![[Column] Post-Dubstep / Experimental Bass](/../assets/images/column-post-dubstep-experimental-bass.webp)
Introduction: The context of “post-dubstep” born in London in the late 2000s
Text: mmr｜Theme: About the new bass culture born from urban reverberations
Post-Dubstep is a movement that expanded bass expression after dubstep, and was formed mainly in London in the late 2000s. Starting from the deep bass, dub-derived spatial processing, and garage rhythm structure of traditional dubstep, it is distinctive in that it has expanded into R&B, soul, experimental electronic music, ambient, and art-oriented beat music.
In South London (Croydon, Brixton, etc.), which was the center of early dubstep, there existed a ““dark sub-bass sound’’ that was established through the DMZ party culture, but from around 2006 to 2009, young producers began to introduce more diverse elements. Representatives of this generation include Burial, Mount Kimbie, and James Blake, who later gained worldwide acclaim.
By incorporating not only club culture but also ““urban reverberations’’ such as city noise, late-night traffic, cell phone recordings, and field recordings as sample materials, they created a new emotionality that was not present in conventional bass music.
Chapter 1: Basic characteristics and acoustic approaches
1-1 Bass structure: Sub-Bass reverberation and reconstruction
Post-dubstep bass processing tends to have a “subdued attack” and “spatial breadth” compared to early dubstep. Typical characteristics include:
- Focus on deep sub-bass between 40 and 60Hz
- Frequently used sine wave based
- Emphasizes subtle fluctuations in the volume envelope rather than LFO modulation
- Don’t make the sub stereo, fix it in the center and spread the surroundings with field sound
1-2 Rhythm structure: 2-step transformation and polyrhythm
The beat is based on garage-derived 2-step, but it also includes certain fluctuations and broken beats.
- Bass drum ranges from 110 to 130 BPM instead of around 140
- Snare has a weak attack tone without emphasizing the backbeat
- Hats are often made from processed field recordings rather than metal.
- In addition to drum machines, you can use short samples such as the sound of small objects hitting, the sound of paper scraping, etc.
1-3 Acoustic space: reverberation, particleization, field recording
Post-dubstep can be described as a ““genre that creates space.’’ In particular, the following elements are distinctive.
- Use London street noises (rain, car sounds, ticket gates touching, etc.) as samples
- Reproducing reflected sound in real space using Convolution Reverb
- Texturing of reverberation with Granular Synthesis
- Pauses of silence and noise affect the structure of the song
Chapter 2: Analysis of major artists
2-1 Burial (Hyperdub)
Since his debut in 2006, Burial has been hailed as a central symbol of post-dubstep. His most important characteristic is his ability to extract the feeling of loneliness in the city.
Sound characteristics
- The vocal sample is extremely pitch-processed and contains multiple formants, giving it a “gender-indeterminate” feel.
- Bringing Vinyl Crackle (record noise) to the foreground
- The kick is a low attack like distant thunder in the middle of the night
- The snare has a dry sound quality, not metallic, but like “broken pieces of wood”
- Overall, a “foggy midrange” dominates, and the melody remains a short motif.
- Frequent use of short release pads that disappear quickly
Sampling method
Burial’s sampling is particularly distinctive, incorporating various noises as musical elements.
- Process train announcement sound and use it as a pad
- Convert nighttime rain recordings into particles to create rhythm material
- Composite game audio segments to form human nuances
- Cut the vocal fragment extremely short and give it a ghostly presence with reverse reverb processing
Through these methods, Burial’s songs reconstructed “memories of the city outside of club music.”
2-2 James Blake: Combining songwriting and experimental bass
James Blake is unique in taking post-dubstep out of the context of club culture and combining it with singer-songwriter expression.
Acoustic features
- Extreme minimalism centered around piano and vocals
- The bass is minimal and smoothly arranged around 50 to 70Hz.
- The chord progression has a classical harmonic feel.
- Suppress formant manipulation and blur the boundary between natural sounds and electronic sounds
- Depending on the depth of compression, “breathing” functions as the rhythm of the song
Sampling example
- Cut your own voice short, pitch shift it, and convert it into a harmonic-rich pad
- Foreground piano pedal noise with compression
- Mix short pulse noise (click) in the low range and use it as a kick replacement
James Blake’s approach has been treated as an important turning point, connecting ““experimental bass music” and ““introspective songwriting.”
Chapter 3: Sound Design Techniques Details
3-1 Processing field recordings
- Record London’s environmental sounds (stations, buses, rain sounds)
- Emphasize 300-800Hz with EQ to create a “mid-range urban feel”
- Shorten the reverb and blur the contours of the space
- Set Grain Size from 10 to 70ms to form a misty texture
3-2 Vocal processing
- Extreme movement of Pitch-shift ±12 or more
- Independent adjustment of Formant-shift to make gender and age ambiguous
- By adding a short Reverse Reverb, it creates a texture like a “phantom image that approaches and disappears”
- There are many examples of using harmonizers to form dissonant harmonies.
3-3 Base generation
- Mainly sine waves
- Short envelope with Attack 5~20ms, Release 100~200ms
- Other layers are organized with HPF to keep low end clear below 60Hz
- The stereo spread is left to field recording, and the bass itself is monaural.
Chapter 4: Chronology (Main Trends)
Chapter 5: Expanding from Post-Dubstep to Experimental Bass
Since the 2010s, post-dubstep has expanded beyond just a genre derived from dubstep to include the broader concept of “Experimental Bass.”
Features
- The bass line is no longer the main character of the song, but an element of spatial structure.
- Introduction of ASMR-like microsounds
- Down tempo that loosely incorporates the structure of half tempo
- Hybrid sound image: fusion of R&B, contemporary music, and ambient music
Changes in representative elements
- Early: London urban feel, fog texture
- Middle period: Vocal-based introspective expression
- Modern: Intersection with ASMR, environmental sounds, and minimal sound
Chapter 6: Acoustic analysis examples (structure, frequency, materials)
6-1 Typical frequency band distribution
- 20~60Hz: Sine wave base
- 200~800Hz: Field recording/noise/vocal fragments
- 1~3kHz: Chirp sound, processed percussion
- 8~12kHz: Air feel, atomization noise
6-2 Song composition
- Avoid clear drops
- Structure that “disappears/appears” rather than repetition
- The boundary between rhythm and melody is vague
Diagram (structural model)
Conclusion: Post-dubstep as the future of bass
Post-dubstep is more than just an evolution of dubstep, it is a movement that uses urban reverberations, field recordings, introspective vocals, and experimental electronic music to ““renew emotional expression using bass.’’
Post-dubstep/Experimental Bass will continue to be a fertile ground for new sonic experiments, just as Burial translated the solitude of the city into sound and James Blake integrated the personal voice and electronic sounds.
