Skrillex Killed Dubstep!

Skrillex Killed Dubstep – Article about the state of dubstep today

2011 has been one of the biggest years ever for Dubstep, quite possibly the most significant since its decade-old inception in the UK. The Pop music industry as a whole has witnessed a massive transformation taking place over the last year, as major artists from all around the world have begun incorporating the instantly recognizable sounds of dubstep into their music. Britney Spears and Rihanna, two of the biggest female stars in American pop-music have already “jumped on the dubstep bandwagon” so to speak, harnessing the unrelenting, high-energy sound typical of the dubstep genre to infuse their music with a whole new dimension of appeal. Even more telling, industry juggernaut’s such as Jay-Z and Kanye West licensed the classic Flux Pavilion track “I Can’t Stop” in their official single “Who Gon’ Stop Me”. To top it all off, dubstep-icon Skrillex has not only released recent collaborations with several music-industry giants such as Korn and The Doors, he also just received a whopping FIVE Grammy Nominations, including the first “Best New Artist” nomination EVER to be awarded to a DJ/Producer.

What started as an entirely underground movement has begun to gain mainstream recognition, and the community response to this transition has been dramatic and highly conflicted to say the least. To fully understand the ramifications of what Skrillex has accomplished, we have to begin by looking at the structure of another genre that has gone through a very similar evolutionary process, the Hip-Hop industry.

The first lesson to be learned from the history of Hip Hop is the supposed fate of the underground and the role Skrillex is playing in “reshaping” the sound of dubstep. Hip Hop is by far one of the most influential and expansive musical genres currently in existence. New Hip Hop acts are constantly emerging, many of them reaching millions of followers within their first few months of touring. However, despite the monumental reach and power of contemporary Hip Hop, it has still maintained a wonderfully rich and vibrant underground culture that is hardly diminished at all by the explosion of Hip Hop and Rap in the mainstream. If Hip Hop becoming mainstream didn’t kill the underground, why would the story be any different for Dubstep? If anything, the underground has matured and evolved into a relatively unaffected category separate and distinct from the Hip Hop mainstream, but with the added benefit that underground artists are able to make a living from their craft.

There is another important aspect of Hip-Hop that deserves to be noted in order for this comparison to be relevant. The dominant role in Hip Hop is almost always granted to the MC (just as in pop music it is granted to the singer). This is not to say that it is impossible to gain attention as a Hip-Hop producer, but it is certainly significantly more difficult as the majority of the attention and praise is awarded by default to the MC. In many cases, incredibly talented producers are ignored entirely as relatively untalented figure-heads spit mediocre rhymes over their producers finely-honed instrumentals. Whatever your personal opinion concerning Skrillex may be, his nomination for Best New Artist as a dj/producer has the potential to completely change the way this model functions, opening wide the doors for a whole new generation of producers to gain the respect and attention they so rightly deserve.

At the end of the day, producers make music so that people can listen and enjoy it, just like all other musicians. Any success for the Dubstep community at large is ultimately a success for the industry as a whole. Brilliant producers like Skrillex are casting light on what the mainstream has been missing out on, and this illumination will only serve to benefit those who follow in his footsteps; whether they choose to produce in a mainstream or underground style is completely irrelevant . Until very recently, many critics have been reluctant or even unwilling to consider producers to be musicians, instead preferring to think of them as some other sort of entertainer unworthy of the “artistic” title of “musician”. With his boundary shattering nomination for Best New Artist, Skrillex has boldly demonstrated the falsehood of these unjust claims, stating that he’s “only hoping that his nomination this year will carry on to the next year, and open doors for more people to come up and be noticed and recognized as actual musicians.”

The important thing to keep in mind is that when people begin to accept Dubstep as a whole into what people refer to as “actual music”, the generally accepted value of the producer will increase dramatically. Before Hip Hop was recognized as part of popular music, it was extremely rare to find an artist that was able to support themself solely from their musical career. The same is true now for the producer; the general populace is relatively ignorant to the musical complexities of dubstep, and as a result it is extremely hard to get recognized as providing a service genuinely worth enough money to live on. Most producers are instead forced to rely on a side-job that prevents them from focusing all of the necessary energy on production, a vicious cycle that inevitably prevents many talented individuals from ever reaching their full potential. When the genre is accepted as an essential part of popular culture, talented producers will have a much better chance of being able to direct all of their energy at developing their musical career rather than struggling to support their musical through various odd-jobs. Although dubstep being incorporated into the mainstream may dramatically increase the number of producers (and many of them will surely copy Skrillex, as he is the very definition of “Whats Hot”), it is important to remember that there will always be an underground, and there will always be quality producers of all styles and varieties….it’s just a matter of finding them!

