Bristol’s well deserved reputation for musical innovation has been
passed on to the Dubstep scene and its vast array of talented artists,
who are providing the blueprint for a new Bristolian musical movement.
Bristol has often acted as reactionary force when a new scene evolves
and, when this is then adopted by this city’s music community, the
results can be staggering. Just as with Drum N Bass and before, a new
wave of artists is making its mark with their own distinctive take on
Dubstep.
Dubstep
is
undoubtedly
one
of
the
most
talked
about
forms
of
underground
music
of
the
past
couple
of
years.
It
has
moved
from
small,
sweaty
underground
clubs
with
a
small
platoon
of
loyal
fans,
to
massive
super
clubs
housing
an
army
of
revellers,
and
this
phenomenal
rise
has
led
to
the
scene’s top players being elevated to the status of underground
stars.
Recently,
as
a
genre,
Dubstep
has
faced
accusations,
like
its
distant
cousin
Drum
&
Bass
before,
of
becoming
formulaic
and
reliant
on
lowest
common
denominator
mass
appeal.
As
with
Drum
&
Bass,
Bristol
is
a
vibrant
conduit
in
the
Dubstep
phenomenon,
it
has
a
vast
array
of
producers
delivering
an
increasingly
diverse selection of sounds and once again
the underground aficionados of the music world are looking to the South
West.
The Rise of Dubstep
Dubstep, like most electronic genres, originated from various specific
musical styles. Over the years, this type of music was able to develop
it's own sound parameters to form a set of distinct elements that
differentiate it from others.
Dubstep comes from the rhythm machine of the UK Garage and thus is a
direct descendant of House. Its predecessor, “2-step garage”, or simply
“2-step”, is a typically British style of modern electronic dance
music, and a relatively popular sub-genre of UK Garage. The term is
used to describe general irregularities in rhythms that don't conform
to garage's traditional “4-to-floor” pulse beat the rhythm lacks the
kick drum pattern found in many other styles of electronic music with a
regular beat.
Typical 2-step drum patterns features a kick on the 1st and 3rd beat,
and shuffled rhythms or the use of triplets applied to other elements
of the percussion, creating a pseudo-funk feel, and resulting in a beat
distinguishable from standard house or techno. Although tracks with
only two kick drum beats to a bar are perceived as being slower than
the traditional “four-to-floor” beat, the audience's interest is
maintained by the inclusion of sporadic snare-placements and/or accents
in the drum patterns, scattered rimshots, percussion instruments,
as well as syncopated basslines and the use of other instruments.
"As Drum'n'bass was getting faster, heavy and loud, the girls
ended up
playing UK Garage on Sunday afternoons"
Says Simon Reynolds, a journalist, music critic and author of Energy
Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music And Dance Culture (1998).
"A very special sound emerged in the United Kingdom it had a diva like
vocals in R & B and was similar to the instrumental B-side of the
discs House Americans. The sound spread rapidly, creating a different
scene. Some fans were disappointed Jungle enthusiasts, upset with the
way the drum'n'bass had made it, others were just fans of House looking
for a British version of the sound”
Explains Simon Reynolds.
In the late 90's, many producers of 2-Step, like El-B, J Da Flex, Oris
Jay, Steve Gurley and Zed Bias developed a clear taste for darker
arrangements. Soul and Jazz has influenced their production, however
more and more the sound represented the spirit of urban, chaotic,
decadent, sinister paranoia in the metropolis.
J. Young ©
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