started picking up some real attention and when Skream released midnight line request, the genre was catapulted to a new level. With more and more clubs playing dubstep people were finally warming to a genre that once seemed so obscure and insignificant.
With dubsteps popularity rising, it was only a matter of time before it picked up some real mainstream media attention. This came in the form of radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs's radio program, "Dubstep Warz", an hour long radio show devoted entirely to Dubstep. Burial's self titled 2006 album was also received with remarkable praise, "The Wire" magazine going as far as to put it as it's number 1 album of 06.
Still the genre remained relatively unheard of yet still gaining loyal followers as the scene grew. Then, in 2009 "shit went down". Once again Skream had released another incredibly well received tune. The difference this time was that it was a remix. The remix that took Dubstep to en entirely new world of popularity. In for the Kill, a song by female synth pop artist "La Roux" was already a well loved song by many, but it had yet to reach it's true potential. Being the true mastermind that he was Skream transformed it into a monster, set on rampaging across the UK and truly capturing the public's attention.
Now here we are in 2010, mention Dubstep to pretty much anyone between the ages of 14 and 28 and you can guarantee they at least know of the genre. It's reached such a huge stage that most songs released now have at least one Dubstep remix somewhere. Many inspired by Skream's huge success have taken to producing remixes themselves, and some of the stuff made really is astounding.
However, it's not all fun and wobbles today. Many so called Dpurists, those who have watched Dubstep evolve and have supported along the way are becoming wary that their beloved genre is becoming a novelty product, a mere gimmick that will entertain the masses for perhaps a year or so and then be left to die, raped by popular culture. And the purists make a fair point, many of the newer school of producers, Borgore, Flux pavilion, Funtcase and Rusko appear to have "resorted" to taking Dubstep to ridiculous levels, basing their entire producing careers around making the "Filthiest Wobbles". On the face of it, it honestly does look like Dubstep has lost all it's subtlety, but it's perhaps not quite as simple as that.
Some have branded this latest phenomena of Wobbly Dubstep with other names, such as "Brostep" and "Wubstep". As with many EDM genres, Dubstep has it's own offshoot. Brostep could be perceived as what Gabber is to Hardstyle or what Breakcore is to Drum n Bass. Catering for the masses brostep is neither a step forwards or backwards for the genre, it is a step sideways. There are still producers out there creating some of the most amazing sounding dubstep tracks to date who produce in fashion with the older, original Dubstep sound. Joy Orbison being but one of a myriad of these new producers keeping relatively clear from that now overused and slightly uninteresting "WUB WUB WUB WUB" sound.
No, pop isn't killing Dubstep, it's simply carving itself a new side channel for it to run down, and if it's getting people interested in the sound and essentially electronic music in general, then that's brilliant, we all have to start somewhere, and this shallow pool of Dubstep is great for getting started with.
Dubstep has traveled a long way and it looks set to keep on rolling thanks to the new innovative ideas from producers both old and new. Dubstep is anything but done with us yet.
