Dubstep, a drop before the storm

Dubstep is a genre growing in popularity across the United States. It has currently reached and has taken Hawaii by storm. Still in it's experimental phase and undergoing constant change I will try to set up a base for a new listener to dubstep to go along with and provide links and videos to help 'newbies' find their own audiotopia within dubstep. I am no expert; this is a mix of personal opinions, forum input, and interviews from raves.

Who: Those who listen, enjoy, and create the music known as dubstep

When: The music has origins in the late 80's club scene to the present. The venues and ideas of the outdoor gatherings stem back to the hippie movements of the 60's.

Why: The genre grows and changes everyday. Producers and artists appropriate new tracks and then either sell or disperse them over the internet constantly changing the sound and what it means to be in the 'scene' of dubstep.

If anything I hope the brief playlist I assembled below helps you understand a little of what dubstep is about.

Skrillex

Skrillex

Skrillex 's real name is Sonny Moore. Moore was originally a part of a successful band, From First to Last. From 2004 to 2007 Moore was the lead vocals and keyboardist for the band. Even though the band had success, Moore started to preform in L.A. clubs under the name of Skrillex. His first EP was released as a free download on the internet. Coming from a rock band to creating and appropriating dubstep and being popular at it shows that various artists can create dubstep and have people all around the world love it.

Skrillex is part of a large community of artists and producers who make their music and wish to share it with the world as much as possible. Artists who are not signed to major record labels try to give the music they create back to the masses through their personal websites or through one of the many dubstep forums on the internet. The message being that music is meant for everyone and should not have a price on it.

Dancing

Dance styles for dubstep can vary from popping and locking, the the lightshows preformed at raves, and breakdancing. Depending on the dancer and song, each can support each other by enhancing the other. Below are a few examples of the different types of dances that are preformed to dubstep (with dubstep playing in the background)

Attendees, Listeners, Lovers, Fans

Without a scene that merges with the rave scene and music that samples from genres across the board, dubstep has listeners and fans spanning across many different groups.

Ravers:

A general term used to associate dancers at raves. Even within this group of people the dancers can be broken down into specific categories.

- Candykids

This group of people is easily identifiable by their brightly colored clothing (usually neon colors) and sometimes faux fur accessories. The reason behind their name is the "candy" that they wear which is brightly colored beads usually strung together as bracelets or necklaces and are traded w

ith other rave attendees to build friendships amongst one another. From the attendees I talked with, another reason why they are given the name Candykids is because they are usually on ecstasy (MDMA). The ecstasy pills are usually colorful with logos imprinted on them and can be mistaken for candy.

-Goth / Gravers

This group is usually into the "darker" and "heavier" music side of techno and Dubstep. They want heavier bass lines and want harder drops. Usually clad in all black, spikes, leather, fishnets, and various hair colors, this group of ravers seem out of place at a rave where most of the attendees are happily dancing. Love for the music will not stop them from going to a venue to listen, even if they do not want to dance.

-Cyber Kids

Think of a graver and a candykid merging into one entity. Usually in the same clothes as a graver, the cyber kid will accessorize themselves with candykids accessories.

Hip-Hop Lovers:

With some of the tracks appropriated from the hip-hop genre, hip-hop lovers also enjoy listening to dubstep. Lyrics, which are sometimes appropriated and then integrated into dubstep tracks as well as remixing the tracks are also done.

Rock and Roll Lovers:

Heavy bass lines, killer beats, and occasional lyrics (which can be appropriated from rock and roll genre) can even appeal to the rocker. There to enjoy the music and the drinks at the venue the rocker isn't at the venue to dance or make friends. Like the hip-hop lover they're social at venues when they want to be but they are there primarily for themselves.

Eclectics/Newbies/Fans:

This group looks nothing like the rest. They may look like they walked into the venue on accident but has every intention on enjoying the music. Personally I fall into this group. If you're social and want to be (hopefully sober as well), the candy and cyber kids would welcome you to the show and would ask to be their friend. With the graver and rocker, you would have to enjoy your solitude and would need to make an effort to open them up to conversation.

Since dubstep appropriates music clips from all genres there are fans out there to listen and see what happened to their favorite song before deciding on how much they like or dislike it.

Note: Ecstasy (MDMA) is a drug that effects the brain's serotonin levels. It induces a mental and physical feeling of euphoria. Enhanced tactile and visual awareness are heightened which explain the love for light shows at raves. The exact opposite happens when the drug wears off. Deep levels of depression, irritability, and fatigue are just a few of the things that happen. Since MDMA effects serotonin inhibitors the more one uses the drug the more one would need in order to get the same feeling. Prolonged abuse can result in paranoia, mania, and hypertension amongst other things. The beats and drops in dubstep are extremely heightened. The euphoric feeling felt while on MDMA gives users an overwhelming feeling of love and empathy for others and the things happening around them, including the music.

Scene?

Dubstep does not have its own set of rules. Being a genre that is a result of elements from other genres makes it difficult to pinpoint an exact "member" of the scene. If dubstep had a particular scene it could relate to it would be the Rave Scene.

The rave scene has a base starting in the 1960's with the hippie movement. The hippies lived their lives off of the idea that everyone can live together in perfect harmony with the values of peace, love, unity, a

nd respect ingrained in every part of their life. These values are referred in present day as the acronym PLUR or PLURR (the extra R representing Responsibility in response to the drug abuse that could occur at raves). The creation of the acronym PLURR stems back to the birth of the rave with the hippies. Drugs such as ecstasy, LSD, and methamphetamines have created a stir in the community about what goes on in the raves.

At the raves the venues are usually a club but can happen in various places. Locally the biggest rave that occurs is during the Summer at the water park called LoveFest. In the early 1990's the raves would happen once a month (usually around the time of the full moon) in or around Diamond Head park. Venues like Pipeline Cafe (before they closed) and Oceans w

ould host concerts and other dances and on special nights would have raves. Asylum is one of the most prevalent clubs on Oahu that currently houses raves. Outdoor raves recall images of the hippie movements and how the festivities occurred out in the open, while the indoor club venues give a second life to the attendees who might want to have this part of their life separate from their daytime life.

A big attraction to raves are the light shows. Created with colorful LED lights the light shows are used to draw attendees in and keep them there. Light shows are also created by the dancers using glow sticks, mini LED lights, and possibly gloves with LED lights embedded into the fingertips. The attendees then proceed to dance with the flow of the music allowing their hands in order to create a display of lights for themselves or their friends, this can also be called glowsticking or glowstringing.

Dubstep: What is it?

Dubstep, a new electronic music genre which as taken over dance clubs by storm. Dubstep is a mix of several genres of electronic music coming together to make a new sound. Remixes of 2-step garage breakbeats, bass and drum, and clipped samples are the meat and potatoes of dubstep. One of the biggest characteristics of dubstep is the "drop" when the drum and bass-lines silence, reducing the song to silence and then resuming with even more intensity.