Dubstep

The first time I lost myself to dubstep was when I was 19.

I didn't know what the fuck had hit me or what exactly IT was. But it had a name... and that name was dubstep.

At this present moment, its hard to imagine a time when dubstep was underground, composed with passion and thought, and the people who listened to it loved and understood it.

What I really don't want to happen is for me to come across sounding like a condescending old twat who is condemning the progression of a genre of music that she loves. All I want to do is put across my opinion on what is an inevitable progression of dubstep and how I feel about where it has gone and come from.

Song: Wayfaring Stranger
Artist: Jamie Woon (Burial Remix)

Moving to Sydney I have noticed a massive shift in the music scene from NZ. Most places I walk into have shitty house music and RnB tracks playing. And the worst is the type of dubstep playing. The only dubstep I ever hear being played here in the clubs and on the radio is gashy hard core dubstep, which I compare to death metal - a whole bunch of noise with no sound.

I would rather listen to Britney Spears on repeat than listen to gashy dubstep (and thats the bottom of the barrel right there).

Even for the most hating of the dubstep haters I believe there is a song out there for them. To me, dubstep can be a beautiful soundscape to immerse yourself in. So many layers and sounds to get lost in. Burial to me is the epitome of what I classify "The Ultimate" in dubsteppin.

Every time I listen to Burial is a new experience. The songs that I have listened to a thousand times before suddenly make my ears hear a new sound put in the background. Gunshots, breaking glass and reverberating ethereal tones.

When I first started going to dubstep gigs in Auckland, it was still such a new thing on the music scene that nobody really knew what it was or where it was going, but were absolutely loving it and getting excited by what it meant: something new, provocative and different.

Going to gigs where there were about 20-30 people there all dancing like zombies, raising their feet todance moves dubstep evokes. Like minded people all getting lost in something truly amazing.

It quickly grew into one of the "cool" things to be into. With this came a different scene and crowd and a shift in the way of thinking. I went to a Nero gig about 3 years ago and it was full of underage people in the club. Girls dancing on stage, and a completely different atmosphere to what I thought was ideal. It was chaos. To be honest I didnt even stay to watch Nero. I felt as though I was being swallowed up.

I sound like a massive music snob and condescending prick but its watching something you have loved for years being turned into a commercial wasteland of record sales and popularity. But alas, this is progression.

If we push through the fog we can still hear all the amazing artists and DJ's pumping out soul provoking music.

You may or may not agree with me, but this is my opinion.

My Top 5 Dubstep Albums

5. Pinch - Underwater Dancehall