junglejuice
Bluelight Crew
One of the guys in my crew wrote a really kickass article on our blog about a style that's been creeping up big time known as bass music, futurebass or a few other descriptions. It's not dubstep, but more closely related to 2-step garage and this article covers it really well with tons of examples.
2011: The Fluidity and Rigidity of The Bass Line
Over the past decade it’s been quite evident that the various applications of the bass line has made a significant impact in the world of music. Where it has been emphasized into existing forms of music it has transformed the percussive swing of UK Garage into the dark and minimal half-step sounds of ‘Dubstep’ and as of late it has created the dynamic tempo range and the fusion-driven sounds of what is currently known as either ‘UK Bass’,‘Future Bass’ or just simply ‘Bass’.
"Dark Garage"
Darqwan-Nocturnal (142 beats per minute), 2002, Texture Records
emphasis on the subsonic bass, minimization on the percussion, at a tempo range between 138 to 148 beats per minute:
"Dubstep":
Coki-The End (144 beats per minute), 2007, DMZ
Jakes-3Kout (138 beats per minute), 2007, Hench
‘UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass’ music has added that same emphasis to the bass line that has been used with ‘Dubstep’ to fuse it with existing forms of music such as ‘Techno’, ‘Juke’, ‘Baltimore Club’, ‘Miami Bass’, and ‘House’ at different tempos:
"Detroit Techno"
Derrick May-The Dance (126 beats per minute), 1987, Transmat
"UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass"
Boddika & Joy O-Swims (126 beats per minute), Forthcoming on Swamp 81
"Detroit Techno"
D-House-Detroit Bass (143 beats per minute), D-Invasion Records, 1992
"UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass"
Bok Bok-Silo Pass (137 beats per minute), Night Slugs Audio, 2011
"Juke"
Spinn & Rashad-Space Juke (160 beats per minute), Ghettophiles, 2010
"UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass"
Addison Groove-This Is It (138 beats per minute), 2011, Tectonic
"Baltimore Club"
Sounds of Silence-We Bad (128 beats per minute), 1993, Inner City Records
"House"
Hard Drive-Deep Inside (126 beats per minute), 1993, Strictly Rhythm
"UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass"
Hard Drive-Deep Inside (Pearson Sound Refix) (131 beats per minute), 2011, Night Slugs
*Take note that the aforementioned ‘Dubstep’ and ‘UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass’ tracks are just a few of the well known tracks within their respective scenes but do not encapsulate those entire scenes as a whole.
In layman’s terms and to put everything in context it seems as though the ‘UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass’ tracks shown above are more or less a result of combining signature sounds, rhythms, and tempos associated with ‘Techno’, ‘House’, ‘Juke’, ‘Baltimore club’, amongst several other music genres, with the addition of the polyrhythmic subsonic bass and/or percussive or half step tempos reinforced in ‘Dark Garage’ and ‘Dubstep’. As a result the only parameters that have existed within the framework of ‘UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass’ is percussion and heavy bass. So you’ll end up having what sounds like bass-heavy ‘House’, bass-heavy ‘Techno’, ‘Dubstep’ that sounds like ‘Techno’, ‘Juke’ that sounds like ‘Dubstep’, along with many other countless descriptions of ‘something that sounds familiar’ with ‘something else that sounds familiar even though it’s not what I think it is’. The only affirmation that can be drawn from those indefinite conclusions however are that it is experimental, beat-driven music.
From a sonic standpoint and with good enough speakers or headphones the only continuity between all of these ‘UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass’ tracks aside from not having any or very minimal vocal usage is the application of a polyrhythmic subsonic bass line. Emphasize the use of an LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) on the bass line to create a mid-range wobble effect, minimize the use of percussion running at the same tempo as ‘Dubstep’ and you can have what is commonly referred to as ‘Brostep’:
Rusko-Woo Boost (140 beats per minute), 2010, Mad Decent
Tracks that are labeled as being ‘Garage’, ‘Dubstep’, or ‘UK Bass’ would be considered by many to be sound system specific. As said before the tracks contain sub-sonic bass lines. These sub-sonic bass lines are low frequencies that are supposed to be felt as much as they’re supposed to be heard. However, these frequencies cannot be physically felt and heard properly through laptop speakers or on a sound system with no subwoofers which could be a possible correlation to the ongoing popularity of ‘Brostep.’
