Dubstep 101: A U.S. Primer

By Andrew Gaerig on September 12, 2011

Alongside Skrillex’s rise, dubstep is becoming pop’s buzziest new word. But figuring out what the hell it means is another  story altogether.

“Who gon stop me,” from Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne, begins with an orbiting, distorted vocal sample, then explodes into a rush of quaking bottom-end and pulsating, chunky mid-range. These are the blatant hallmarks of dubstep, the floor-shaking, multifaceted electronic music that began on South London pirate radio nearly a decade ago and now peppers U.S. pop radio. If you’re looking for a bellwether moment to signal this genre’s American takeover, you could do worse. [..]

’2011 will be dubstep’s year’
Published: 07 Jan 2011

RICHARD MANNERS, managing director at Warner/Chappell, says this year will see an increase in the number of dubsteppers being snapped up by his company.

He said: “There is still an awful lot of pop and R&B that willl be signed to Warner/Chappell.

“However in addition to that, I can see there being more dubstep signings as the year goes on too. The market is constantly evolving and we have to make sure that we are in line with that.” [..]

Dubstep making leaps in the US
By MARCUS BARNES

Published: 10 Aug 2010

WHILE our mainstream acts face a constant battle to break America, our underground dance culture has been making strong inroads into the United States for some time now.

Over the years our dance pioneers have achieved the kind of success that many of our chart acts can only dream of.

[..]

SMOG
by Jason Sauve

The hair on my arms undulates, tickling me as if by a breeze, but I’m inside a dark room. What could be sky scrapers are strategically placed around the dancefloor, ensuring maximum vibes for the dance. Off to the left, people cue for their next round. I’m even having a little trouble seeing straight, but I haven’t even made it to the bar yet. Every breath I take requires a little more effort than normal, but its not the air pollution this city is famous for. The Los Angeles night air pulses thick with sine waves and snare drums rumbling forth from one of the largest soundsystems pushing proper sub weight in SoCal. [..]