Dubstep and beyond, what could possibly happen next?

Sub genre’s in general at the moment seem to be the new black and in the words of the famous rap tune “It don’t take much to realize that”. I state this as we gaze into the open abyss of obtuse genres of electronic music making the acoustic ‘jump’ across to the mainstream pond of both the popular electronic and pop music spheres.

At the moment it’s all about Dubstep. Yup its fucking everywhere and I for one feel a little ill about the concept. I’m not hating on Dubstep, I am actually quite fond of the occasional slice of Dubstep with my afternoon coffee. What I’m not entirely sure of is how it became so big so quickly. In the last three weeks I have seen/ heard comment’s whilst out and trawling Facebook that have made me want to throw a sack of puppies in a meat grinder. People who have been vehemently against Dubstep, to the point of driving in my car and saying “Turn that fucking rubbish off” are now jumping up and down gayly clapping their hands as they dance around like an autistic child who has been stung by a wasp. At Day Glo in the middle of a brutal tech house/ Electro set…. BOOM! massive Dubstep breakdown…. Creamfields everywhere….. Dubstep… The thing that made me throw my earplugs out and walk away throwing hand grenades was…. Gabrielle and Dresden… Dubstep breakdown….. For fucks sake, really did I just hear that…. Oh and for the previous examples, Britany Spears’ last radio hit… MOFING DUBSTEP BREAKDOWN, how does that make you feel? It definitely seems more sturation than admiration.

I just don’t understand what has changed, although I understand more after seeing Skrillex at Creamfields. I regularly played his track “Kill Everybody” in the last few months of playing out. I never knew he was predominantly a Dubstep producer as “Kill Everybody” is a banging piece of Electro house. However the majority of his production is a blend of dub step and Electro. So here is the bridge that got people across to Dubstep. This is where the sub genres become murky bout whats what, whats not etc. Hardened dub veterans will state Skrillex isn’t Dubstep, a hybrid, like a 95 Toyota Camry with a Sunroof and a V12 engine. Instantly unique and attractive to some but not what the core element of driving a Camry is about. Now I’m not wailing on Skrillex, he played a stellar set at Creamfields for what he is, but for what he is when he played and me having another idea about what he played, his sound is way too loose to fit into either Dub or electro. The core throw away is to compare Skrillex to Ed Solo or Love and Light. “Hello Chalk….Have you met Cheese?” that’s pretty much it. I’m gad that this form of Dub has got people interested but the thing that producers have to worry about is not so much selling your soul, but the soul of your genre.

It has happened so frequently in the past with Grace. “Born Slippy” by Underworld gracefully danced across the EDM sphere and popular radio without damaging the underground tech scene. “Addicted to Bass” introduced the public to Drum and bass and then Pendulum’s recent crossover hits have reengaged the music buying public to DnB without saturating and exploiting. Then the most delightful graceful crossover was in 1997 was DJ Honeysmack and his quirky “Walk on acid” which brought funky minimal tech/ house into the rooms of the public.

So it has always been form that Sub genres will occasionally dip their toes into the waters of popular music and with merging Dubstep and Electro, the market has been exposed and another genre will either grow or flop in its 5 minutes of fame, or its 30 second breakdown of fame. In writing this though I think I have already worked out why Dubstep in general has been slotted in with every genre, it runs at roughly half the BPM of most 4/4 electronic music, that’s the fit. So while I listen to a mix i have just done of Scrillex, Egyptian horns and Chase and Statuses mix of Heartbeat, played in between the breakdown to Energy 52’s “Cafe Del Mar” I wonder in 6 months what is the next crossover… I can see Psy Trance and Hip-Hop, then again maybe I can’t…