What is Dubstep? A common question, but not one that’s simple to answer. For over ten years prior to the scene’s emergence around 2003, ‘dance’ music had been fragmenting…

The last time so many styles were going on in the same place was the ‘Old Skool’ scene (or whatever you call it) - which represented a fusion of many different influences, and went on to father many new scenes - Jungle for example, which in turn went on to become Drum & Bass (which has now arguably become stale, having been so specific for so long).

Dubstep also draws from many scenes - Dub, Reggae, Garage, Breaks, Jungle/Dnb, Electronica…. even Techno these days. It’s hard to pin down, and much like ‘Old Skool’ you really get the feeling that it’s a new frontier.

So where’s it all headed now, 4 years down the line? Another cycle of fragmentation is perhaps inevitable - the word ‘dubstep’ probably doesn’t accurately summarise a lot of the music considered to be Dubstep, and the urge to redefine is inevitable. As producers cement the directions they’re heading in sub-categories are likely to expand, and whole new genres are likely to ‘take over’….

It’s a very exciting time for Dubstep, and there’s certainly a lot of progression happening right now. So many talented people from other scenes have jumped on board, and it grows every day.

Long live Dubstep basically! Gonna be interesting to see how it fragments, but it’s a beautiful thing still having it all under the one roof.

Words: Krystian Taylor aka FORENSICS

FORENSICS:

• Rogue Frequencies EP out now on Digital Sin
• Night Time EP dropping very soon on Digital Sin
• A remix of Dungeon Master coming soon on DubKraft

Myspace: www.myspace.com/forensicdubstep
Blog: www.forensicdubstep.blogspot.com