Evolution In The Sound Of Dubstep

Its no surprise that Dubstep has taken over the world. It has evolved over time, even been adopted into music of pop artists such as Britney Spears, Will.I.Am, Taylor Swift etc. With the evolution and popularity of this genre, comes the big debate about the overall sound of the genre. It was once a specific genre but now it is diverse as different producers have added their unique spin and innovation to this new world sound.So what is dubstep? The "dub" is derived from the sub-bass of reggae music and the "step" is derived from elements of UK Garage house music. These together with elements of Drum & Bass, Grime and the characteristic "wub-wub" basslines differentiate the dubstep sound. You may have heard the term "Brostep", basically it is a sub-genre of dubstep that involves huge drops, the extreme use of wobbling basslines and the use of multiple sounds in the middle registers. Whereas "pure dubstep" incorporates silence, pads and minor keys to create tension, emotion and atmosphere to the production. The sound is also a lot darker and grittier whilst brostep is much more aggressive and high energy. In comparison you can see the difference and thus comes the struggle between the purists and sub-culturists.

These days a lot of commercial dubstep productions are mainly focused on the drops. Therefore the true essence of dubstep seems to be losing face in this new age pop-like brostep sound. A lot of blame for this is pinned on Skrillex since he has successfully broken through dubstep into the commercial music scene. In turn many producers have followed his lead in terms of productions incorporating the high-pitched pops, whistles and yells. This leaves the purists frustrated as it is seen as a mockery to dubstep.

Its no doubt that dubstep has changed a great deal and many people these days are being exposed to it. Music is music and its going to change whether we like it or not. Personally I like the heavy drops of "brostep" but I do appreciate and love "pure dubstep". Music is a personal preference. The true sound of dubstep is not at all lost. Just dig and you will find great productions these days. So if you don't want the pure sound of dubstep to fade away, then upcoming producers keep producing and staying true to the genre. There you go, a simple way to understand EDM better