Click me
Transcribed

The Rise of Dubstep

2000: A genre is born Grime, sublow, eski. No one could decide what to call the new dance music taking over London's pirate radio stations around the turn of the millennium. What was clear was that its skittering beats, abrasive synthesiz- ers and a rap sound bred in the rave scene had legs. And its darker side, called dubstep, is still rumbling along. Dub-wha? You know you're no longer a rookie when you get a Grammy nod - even if it's for best new artist. And when you get five nominations – putting you just behind the likes of Adele and Bruno Mars - you know your sound has moved firmly up from the underground. That's the case for dubstep producer Skrillex. True, the 24-year-old has been making noise for a few years now. But 2012 might be the moment his music finally hits the mainstream. Herewith, a look at a beat on the rise. Despite their titles, Grime (2003) and Grime 2 (2004) are seminal dubstep discs. 2005: Dubstep gets a column (and'a wider audience) on the taste-making website Pitchfork. 2007: When not undertaking head-shaving exploits and umbrella attacks, Britney Spears puts out Freakshow, a pop song built on the filling-loosening bass wobble that is dubstep's signature sound. 2008: Dubstep was so under- ground when Burial scored a Mercury Prize nomination that the tabloids speculated that Aphex Twin or Fatboy Slim were behind the project. They weren't: Burial turned out to be a reclusive bloke named Will Bevan, but the buzz pushed dubstep into the spotlight. Can't stand Skrillex's sound - also dubbed "brostep" to reflect its testosterone-laden, digitally distorted screech? Blame Canada's own deadmaus, who co-released Skrillex's Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites on his label. 2008: On her album Rated R, Rihanna starts talking about her abuse at the hands of Chris Brown - and produces a certifiable dubstep track, Madhouse. It wasn't an accident, she insisted on Twitter: "You KNOW how I been lovin Dubstep. 2011: The fix is in Skrillex becomes the face of dubstep and the "new rave generation." He also signs up collaborators - from nineties metal geezers KoRn to the remaining members of the Doors. 2011: The trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon features 16Bit's remix of Noisia's Machine Gun which, since dubstep has often been described as the sound of "Trans- formers having sex," is kinda fitting. Dubstep graduates (or regresses) to a younger audience. Think teens in lurid colours drinking Red Bull. TEXT BY DAVE MORRIS, GRAPHIC BY MATTHEW BAMBACH/THE GLOBE AND MAIL 50

The Rise of Dubstep

shared by mbambach on Mar 20
1,770 views
3 share
1 comment
You know you're no longer a rookie when you get a Grammy nod - even if it's for best new artist. And when you get five nominations - putting you just behind the likes of Adele and Bruno Mars - you kno...

Category

Entertainment
Did you work on this visual? Claim credit!

Get a Quote

Embed Code

For hosted site:

Click the code to copy

For wordpress.com:

Click the code to copy
Customize size