As dubstep spreads vehemently worldwide, producers have moved away from the early intentions of the music to create stomping dance floor anthems. The early use of the music was to create a dark mood of deep effect. “Deep dubstep” became the nominal term to describe these musicians as the genre transgressed toward the dance scene. Burial, a pioneer who launched dubstep to massive notoriety in 2006, would fall under the guise of deep dubstep; albeit the reclusive producer is without a doubt in his own tripped out musical realm. Some people might also call it “ambient dubstep,” but I dislike that term for the false implications “ambient” can induce upon a genre, especially an inherently movable, dance style like dubstep.
When DJ Distance was selected to choose his replacement for last summer’s Generation Bass, he epitomized this transitional sentiment perfectly: “The reason I picked Cyrus for 2008 is because of his production style really. It’s original; it just stands amongst the stuff at the moment which is all kind of dance floor. His stuff to me just creates a space, and like an environment, which is what dubstep is all about to start out with.”
Whatever surrounding deep dubstep seems to create, that notion of building an environment with the music, similar to minimal techno, is the hallmark of that original dubstep quality. To note, these hybridized subgenre labeling for dubstep, are highly arguable. Dubstep is barley definable in its own right, still being at a relatively infantile, and extremely innovative and experimental stage. My personal use of such terms is simply to express a most universally precise assertion of my experience, in regards to these sounds, in hoping you can share my elation for what is currently being developed underneath the global barrage of bass-weight bangers.
Lately I’ve been listening to a similar sect of such environmental-shifting tunes, what I like to call “Space Bass.” I contrived the term to describe those ultramodern, cosmic auras being created within the scene. I first noticed it with Starkey’s Ephemeral Exhibits, released late last year. The Philadelphia-based producer demonstrates a rare ethereal side of his abilities, with a celestial journey into Low-Earth Orbit that would bring any astronaut on the International Space Station to a zero-gravity boogey. The outro-track, appropriately titled Spacewalk, would be a prime choice for a NASA selectah’s closing track to reload as the sunrises over the Earth, signaling the astronomical tomorrow has arrived and thus ending a literal ‘out-of-this-world’ party.
Veteran electro producer Anthony Rother’s just released, double-CD debut for the German-based Telekraft label, takes us further into the deep void of space bass. Staying true to his German roots, he maintains the 4/4 pace. The album, entitled My Name Is Beuys Von Telekraft, also seems to introduce us to an extraterrestrial alter-ego representing the dark side of Rother. Man takes advantage of lo-fi technique and mechanized vocals to create an extraordinary futurist, outer space environment. His relentless basslines release a cascade of high energy particles through the deep, empty ambiances like solar flares in the magnetosphere. That’s a serious warning for the biochemical damage your body may incur when this guy hits the set on an 800-Watt sub-system.
As technology continues to expand our knowledge of the universe, there’s sure to be more sonic output of cosmic expression, as music remains a primary outlet for the inquisitive questions and conditions of tomorrow. Today, deep dubstep is one of the few genres with the innate ability to encapsulate that vibe. So rock on, Earthlings. “Space Bass” has landed and comes in P.E.A.C.E.
Link: www.starkey-music.com
Link: www.datapunk.de
Starkey - Spacewalk
What this really underlines for me is that evolution within the sphere of hip-hop is progressing at a rate exponential, if unprecedented. What’s more, hip-hop audiences are becoming more receptive to alternate forms of the music they love. This deep/space/ambient dubstep, or whatever you want to call it, is blowing my mind. It’s powerful stuff. And I think it’s proof that we’ve reached an intersection where conventional methods of creating and listening to hip-hop are quickly (perhaps thankfully) morphing into the fresh and unexpected. Out with the old, in with the new? I don’t know... The point is that somehow, these new, perfectly original styles remain largely adoptable to most listeners (at least to me). This is the marvel of the music (and perhaps the marvel of your post, Hoodzpah). What I’m talking about is accessibility. We strive as writers, as advocates and as music producers to make the music as accessible as possible. Of course, it only works if the music has a HIGH degree of adaptability. Clearly, hip-hop has proven itself to be adaptable ever since its conception. It can be found on nearly every continent, and now, unsurprisingly, has proven its promise in space. Shit, if penguins had thumbs I imagine they’d have been bumping Ephemeral Expressions atop the tallest iceberg atop the most daunting seas. Edifying post. Thanks for the introduction to Starkey. Keep breaking down barriers.
ReplyDeleteYeah man, I know you aren’t engaged in dubstep at all, so it’s really cool to see a first impression, so well expressed, from an American hip-hop head’s initial response to the sounds of dubstep. My “space bass” is far from being the linkage between the two genres, and other “digitally mutated bastard offspring in between.” I’m working on a real in-depth piece that I hope to post eventually soon. The problem is making it not turn into a book since this is quite a difficult draw to write about. But I have plenty of examples and concrete production to prove any ambiguity I might not be able to explore because of length issues.
ReplyDeleteBasically, a lot of people associate dubstep with drum and bass, especially in the U.S. This is because of really clear reasons (if you’re in the jungle/rave scene). It’s played in all the room two’s and was heavily influenced by drum and bass. I think I’ll be able to get a good angle on it though, cause when I was living in England, I didn’t access dubstep through D&B at all. Dubstep is what made me a bass-head, not the preexisting jungle/D&B scene. My actual access to dubstep came through grime. So coming from listening, loving and producing hip-hop back in the states, I feel it let me see the massive potential for hip-hop to further evolve with experimental forms of bass. God Bless the Queen for Britain’s amazing urban scene.
My whole culmination will basically be suggesting that dubstep has the potential to bridge a large portion of the hip-hop scene and have a pretty massive impact on the market (even if still underground in style); via the independent and hardcore underground hip-hop scene in the U.S. As well as large populations of Junglist bass heads who share so many similarities in culture with the former.
I mean, where do you see all the hip-hop heads at raves? At the drum and bass stage. The product that boys like Starkey, Glitch Mob and Laser Sword are rocking, are perfect examples of a prosperous evolution of hip-hop with certain electronic music. I just saw Gaslamp Killer and 6Blocc spin last weekend at L.A. promoter Wreck-Ignition’s "Legacy" party. Between dubstep and some heavy 4/4 bass, they would throw down some West-Coast hip-hop bombshells in the mix-- the place went off every time. Thanks for the feed back. Maybe I'll just post THIS instead, ha. Stay up. P.E.A.C.E.
great post! what is really exciting to me is how dubstep continually virally *mutates* and cross-fertilizes with other genres, in particular hip-hop/beats and techno... this 'space bass' music of which you speak is particularly exciting, the ultra-futuristic, techno-utopian (to me at least) tracks coming from the likes of Kontext (Curved Convex Mirror/Falling to Weightlessness EPs) and dub techno titans Monolake (new Atlas/Titan EP - how's THAT for an explicitly spacey title?) seem to me to have the ability to create a distinctly 'altered state' in the listener (if at the requisite volume...) and always make me think of the space dub that the rasta spacedreads listen to in William Gibson's "Neuromancer". But that's just me, probably...
ReplyDeleteIt works both ways, too. I got into dubstep via minimal techno, was never really into hip-hop/breaks/beats scene, but am now checking out the likes of FlyLo, Gaslamp Killer, Nosaj Thing etc from the LA beats scene and liking it a lot. So this rare example of a home-grown UK scene FINALLY making it big in the US seems to be encouraging a good deal of translatlantic cross-pollination, which can only be a good thing.
Continue to meditate on bass weight, my brother.
S.A.F.E.