Dubstep is a revolutionary genre that's starting to take hold on New Zealand dance floors. Scott Kara braved the bass; Richard Robinson took the pictures
KEY POINTS:
Walking down the entrance way of seedy K Rd bar the Rising Sun you feel the music before you hear it. A punishing bass rattles your ribs and thuds against your heart.
The music is called dubstep - a dark new presence on Aotearoa's musical landscape. Its devotees are out in force tonight at the Dubstep Alliance club night, held every two weeks on Wednesday nights.
They are a pick-and-mix of people. A pretty young thing wearing a jungle print dress with cat's whiskers painted on her face is in the front row; there are others wearing hoodies, hunched over, flexing their arms, tensing their fingers, consumed by the music; and chart-topping musician Tiki Taane is here, bobbing on the spot and looking like he might be getting a few ideas for his next album.
When the depth-charge bass gives way momentarily to a more celebratory and joyous tone they whoop and cheer, lurching into a bounce rather than a stealth sway.
"I wouldn't normally go to a club night thing but this is the most revolutionary music I've heard in years. That's why I'm here," says Steve, a Dubstep Alliance regular.
Tonight Australian guests Garage Pressure are headlining and it's the start of a four-night Alliance jaunt, also taking in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
"Wednesday is a fresh night of the week because people are there for the music, not just to drop as many pills as they can, or get really pissed like a Friday night," says Alliance MC and co-founder Dapht One, who started the Alliance with DJs Manaia Toa and DJ Oogun in October last year.
The 120-or-so punters at the Rising Sun are nothing compared to the thousands expected at this weekend's dance music extravaganza Deep Hard and Funky at Vector Arena, but there's a staunch passion in the room.
"It's down to the energy of the people, we feed off it and that's why you get that kind of mania," reckons Toa, who, when he's not DJing tonight, gets in amongst it with the crowd.
And as visiting Australian DJ and producer Farj, from Garage Pressure, says: "We wouldn't get this many people on a Wednesday night in Sydney."
Andy Pearce, another Alliance regular, is drawn to the music because of the bass. "It comes with a huge sub bass. This is bass like we've never heard before. Dub and reggae have big bass but this is insane," he says.
It's not for everyone, though. Adam, 24, is only here because his girlfriend loves the stuff, but he reckons it's an "unsociable sort of music" and the dancers are all "zombies". Maybe he's a house music fan?
Dubstep is still an emerging scene in New Zealand. It has its roots in London's early 2000s garage scene, a music distinguished by its two step drums and rolling bass, which had only a small impact Downunder.
Toa was living in London in 2000 and went to garage gigs, many of which were at the Velvet Rooms, commonly viewed as the birthplace of dubstep. "I got into it from garage, then a few years later I started hearing [dubstep] and I liked it because for me the dark side of dance had returned. The samples were from movies and quite sinister, and the music was really paranoid. I love it, it is beautiful music."
So around 2003 garage evolved into dubstep, with a darker, more threatening and bass-heavy sound borrowing from reggae, dancehall and dub, as well as techno, ambient and even metal, among many other styles.
For Dapht One this range of influences is key. "The UK tends to put a lot of emphasis on the lineage to two step, but I think it's broader than that and it definitely encompasses dub and when we have our dance we set up a dub-style PA - it's all about the bass and a little bit of the highs on top."
It's a strange, and at times heavy and weighty music, but what's most noticeable is how simple it is with bass and drums at its core. At times it's so static it's incredible that fans can find anything to dance to. But this gives it a futuristic and revolutionary feel. Plus, there are many different styles of dubstep.
Some of the pioneers and superstars are blokes with names like Skream, Kode 9, Benga and Burial. Burial, an anonymous London producer who was recently outed by the Independent newspaper as William Bevan, is especially important with his debut self-titled album from 2006. Then, last year's follow-up, Untrue, made many album-of-the-year lists, including No 6 on TimeOut's top 30 countdown.
For Toa, Burial and Kode 9 are the originators. "No one can touch them. They are a whole different realm and they are the first port of call."
Jason Howson, DJ, promoter, and owner of Beat Merchants record shop, remembers the time in the early 2000s when dubstep was called dark garage.
He was working for local music distributor Samurai - today still a big importer of dubstep music into New Zealand, including Benga's latest album Diary Of An Afro Warrior - which was bringing in music by labels like Tempa and Big Apple.
Seven years on, Howson says the scene in New Zealand is snowballing and his gig with British producer N-Type at Galatos in April attracted 450 people.
"It's a really passionate culture and, not to knock house audiences or whatever, but they kind of leave it at home after the weekend and go to work. It doesn't really drive them. But I think dubstep culture is the 24/7, seven-day thing and once you get into it you think about it a lot, it's on your iPod a lot, and everyone's out there trainspotting."
And while the audience is growing, Howson also says top-quality local producers like Frosty Boy and Oogun are emerging and sales of dubstep records have increased dramatically.
Recently, Caspa and Rusko's joint 12-inch single Bread Get Bun/King George, on Australian label Aquatic Lab which is run by Garage Pressure, sold out of its 3000 copies. "That's a very successful release at any level. It's been a great year for dubstep," laughs Howson.
Meanwhile, back at Dubstep Alliance, Toa is nervous because he fears dubstep is about to get too much exposure with it turning up on adverts and TV promos.
"We're on the verge of hearing it come out of cafes," he cackles uneasily. "It's exactly like '96 was for drum'n'bass with [producers] putting out what they called intelligent drum'n'bass, and that was the shit that I hated."
Although, he admits, you can't stop progress, and dubstep artists like Skream and Burial have already made a a good and important impact on the mainstream.
One thing these guys all agree on is that dubstep is a revolutionary music that constantly pushes boundaries.
"It's on the edge and breaking new ground all the time and I think that's where the excitement and energy comes from. It's growing in terms of creativity. It's only a matter of time until it becomes massive," says Dapht One.
The Alliance's mission is to keep it real and about the people - and going along on Wednesday nights is more like a gig than a dance party.
"You know, something like drum'n'bass is getting faster and faster, and I think dubstep is a step back from those drug-fuelled genres," says Dapht One. "It's just like: have a beer, have a spliff, and skank."
"Traditionally," continues Toa, "club nights are about people standing round looking at their shoes, looking at themselves and each other until about 12.30am, or 1am, or the accepted time you should dance. But at the Alliance, from 10.30pm people are already dancing."
And just after 1am, when I leave, they are still dancing. Tiki has bailed, but the girl with the whiskers and the guys in the hoodies keep on moving in stealth-like motion.
TAKING THE FIRST DUBSTEP
Even the experts struggle to keep up with the constant flow of dubstep tunes and its ever-evolving styles.
"I can't keep up so I don't bother and I just play what I like," says Dubstep Alliance DJ Manaia Toa.
However, here are five basic styles of dubstep:
Banging, oscillating, wobble tunes
See: Rusko, Caspa.
Deep, rootsy and dubby
See: Kode 9, Coki, Benga.
Techy
See: Pinch.
Glitchy, noise (influenced by Aphex Twin)
See: Boxcutter.
The Americans
See: No big names yet, but they are taking influence from hip-hop and electro.
Five dubstep albums to check out:
Kode 9 & The Spaceape - Memories of the Future (Hyperdub).
Skream - Skream! (Tempa).
Burial - Untrue (Hyperdub).
Benga - Diary Of An Afro Warrior (Tempa).
Various - Steppas Delight (Soul Jazz).
LOWDOWN
What: Dubstep
Who: The Dubstep Alliance
Next gig: July 2, 9pm, Rising Sun, K Rd
Website: www.myspace.com/dubstepalliance
