Welcome to Notes on Notes-a new form of the Rockin’ Review from last semester. I decided to switch things up this semester by not only reviewing new albums from various artists but also introducing new artists that many people may not know about. I love introducing people to new bands, but I cannot do this by myself. If you have any suggestions on bands to review, please email your request to The Nicholls Worth at [email protected] you have been living under a rock for the past few months, chances are you have come across the new-to-America genre of music called “Dubstep.”
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music. Wikipedia describes it as “tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples and occasional vocals.”
The most noticeable characteristic of a dubstep song is the main bass line called a wobble. A bass wobble is made by adding a wave to a deep bass sound created by a keyboard. Most dubstep songs are created solely by MIDI sounds. This means every sound, including the drum track, is created digitally with a keyboard.
Dubstep first began in 1998 in South East London’s underground scene but became popular in America only recently. Some of the first mainstream bands to use dubstep in their songs are London’s own Enter Shikari and the popular American metalcore band Attack Attack!
While bands use the concept of dubstep in some of their songs, there are some artists who make only dubstep songs. Most songs are remixed versions of already popular songs. A few popular dubstep artists are Bar 9, Black Sun Empire, Chasing Shadows, Datsik, Flux Pavilion and Chrispy.
While I have not been a fan of this genre for very long, there are a few songs that no fan should be without. My favorite original songs are “Midnight” by Bar 9, “Game Over” by Datsik and “Ill” by Chasing Shadows. The greatest part about dubstep, however, is the remixes.
My favorite remix artist is Chrispy who creates my favorite songs of the genre. Chrispy made remixes to the Inspector Gadget theme song, Rhianna’s “Rude Boy” and my personal favorite, “Roll Out”-an ode to the popular series, Transformers.
Europeans have created a lot of great things over time for us Americans to enjoy. Nutella, the amazing hazelnut spread, has been around in Europe for decades but has only recently made its way to American homes. My friends, dubstep is the Nutella of music.