If bridging the gap between the mainstream and the underground helps clarify for the listener how they can personally relate to and interact with the music they are hearing, there is certainly no harm in such a simple endeavor. If Skrillex being nominated for a Grammy helps pave the way for a whole generation of up-and-coming producers, that is a tremendous accomplishment regardless of how you feel about his music.

By Ethan Baer and Jason Winter of Dubstep.net

Source:
http://dubstep.tumblr.com/post/13789663472/skrillex-killed-dubstep

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Cory Enemy & Dillon Francis – Ultra EP Review

LA based monster producer Dillon Francis released his long awaited collab with Cory Enemy, better yet this absolute steal of an EP is being given out for free! Enemy and Francis, being long time mates took the time out of their summer tours to bring out this belter that will stay with you long after you stopped hearing its dulcet tones. “Ultra” was going to be released on Francis’s label but with a lot of samples that couldn’t be cleared it was just released for free lads!

Cory Enemy & Dillon Francis – Ultra EP by DILLONFRANCIS

The EP starts off with the title track, which has some slow progressive synths matched with some cute backing vocals… Until it breaks in with a street fighter reference, moving to the heavy mid section, perfectly balanced with some harmonics and chilling synths. With all that going on you’d think it’d be too much, but ‘Ultra’ balances it all perfectly. A perfect start and exactly what would be expected from the two producers.

Moving onto the second track ‘Who the fuck are you’, these two make unique sounds that seem to mix dance style harmonics with a hefty dub influence. A minute in and it’s already far less hectic, more something to chill out to at a house party, or that’s how it seems. Until it all breaks in with a cheeky vocal drop “Who the fuck are you”. The slower bass lines match seamlessly with the high and pure electronic notes. Picking you back up and throwing in the flawless mix of styles. The track seems simple, but deep, mixing in euphoric chimes to leave you with a feeling of purity, until we move into the finale.

‘’I love you’’ Picking it back up again with some stunning vocals and an edited Beyoncé sample start to enhance the atmosphere, before a huge vocal drop. Winding back up to the mid section, full of samples sounding like a dying Nintendo that you can hear throughout. The second drop mixes deep bass with an overly sweet but chilling “I love you”, before breaking into the drop. The swing changes the entire feel of the song, and it seems like this is a track that is constantly evolving as you listen to it. Whilst the sweet electronica influence screams at you right the way through, making every drop have much more impact. What a beast of an ending, but I would of been disappointed with any less.

If you haven’t downloaded this already stop reading, go to soundcloud and do it….RIGHT NOW!…DO IT!…CLICK IT! CLICK IT WITH YOUR FINGERS AND THEN LISTEN WITH YOUR EARS. Right, done it? Good. This absolute belter of a collab not only shows why Dillon is at the top of his game at the minute and keeps on climbing, but also that he is still able to work with and help promote one of his biggest influences in the genre. They mix genres and themes and break the concept of just hefty bass to sell a track. It’s no doubt that you will hear this when you’re out, hopefully through a stack that will actually do it justice.
By: Aaron Rush

Cory Enemy & Dillon Francis – Ultra EP out now!
Download it at: http://soundcloud.com/dillonfrancis/sets/cory-enemy-dillon-francis

Cory Enemy:

http://soundcloud.com/cory-enemy

Dillon Francis:

http://soundcloud.com/dillonfrancis
http://facebook.com/dillonfrancismusic
http://twitter.com/dillonfrancis

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V.A. – No Strings Attached EP – Review

If you have been around the dubstep scene for a while now you probably know that Circus Records has some of the most talented and well known producers in the world. With the likes of Flux Pavillion, Doctor P and Slum Dogz on the Circus Team, they often set the bar for other producers as their producers create dance floor anthems like no other. With the new digital EP dubbed “No Strings Attached” they showcases talent from Datsik & Downlink, Boy Kid Cloud, Exponaut and one of Dubstep.net’s favourites, Brown & Gammon.

