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The things that drew me to dubstep in the first place weren't necessarily the kind of testosterone-driven environments that you got from say, late jungle or some of the drum 'n' bass stuff that was happening after that. I think the dubstep that has come over to the US, and certain producers — who I can't even be bothered naming — have definitely hit upon a sort of frat-boy market where there's this macho-ism being reflected in the sounds and the way the music makes you feel. And to me, that is a million miles away from where dubstep started. It's a million miles away from the ethos of it. It's been influenced so much by electro and rave, into who can make the dirtiest, filthiest bass sound, almost like a pissing competition, and that's not really necessary. And I just think that largely that is not going to appeal to women. I find that whole side of things to be pretty frustrating, because that is a direct misrepresentation of the sound as far as I'm concerned.

ARE YOU PROACTIVELY COVERING FEMALE MUSICIANS? Oh no, not at all. Those are just songs that I like, and definitely not decisions I made based on gender at all. But I have noticed this kind of pattern in female pianists, especially, the style of play is a very supportive role within the composition. And I love that. And I kind of envy that. Because there's this kind of male tendency to flourish and to embellish on things that might not need it. And that is definitely an ego-driven thing which I don't think someone like Joni Mitchell really was a purveyor of. And I kind of appreciate that about her music.

JAMES BLAKE + CHAIRLIFT | Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Ave, Boston | October 3 @ 7 Pm | 18+ | $25 | 617.562.8800

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20 Comments / Add Comment

Anonymous

heaven forbid a genre progresses beyond it's roots
Posted: September 28 2011 at 2:51 PM

blueblue

I wonder how many light years away Michael Mcdonald thinks James Blake's music is from his original "ethos". Mcdonald probably does't even care for avant garde being the lame fake soul singer he is. Seriously, is this dude really talking trash about changing the intention of an original genre? Don't poop where you eat my friend. Also, what brainless half-wit would ever wanna rip off the sound of someone as insincere and lifeless as Michael Mcdonald?
Posted: September 28 2011 at 6:22 PM

Anonymous

I think he's whining a bit, but also shedding light on the long tail production trends (in any genre) that ultimately cheapen the music and make it sound derivative.
Posted: September 28 2011 at 11:04 PM

Tim Gonzalez

I don't think the contemporary conception of "dubstep" should have that title nor do I agree with the genre title "post-dub." They're all variations of the trend in bass music. Dubstep was the purest when it still had its reggae dub roots and English grime. Now people can't contain their boners for sounds of Transformer rape so they can compensate for their inability to dance.
Posted: September 29 2011 at 1:25 AM

Anonymous

I agree with James Blake, they should call that sound something else. I hate having to explain to my friends, who are new to dupstep and immediately turned off due to the large amount of US shows billed as dupstep are really fratstep.
Posted: September 29 2011 at 3:26 AM

woi woi woi wherez the wubz bro

@ Anyonymous - I wouldn't call dubstep turning into a 'which robot can fart the loudest' competition "progression". Dubstep has progressed a lot, but the comically hyper-macho shit Blake is referring to ain't it.
Posted: September 29 2011 at 7:55 AM

Philip Johnson

There is nothing admirable about bashing someone else’s taste in music. and when both parties involved come from the same micro-subset of a music genre that 99.9999% of Earth’s inhabitants hate anyway, it’s just plain ridiculous

artists like Bassnectar and Skrillex will probably provide entertainment for more fans in a year then James Blake will in his lifetime - and James is basically discounting that entertainment. Maybe in his next article he should try and convince anyone that has enjoyed a Skrillex performance that, well, they actually didn’t enjoy it…
Posted: September 29 2011 at 8:51 AM

Philip Johnson

@ woi woi

Call it farting, call it transformer rape sounds – bottom line is someone out there likes it, and who are you to say what is progression or not? Why the hell does music even have to progress? Can someone just enjoy it? The best part about this whole thing is artists like the ones being bashed by James are outselling him 1,000,000:1 lol

“James who?” -Skrillex (as he prepares to tour with Korn for literally millions of fans)
Posted: September 29 2011 at 4:15 PM

fiftyshades

I 100% agree with him on this. The real sound of dubstep has very little representation in the US, being mostly UK based (with a bit in Berlin and Eastern Europe), and what I think he finds annoying (as I do too) is that fact that the name of the sound has been basically craddle snatched and raised to be a cheap prostitute by uncaring money-grabbers. It hardly represents progression of a sound, if the people listening to this brostep will regret ever listening to it if they ever hear it again in 10+ years time.
Posted: September 29 2011 at 5:21 PM

Philip Johnson

so a DJ playing for millions of adoring and PAYING fans becomes a "uncaring money-grabber"

i love how you can't see beyond your personal preferences

hilarious
Posted: September 29 2011 at 6:38 PM
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