Dubstep: Music With a New Kick

By: James Hernandez ’15

Dropping the Bass on New Media

Chances are that you have listened to Dubstep or have at least heard of it. Dubstep is a rising part of the media’s music ventures. This new type of music is as different and promising as Rock and Roll, The Blues, Rap, as well as Hip-Hop. Dubstep is an innovative form of music that is being popularly used. Many new movies and TV shows contain Dubstep songs as background music. These help with the intended mood of the scene, which can be altered with the rhythm. Movies, such as Transformers, have used Dubstep to add new elements to cinema. The reason media is choosing Dubstep is because the public has accepted it eagerly.

The media industry describes Dubstep as usually including 140 beats per minute, incorporating hi-hats and snares patterns, bass lines, and the most important part, the drop. To explain some of this new vocabulary: a drop is when the percussion pauses for a couple of seconds to be replaced by a much heavier bass; a hi hat is a cymbal used by drum kit percussionists; a kick makes the tempo of the beat faster; and the bass line is the general beat of the song. Dubstep actually has many different varieties such as Electronic Dance Music and Brostep. Its overall sound has been described as “tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals”(Wikipedia).

Original Photoshop Image | Demetri Sakellaropoulos '15
Photo credit | Demetri Sakellaropoulos '15

Having listened to Dubstep, I feel that I can connect to the music. What I personally enjoy about Dubstep is the build up in the songs, which leads to the drop. The drop and the heavy bass that follow are easily two of my favorite components of the songs because of the tension and intensity they create in the music. Overtime, I’ve introduced my friends to Dubstep and they’ve enjoyed it very much.

Many of the upcoming artists and some of their well known songs in dubstep include “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” by Skrillex, “Hello?” by Going Quantum, and “Promises” by Nero. All of these artists are relatively well known in the community. As Dubstep continues to grow in popularity, I believe these artists and others will have a very promising future in the music field.