Listen out for the dubstep revolution
The much-derided South London borough of Croydon has never been associated with musical innovation. Apart from being the birthplace of Kate Moss and Adam Ant, it certainly isn't considered as a hotbed for popular culture, except for a hairstyle nicknamed 'the Croydon facelift'.
However, the town has given birth to an exciting new genre that is rapidly gaining steam. Even though most of the hype and ecstatic reviews have gone to the recent re-unions of the Bristol super groups Portishead, Massive Attack and Tricky, Croydon has spawned the real sound of the future.
Dubstep is a form of electronic music notable for its dark cinematic mood and extra heavy bass, evolving from drum 'n' bass, grime and garage.
In late 2005 and early 2006, the fledgling scene began to get recognition from beyond the local underground. BBC Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs dedicated a full show called Dub Warz to the infant genre and later released a defining compilation entitled Warrior Dubz. Hobbs also curated a stage showcasing dubstep at last year's illustrious electronic arts festival, Sonar, in Barcelona.
This week's release of a superb collection, Steppa's Delight -- Dubstep Present to Future, will see another increase in the exposure and popularity of this new form of music, which has hardly been mentioned, let alone covered, by the mainstream media.
Three artists have helped patent and popularise dubstep, namely Skream, Burial and Kode 9. Scene protagonists, DJs and producers tend for the most part to use aliases. Indeed, Burial has never appeared in public and remains staunchly anonymous. In a rare interview last year, he (or she!) said, "Only about five people outside of my family know I make tunes, I think. I hope!"
This reclusive approach is out of step with the prevailing culture of instant and gratuitous celebrity. The fact that someone wants to cloak their identity, even though their music is gaining an-ever increasing audience, must be baffling to many celebrity-obsessed youngsters.
At this stage in his/her career, Burial could command a massive appearance fee for a DJ set or live performance on the summer festival circuit, or indeed pretty much anywhere. He/she seems to have no intention of doing that.
While Burial is busy keeping a low profile, the poster star elect of dubstep is Oliver Jones, aka Skream, who appeared at last summer's Electric Picnic. The Croydon-born 21-year-old has been honing his DJ skills since the tender age of 11. He is now one of the most influential and well-known new producers in the UK.
"Everyone (in dubstep) is so unique," says Jones. "I just still feel there's a lot more going to happen, a lot more music to be made that I think is going to push more boundaries. I'd hate to think people have summed it up already."
The dubstep revolution is also alive and well and carving out a nice niche for itself closer to home. In addition to bringing over the best DJs from the South London scene, the Dublin-based Kaboogie collective are actively encouraging the production and distribution of homegrown artists.
A new compilation entitled Kaboogie Sampler Volume 1 is an impressive opening salvo. Who knows where the label might go as the sound captivates more listeners and the production becomes even more daring?
The popularity of dubstep to date is down to the simple fact that it's arguably the first original genre to come along in years. A lot of what's broadly characterised as 'alternative' or 'indie' music these days has become painfully formulaic and dull.
Interestingly, cutting edge guitar groups are getting increasingly entrenched in electronica. Baltimore has spawned the so-called "futureshock" scene, a thrilling and uplifting take on noisy electro pop that values melody and remains accessible. The movement's most famous musician is Dan Deacon, who brings his bizarre one-man show back to Ireland for a Vicar St performance in June.
As yet, dubstep hasn't had a bona fide cross-over hit, even though Midnight Request Line by Skream, Archangel by Burial and Night by Bengha & Coki have become early dubstep anthems.
It's only a matter of time until it gate-crashes the charts. Listening to Steppa's Delight ... sound-tracking the recent spell of glorious weather, I developed a sneaky feeling that dubstep could become massive this summer.
Burial probably won't become the scene's literal figurehead, but he/she is definitely dubstep's finest pioneer, authoring two fully-realised stone-cold classic albums. He/she also sums up this mysterious and evocative genre very nicely with these words.
"It's more about when you come back from being out somewhere; in a minicab or a night bus, or with someone, or walking home across London late at night, dreamlike, and you've still got the music kind of echoing in you, in your bloodstream, but with real life trying to get in the way. I want it to be like a little sanctuary. It's like that 24-hour stand selling tea on a rainy night, glowing in the dark."
Steppa's Delight -- Dubstep Present and Future and Kaboogie Sampler Volume 1 are both out now ( www.kaboogie.net)
- Nick Kelly