This four track EP demonstrates what these artists are about. Each tune compliments the next, deep spaces are traveled, thumping bass lines rattle your chest, the lead synths tickle your ears in the right places. Exponaut’s “E621” was leaked a while back and surprised everyone. This release is definitely massive! Support the Circus Family by purchasing the “No Strings Attached” EP on all top digital music stores.
By: Aris Hernandez

Exponaut – E621 by DirtyMexicanLemonade.com

Datsik & Downlink – Sting by seeeeepand

Brown and Gammon – Be There by Brown and Gammon

How it Looks – Boy Kid Cloud by BosleyMusic

Itunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/no-strings-attached-ep/id455534140



Brown & Gammon:

http://soundcloud.com/brownandgammon



Datsik:

http://soundcloud.com/datsik



Downlink:
http://soundcloud.com/downlink

Boy Kid Cloud:
http://soundcloud.com/boykidcloud

Exponaut:

http://soundcloud.com/exponaut



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http://www.dubstep.net


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23 – Discordia EP

Homegrown NYC producer 23 dropped his new EP today entitled “Discordia” sharing the same name with the Greek goddess of strife and discord. This EP released on Heavy Artillery Records will make you shiver from head to toe with it’s sinister beats and rebelling synths.

Discordia EP! August 2nd Beatport, HEAVY ARTILLERY RECORDINGS! by 23e



Wasting no time at all 23 dives head first into the first track “Let’s Go to Lavender Town” a Pokemon tribute. The track opens with a sturdy, driving beat which then winds up, right before it drops into heavy bass. In the middle you can hear endearing vocal clips from the Pokemon trio, Ash Ketchum, Brock and Misty. They release their Pokemon on the world and chiptune influences are heard over the deep bass. After this epic bass battle it is time to move onto the next track, what lays beyond the next measure? You’ll just have to listen and find out.

To keep up the strife the track “Purge” picks up where “Let’s Go to Lavender Town” left off. The way to Lavender Town is going to be a lot more dangerous than expected. The heavy bass picks up and so does the battle while everyone lets their bass beasts purge and feed. There is little competition for 23 ‘s  high-ended synth layered over fast paced bass. Nothing can stop him as he takes back the sound waves. The track lets up and you’re surrounded by the feeling that you have reached something holy, something bigger than you, that’s when you realize, the mission to Lavender City is far from over, you still have to pass through “Shamisen Rock.”

Approaching “Shamisen Rock” is crossing into new territory. The oriental intro created by the Japanese three stringed “guitar” called a Shamisen is prominent, giving this track an awesome foreign feel. Storm clouds roll in over the happy scene and it quickly darkens. The heavy bass beats away as it intertwines with distorted vocals and more accents from the Shamisen. The bass is firing bullets, entwined in a dark tango with the locals on the rock, there is no winner here, just the two forces of strife and peace trapped in an eternal dance much like Discordia (a.k.a. Eris or Strife) is with her Greek counterpart Harmonia (a.k.a. Concordia).

This is where the EP really dives into the darkness. When I started listening to this track all I could envision were war planes and fighter pilots diving down and dropping bombs. Gigantic bass bombs. 23 is on a heavy duty mission and he is relentless. The sound waves are littered with the cries of an Air Raid and you don’t want to be anywhere near when he decides to bring out the big guns.  In the end all you can do is sit back and wait in extreme audio pleasure as he shatters your stapedius in the best way possible.

This EP is incredible. Following a deep, heavy story line with oriental influences and high-pitched synth to propel the myth forward. This EP leaves you in a dream-like world where strife rules all and the endless battle to get to a fair city seems unattainable. 23 hit the nail on the head with this EP, let your speakers carry out the message that “Discordia” has arrived, and isn’t taking any prisoners, except your ears.

Follow 23:
http://23.mu/

http://soundcloud.com/23e

http://www.facebook.com/SoundsLike23
http://twitter.com/#!/23music

http://whatsofuck.tumblr.com/

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The Others – First Flight EP Review

Dubstep.net loves new things. Like, we seriously LOVE new stuff. We have a new website (check it out, it rocks), we listen to new music, and today we’re releasing a review for a new EP by Dub Police’s most released artist, The Others. That’s right. I said Dub Police. The Others has a brand new EP called First Flight, and it’s got 5 brand-new tracks set to be released on July 25 – each one a sign that The Others is, once again, pushing the limits of the dubstep sound.