Ease of Access, Ease of Consumption
The heavy application of the LFO to create mid-range and high frequencies in the majority of ‘Brostep’ tracks can be heard on a wide range of output devices-laptops, earphones, smartphones, venues with loudspeakers but no subwoofers. From a sonic standpoint it’s just much more accessible-what you hear is what you get, there are no subtleties within the composition of ‘Brostep’ tracks as there is with a ‘Dubstep’ track comprised of spatial atmospherics layered over polyrhythmic bass lines. As a result the sonic accessibility of ‘Brostep’ has gained a larger and wider appeal particularly amongst the young adults in North America as evidenced by the popularity of artists such as Rusko, Skrillex, Borgore, Datsik…and Korn (?!)
Calling for Artistic Diversity
It would be safe to say that there are more people that listen to music on a regular basis through one of the aforementioned output devices or at venues where the sound system is not meticulously eq’d properly-that might sound opinionated but being a punter for the past 6 years and attending countless events in the UK, New York City, and here in DC it is as much a fact as it is an opinion. Where you had the Civil Rights movement that promoted racial quality and equal rights, I believe there should be and has been some sort of Artistic Rights movement to promote music equality. I’m not advocating bass-oriented music to become as main stream and pop-oriented as ‘Brostep’ but rather for ‘Bass’ music to be presented properly on a much wider scale within the US and worldwide outside of the UK. Music that can be heard and physically felt while presented in an artistic fashion to a wide-range audience on a regular basis seems to be what has maintained the constant progression of electronic dance music within the UK (i.e. the commonly referenced ‘Hardcore Continuum’). ‘Dubstep’ and ‘Bass’ music has flourished and helped develop a community of punters who produce their own interpretation of the music that has inspired them.
A glimpse at some of the punters turned producers turned seminal figures in the ‘Dubstep/bass’ music scene-
Ramadanman aka Pearson Sound (DJ/Producer, Co-founder and Co-owner of Hessle Audio)
Untold - Stereo Freeze (DJ/Producer)
Scuba (DJ/Producer, Founder and Owner of Hotflush Records, Founder of The Sub:stance club night at Berghain in Berlin, Germany)
Much of the popularity of ‘Dubstep/bass’ music has to do with the quality and quantity of the resources used to present and promote the music to the public.
Events
DMZ at Mass
Forward at Plastic People
Trouble Vision at Corsica Studios
FabricLive at Fabric
SubDub at The West Indian Centre
Venues known for their reputable sound systems and various club nights
Plastic People
Mass
Corsica Studios
The End (closed in 2009)
Fabric
The West Indian Centre in Leeds
Radio/Podcast/Webcast Shows
Rinse FM
Sub FM
The Boiler Room
Get Darker TV
BBC Radio One
BBC 1xtra
Non-Radio/Non-Webcast Media Outlets
Knowledge Mag
FACT Magazine
DJ Mag
Record Labels
DMZ
Deep Medi
Swamp 81
Tectonic
Hotflush
Hessle Audio
Nightslugs Audio
502 Recordings
Hemlock Recordings
What all these resources share in common is that the music is presented by people who have a great understanding and great passion for presenting ‘Dubstep/Bass’ Music in an artistic fashion-whether it’s a podcast, a studio mix, a radio show, a club set, or a record review it is regularly done by DJs, DJ Producers, and music connoisseurs who do it well on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. Something that is done truly well enough is admired but if done frequently enough it can also lead to an individual to become inspired. With artistic inspiration comes an intangible and sub-conscious surge in creativity. The constant progression and rising influx of music producers, music performers, and DJs in the UK is basically perpetual inspiration on a mass scale. One can tune in to a radio show and hear music that they like on a frequent basis, attend events to hear DJs play out these tunes that they like on a frequent basis, purchase these tunes on vinyl at record shops or purchase them digitally online on a frequent basis and potentially become inspired to emulate what they saw or heard in their own way whether it be as a producer, a DJ, DJ/producer, live performer, a record label owner, or perhaps even all of the above and do all of these things on the very stage or outlet they saw or heard it from.
