"...the latest development in British dance music is yet another sound stemming from London's garage scene, a bass-heavy instrumental form rather confusingly known as dubstep.
It's featured on the soundtrack of the recent film Children of Men, a series of albums is hitting the shops this month, crowds are packing out nights from Brixton to Newcastle and DJ-producers are in demand around the world. Dubstep looks set for its moment in the spotlight, if only the wider world can work out exactly what it is.
--The Times, London
I was introduced to this genre very recently through a friend who gave me a track from Burial's Untrue LP. I was blown away by the sonic depth of the piece, with tinny, crackling soul samples expertly meshed with ominous, mile-deep sythesizer riffs set to haphazard, yet steady percussion. It was unlike anything I had heard before, and miles more complex and intriguing than the pure dub reggae I have been listening to of late.
Last night, the good people over at Gorilla vs. Bear posted two tracks from Dubstep artist Pinch's forthcoming album, Underwater Dancehall.
Where Burial's Ghost Hardware has layers upon layers of hissing record samples, the tracks from Underwater Dancehall are far simpler, relying on deep drums, intermittent vocals and bright waves of synthesizer. It all comes together to make for an incredibly heavy, almost bottomless sound. Listening to Brighter Day in particular, I couldn't help feeling almost overwhelmed by the drums, which are so fantastically intense that one cannot help but worry about whether there is any truth to the existence of the dreaded "Brown Note".
All three of the songs I have heard have piqued my interest in Dubstep as a genre, and I look forward to purchasing Underwater Dancehall and Untrue in their entirety. Look for reviews of both albums coming soon. Until then, Listen here to some Pinch (via Gvs.B):
Pinch - Lazarus
Pinch - Brighter Day (Instrumental)
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