What are we to make of people trying to put the dub back into dubstep
http://www.discogs.com/Various-Dubstep-Meditations/release/2195545
vs
http://www.discogs.com/Dubblestandart-Meets-David-Lynch-Lee-Scratch-Perry-Chrome-Optimism/release/2324504
vs
http://www.discogs.com/Various-Scientist-Launches-Dubstep-Into-Outer-Space/master/293077
Working backwards
Just been listening to that last one. Seems to be a set of the core UK dubstep people (Like Kode9, Shackleton, Loefah, Mala, et al) commissioned to do tracks for the album that are then remixed in a dub stylee by Scientist. Nice. Really liked Shackleton's - Hackney Marshes and Scientist's Hackney Marshes Dub.
Dubblestandart meets David Lynch & Lee Scratch Perry: "Chrome Optimism" Subatomic Sound System rmx
Vienna jazz-dub stoners, Lynch samples and video, Lee Perry, Oxygene, it was only 2010 but already sounds dated. Still what's not to like.
And back to the beginning. Of course Wagawaga is the stand out track. The whole album is how shall I say, interesting.
Which all takes me back to Glastonbury 2007, the Roots tent in Dance Village in the rain and a storming set by DJ Tayo followed by Mad Professor.3 The Wash
Meanwhile what it was in 2005 influenced and changed a lot of different genres. So now there's a recognisable theme across all sorts of genres from house, techno, garage, jungle to whatever it is that the Jamies (Blake, XX, Woon) are doing along with people like SBTRKT. Lumping them all together in "Post-Dubstep" doesn't really help. Neither does adding Post or Future to each genre. We should probably stop trying to create new sub-genres to deal with this and just recognise that people making deep house were listening to Burial/Loefah/Kode9, just stole ideas and added them to what they were doing. So they're still making deep house, it's just that now it's got more wub-wub.
But then what do you do with somebody like Burial themselves. Back in '05 South London Boroughs was dubstep. Last year's Street Halo is clearly from the same genre. It's just as good. And yet people coming to dubstep last year would barely recognise it. So is Sth London Pre-dubstep, or is Street Halo Post-dubstep?
And down the rabbit hole we go again.
So really, the whole 2011 Brostep, Skrillex thing is just a blip in the ongoing process as dance music twists, turns, mutates and pulls itself into the future.
Personally, I like The Groove, so Deep House is like a warm place to curl up in. I need enough Complexity to keep me interested. I like some Randomness so it's not entirely predictable. And I need The One to keep me in sync. Which all means I've had a soft spot for Dub Reggae for the longest time. And it was always the Cocktails at Sunset and Ambient Trance at dawn, rather than the Jungle/Bangface at 1am.
Jeez' did I just write that? It's time for this boring old fart's medication!
and
http://christwire.org/2012/02/skrillex-uses-satanic-and-homosexual-influence-to-win-grammys/
Simon Reynolds is getting a lot of notice right now from people outside the music obsessives due to his book Retromania. I'm not sure yet how I feel about this. I suspect there's some truth in there but in being blown into book side it ends up being hack journalism. That's a sin that I think Greil Marcus suffers from as well.