Listed below are several resources that have set the standard for presenting music in an artistic fashion that, if done well enough on a frequent basis, could potentially mobilize a community to develop the same cycle of artistic inspiration and artistic progression on a mass scale via club Nights, radio shows, podcasts beyond the UK and into other urban areas that could be fertile grounds for constant artistic development.
Events/Venues
Quality music, quality DJing, on quality soundsystems:
Deep Space at Cielo, New York City
Dive and Lie Wrecked at Sweetspot, Washington DC
Reconstrvct at The Morgan, Brooklyn, New York
Most Memorable DJ Sets
“DJs are musicians. In my opinion, a musician manipulates sounds in a sequence (planned or unplanned) to create an enjoyable work of listenable art, regardless of instrument. Trombone. Cello. Timpani. Gong. In its basic and rudimentary form, it’s all the same. A DJ manipulates sounds using an apparatus that rotates (records, CDs) to create an enjoyable work of listenable art.” -Joe Nice, taken from sdcitybeat.com
Dubspot 5 year Anniversary w/ Mala @ Deep Space, Cielo, New York, June 27th
Deep Space Presents Dub War w/ Pangaea @ Deep Space, Cielo, New York, September 19th
DJG at Sweetspot, Washington DC, November 25th
Goth Trad at Ultra Bar, Washington DC, April 20th
B.Bravo at The Lamont Bishop Gallery & The Loft, Washington DC, December 2nd
XI at The Forward Festival at The Loft, Washington DC, April 2nd
Influential Radio Shows
Dubstep, UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass, House, Techno, Jazz, Broken Beat, Hip-Hop…Tune into all or any one of these shows and you’ll find each of the DJs presenting the best of what several urban music movements have to offer to the public ear.
http://www.gillespetersonworldwide.com/
http://rinse.fm/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00v4tv3
Best Podcasts
Websites that allow you to download and listen to mixes of the most up to date and vast array of modern urban and electronic music wherever you go.
XLR8R
Resident Advisor
Expansion Broadcast
Online Record Stores
User-friendly websites that allow you to purchase the music you can hear on the aforementioned radio shows and podcasts
http://www.surus.co.uk
http://boomkat.com
http://www.redeyerecords.co.uk
Tracks of 2011
The tracks selected capture the immeasurable collection of sounds that define the intangible fascination and adoration I have for music
Here is a Mix of all these tracks, in order –
Refugee - Class of 2011 (free download)
Long Arm-The Waterfall Inside Me [Project Moon Circle]
Lovebirds feat. Stee Downes-Want You In My Soul [Winding Road Records]
Lana Del Rey-Video Games (Joy Orbison Remix) [Polydor]
Eliphino-More Than Me [Somethink Sounds]
Martyn-Masks [Brainfeeder]
Julio Bashmore-Battle For Middle You [PMR]
Champion & Ruby Lee Ryder-Sensitivity [Formula Records]
Dauwd-What’s There [Pictures Music]
2562-Aquatic Family Affair [When In Doubt]
Johnny Osbourne-Fally Rankin (V.I.V.E.K. Remix) [Greensleeves]
Lucas Santtana-Super Violao Mashup [Mais Um Discos]
Rough Fields-The Harbour Wall [Bomb Shop]
Daedelus-Tailor Made (Sepalcure Remix) [Ninja Tune]
Machinedrum-You Don’t Survive [Planet Mu]
Ratcliffe-Mindset [Brownswood Recordings]
Africa Hi Tech-Out In the Streets (Original, VIP Mixes) [Warp Records]
Article written by Methodius Joliloquy
Please check out our blog at http://www.eightyeightdc.com/88blog/
:D
2011: The Fluidity and Rigidity of The Bass Line
Over the past decade it’s been quite evident that the various applications of the bass line has made a significant impact in the world of music. Where it has been emphasized into existing forms of music it has transformed the percussive swing of UK Garage into the dark and minimal half-step sounds of ‘Dubstep’ and as of late it has created the dynamic tempo range and the fusion-driven sounds of what is currently known as either ‘UK Bass’,‘Future Bass’ or just simply ‘Bass’.