The Others – First Flight EP DP056 by Dub Police

Like I said, we love new stuff. Most of the time, this stuff is of our own world – music, websites, the usual. But sometimes the music takes us to new places that we’ve never seen. First Flight is one of those albums. Take a listen and imagine that you’re in the future – our world has depleted its resources, and we’re forced to move and colonize somewhere unknown. The beginning of this EP marks our discovery of a new world that will act as home for, hopefully, the rest of our lives. How things go from there can only be described through the music…

The first track on First Flight is also the title track. As you listen, close your eyes and imagine looking out the window of your spaceship at the first glimpses of your new planet. The brilliance of the planet and its suns, the smooth descent through its atmosphere – it’s that sort of excitement and exhilaration that really hits home on this track. The intro of the track imitates the thrusters of the spacecraft, panning from left to right and back again underneath crystal droplets that cascade down from the high end. 50 seconds in and the synths charge, sliding up and out of the way as the bass sends its first full blast. Just before the 2-minute mark, we get a dose of bubbly melody – floating above the music, almost carefree. The bass and synths carry it instead of fighting until it fades away, victim to other melodies eager to push through.

Planet X is like the first foray out onto the new planet – discovering what lives on (and under) the surface. The track starts off spacey, with ethereal synths floating on the solar winds. Soon, however, bass takes over with a funky riff that can only promise good things – and once the clapping comes in with the buildup, it’s almost impossible to stay still. The drop hits and keeps the bass’ funky theme, but with the addition of deep growls, laser fire, and metallic screeches. With the tribal drums comes the discovery of a civilization already established on the planet – a colony both far advanced, yet happily primitive. A break in the music typically slows the energy, but the crowd that’s listening in cheers The Others on to another energetic buildup – and another drop means another round of wild dancing from this futuristic tribe.

The energy from this dancing tribe seems to be depleted after the last track, because as Say To You starts spinning, everything has cooled down. We get some vocals overtop of the synth – somehow, they seem sad; in fact, the whole intro is filled with emotion. This drop isn’t as aggressive; it might be due to the fact that it’s synth-heavy and not bass-heavy. Soon afterwards, an alien piano plays a haunting melody over the low-end synths, and it refuses to go away even as the music switches up after the vocal clip. The track ends with a new melody, some staccato chords playing around near the high-end. One sweep of wind across the track and the music is gone, like writing on the beach after the water washes up over the sand.

Break Your Neck comes hot on the heels of Say To You, and as soon as the lasers fire at the beginning, you know that whatever sadness there was in the last track is gone. For this track, The Others has teamed up with Trolley Snatcha and Dread to signal the altercation between our “alien” colony and the tribes already on this new planet. The drums smash through and metallic sounds echo in time to the beat. A siren wails, vocals kick in, and a deep, wet bass accompanies the chant “break your neck!” as the drums shuffle alongside the fight. But this is just the first battle – soon afterwards, we get another siren, a slide-up of sounds, and the bass turns raspy as it coughs along to the beat. Bass and laser fire, piercing war drums, and panic alarms going off every which way, Break Your Neck shows no mercy to this colony determined to take control of the planet.

The final track is Skynet – the final chapter of this story. The atmosphere is dark and foreboding, and the low siren cries out, almost defeated. The drums shuffle, but there’s an urgency to the beat – almost as if our new colony realizes how close they were to being wiped out, and that they have to rebuild as quickly as possible to stay safe. This urgency carries through the drop into the sliced-up melody of the low-end synth. Another synth appears in the higher register, acting almost as an alarm to warn the colony’s citizens of another impending attack. This sort of dark, grim energy has a steady rhythm that seems to say “ignore everything around you, just do what has to be done.” Whether you’re trying desperately to make your planet safe from the unknown or dropping this track at a nightclub, it’s that sort of dark energy that makes this track dangerously danceable.

What more can I say? The fact that First Flight is being released on Dub Police pretty much sums it up right there. The Others continues to push forward in the dubstep scene, making original music that keeps on sounding original. Make sure to pick up a copy of his new EP on July 25 – try to control yourself until then. We understand if that’s hard.
By Mitch Buchanan

Follow The Others
www.twitter.com/othersdubstep
www.facebook.com/othersdubstep

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