"Dark Garage"
Darqwan-Nocturnal (142 beats per minute), 2002, Texture Records
emphasis on the subsonic bass, minimization on the percussion, at a tempo range between 138 to 148 beats per minute:
"Dubstep":
Coki-The End (144 beats per minute), 2007, DMZ
Jakes-3Kout (138 beats per minute), 2007, Hench
‘UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass’ music has added that same emphasis to the bass line that has been used with ‘Dubstep’ to fuse it with existing forms of music such as ‘Techno’, ‘Juke’, ‘Baltimore Club’, ‘Miami Bass’, and ‘House’ at different tempos:
"Detroit Techno"
Derrick May-The Dance (126 beats per minute), 1987, Transmat
"UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass"
Boddika & Joy O-Swims (126 beats per minute), Forthcoming on Swamp 81
"Detroit Techno"
D-House-Detroit Bass (143 beats per minute), D-Invasion Records, 1992
"UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass"
Bok Bok-Silo Pass (137 beats per minute), Night Slugs Audio, 2011
"Juke"
Spinn & Rashad-Space Juke (160 beats per minute), Ghettophiles, 2010
"UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass"
Addison Groove-This Is It (138 beats per minute), 2011, Tectonic
"Baltimore Club"
Sounds of Silence-We Bad (128 beats per minute), 1993, Inner City Records
"House"
Hard Drive-Deep Inside (126 beats per minute), 1993, Strictly Rhythm
"UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass"
Hard Drive-Deep Inside (Pearson Sound Refix) (131 beats per minute), 2011, Night Slugs
*Take note that the aforementioned ‘Dubstep’ and ‘UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass’ tracks are just a few of the well known tracks within their respective scenes but do not encapsulate those entire scenes as a whole.
In layman’s terms and to put everything in context it seems as though the ‘UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass’ tracks shown above are more or less a result of combining signature sounds, rhythms, and tempos associated with ‘Techno’, ‘House’, ‘Juke’, ‘Baltimore club’, amongst several other music genres, with the addition of the polyrhythmic subsonic bass and/or percussive or half step tempos reinforced in ‘Dark Garage’ and ‘Dubstep’. As a result the only parameters that have existed within the framework of ‘UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass’ is percussion and heavy bass. So you’ll end up having what sounds like bass-heavy ‘House’, bass-heavy ‘Techno’, ‘Dubstep’ that sounds like ‘Techno’, ‘Juke’ that sounds like ‘Dubstep’, along with many other countless descriptions of ‘something that sounds familiar’ with ‘something else that sounds familiar even though it’s not what I think it is’. The only affirmation that can be drawn from those indefinite conclusions however are that it is experimental, beat-driven music.
From a sonic standpoint and with good enough speakers or headphones the only continuity between all of these ‘UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass’ tracks aside from not having any or very minimal vocal usage is the application of a polyrhythmic subsonic bass line. Emphasize the use of an LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) on the bass line to create a mid-range wobble effect, minimize the use of percussion running at the same tempo as ‘Dubstep’ and you can have what is commonly referred to as ‘Brostep’:
Rusko-Woo Boost (140 beats per minute), 2010, Mad Decent
Tracks that are labeled as being ‘Garage’, ‘Dubstep’, or ‘UK Bass’ would be considered by many to be sound system specific. As said before the tracks contain sub-sonic bass lines. These sub-sonic bass lines are low frequencies that are supposed to be felt as much as they’re supposed to be heard. However, these frequencies cannot be physically felt and heard properly through laptop speakers or on a sound system with no subwoofers which could be a possible correlation to the ongoing popularity of ‘Brostep.’
Ease of Access, Ease of Consumption
The heavy application of the LFO to create mid-range and high frequencies in the majority of ‘Brostep’ tracks can be heard on a wide range of output devices-laptops, earphones, smartphones, venues with loudspeakers but no subwoofers. From a sonic standpoint it’s just much more accessible-what you hear is what you get, there are no subtleties within the composition of ‘Brostep’ tracks as there is with a ‘Dubstep’ track comprised of spatial atmospherics layered over polyrhythmic bass lines. As a result the sonic accessibility of ‘Brostep’ has gained a larger and wider appeal particularly amongst the young adults in North America as evidenced by the popularity of artists such as Rusko, Skrillex, Borgore, Datsik…and Korn (?!)
Calling for Artistic Diversity
It would be safe to say that there are more people that listen to music on a regular basis through one of the aforementioned output devices or at venues where the sound system is not meticulously eq’d properly-that might sound opinionated but being a punter for the past 6 years and attending countless events in the UK, New York City, and here in DC it is as much a fact as it is an opinion. Where you had the Civil Rights movement that promoted racial quality and equal rights, I believe there should be and has been some sort of Artistic Rights movement to promote music equality. I’m not advocating bass-oriented music to become as main stream and pop-oriented as ‘Brostep’ but rather for ‘Bass’ music to be presented properly on a much wider scale within the US and worldwide outside of the UK. Music that can be heard and physically felt while presented in an artistic fashion to a wide-range audience on a regular basis seems to be what has maintained the constant progression of electronic dance music within the UK (i.e. the commonly referenced ‘Hardcore Continuum’). ‘Dubstep’ and ‘Bass’ music has flourished and helped develop a community of punters who produce their own interpretation of the music that has inspired them.
A glimpse at some of the punters turned producers turned seminal figures in the ‘Dubstep/bass’ music scene-
Ramadanman aka Pearson Sound (DJ/Producer, Co-founder and Co-owner of Hessle Audio)
Untold - Stereo Freeze (DJ/Producer)
Scuba (DJ/Producer, Founder and Owner of Hotflush Records, Founder of The Sub:stance club night at Berghain in Berlin, Germany)
Much of the popularity of ‘Dubstep/bass’ music has to do with the quality and quantity of the resources used to present and promote the music to the public.
Events
DMZ at Mass
Forward at Plastic People
Trouble Vision at Corsica Studios
FabricLive at Fabric
SubDub at The West Indian Centre
Venues known for their reputable sound systems and various club nights
Plastic People
Mass
Corsica Studios
The End (closed in 2009)
Fabric
The West Indian Centre in Leeds
Radio/Podcast/Webcast Shows
Rinse FM
Sub FM
The Boiler Room
Get Darker TV
BBC Radio One
BBC 1xtra
Non-Radio/Non-Webcast Media Outlets
Knowledge Mag
FACT Magazine
DJ Mag
Record Labels
DMZ
Deep Medi
Swamp 81
Tectonic
Hotflush
Hessle Audio
Nightslugs Audio
502 Recordings
Hemlock Recordings
What all these resources share in common is that the music is presented by people who have a great understanding and great passion for presenting ‘Dubstep/Bass’ Music in an artistic fashion-whether it’s a podcast, a studio mix, a radio show, a club set, or a record review it is regularly done by DJs, DJ Producers, and music connoisseurs who do it well on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. Something that is done truly well enough is admired but if done frequently enough it can also lead to an individual to become inspired. With artistic inspiration comes an intangible and sub-conscious surge in creativity. The constant progression and rising influx of music producers, music performers, and DJs in the UK is basically perpetual inspiration on a mass scale. One can tune in to a radio show and hear music that they like on a frequent basis, attend events to hear DJs play out these tunes that they like on a frequent basis, purchase these tunes on vinyl at record shops or purchase them digitally online on a frequent basis and potentially become inspired to emulate what they saw or heard in their own way whether it be as a producer, a DJ, DJ/producer, live performer, a record label owner, or perhaps even all of the above and do all of these things on the very stage or outlet they saw or heard it from.
Listed below are several resources that have set the standard for presenting music in an artistic fashion that, if done well enough on a frequent basis, could potentially mobilize a community to develop the same cycle of artistic inspiration and artistic progression on a mass scale via club Nights, radio shows, podcasts beyond the UK and into other urban areas that could be fertile grounds for constant artistic development.
Events/Venues
Quality music, quality DJing, on quality soundsystems:
Deep Space at Cielo, New York City
Dive and Lie Wrecked at Sweetspot, Washington DC
Reconstrvct at The Morgan, Brooklyn, New York
Most Memorable DJ Sets
“DJs are musicians. In my opinion, a musician manipulates sounds in a sequence (planned or unplanned) to create an enjoyable work of listenable art, regardless of instrument. Trombone. Cello. Timpani. Gong. In its basic and rudimentary form, it’s all the same. A DJ manipulates sounds using an apparatus that rotates (records, CDs) to create an enjoyable work of listenable art.” -Joe Nice, taken from sdcitybeat.com
Dubspot 5 year Anniversary w/ Mala @ Deep Space, Cielo, New York, June 27th
Deep Space Presents Dub War w/ Pangaea @ Deep Space, Cielo, New York, September 19th
DJG at Sweetspot, Washington DC, November 25th
Goth Trad at Ultra Bar, Washington DC, April 20th
B.Bravo at The Lamont Bishop Gallery & The Loft, Washington DC, December 2nd
XI at The Forward Festival at The Loft, Washington DC, April 2nd
Influential Radio Shows
Dubstep, UK Bass/Future Bass/Bass, House, Techno, Jazz, Broken Beat, Hip-Hop…Tune into all or any one of these shows and you’ll find each of the DJs presenting the best of what several urban music movements have to offer to the public ear.
http://www.gillespetersonworldwide.com/
http://rinse.fm/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00v4tv3
Best Podcasts
Websites that allow you to download and listen to mixes of the most up to date and vast array of modern urban and electronic music wherever you go.
XLR8R
Resident Advisor
Expansion Broadcast
Online Record Stores
User-friendly websites that allow you to purchase the music you can hear on the aforementioned radio shows and podcasts
http://www.surus.co.uk
http://boomkat.com
http://www.redeyerecords.co.uk
Tracks of 2011
The tracks selected capture the immeasurable collection of sounds that define the intangible fascination and adoration I have for music
Here is a Mix of all these tracks, in order –
Refugee - Class of 2011 (free download)
Long Arm-The Waterfall Inside Me [Project Moon Circle]
Lovebirds feat. Stee Downes-Want You In My Soul [Winding Road Records]
Lana Del Rey-Video Games (Joy Orbison Remix) [Polydor]
Eliphino-More Than Me [Somethink Sounds]
Martyn-Masks [Brainfeeder]
Julio Bashmore-Battle For Middle You [PMR]
Champion & Ruby Lee Ryder-Sensitivity [Formula Records]
Dauwd-What’s There [Pictures Music]
2562-Aquatic Family Affair [When In Doubt]
Johnny Osbourne-Fally Rankin (V.I.V.E.K. Remix) [Greensleeves]
Lucas Santtana-Super Violao Mashup [Mais Um Discos]
Rough Fields-The Harbour Wall [Bomb Shop]
Daedelus-Tailor Made (Sepalcure Remix) [Ninja Tune]
Machinedrum-You Don’t Survive [Planet Mu]
Ratcliffe-Mindset [Brownswood Recordings]
Africa Hi Tech-Out In the Streets (Original, VIP Mixes) [Warp Records]
Article written by Methodius Joliloquy
Please check out our blog at http://www.eightyeightdc.com/88blog/
:D
