Track of the Moment: Frozen by Mount Eden Dubstep

If I’ve proven anything on this blog, it’s that I’m the wildcard of the group, posting strange bands/songs that any “true” fan of music would scoff at. However, I’m entitled to my own opinion, and I feel that, between my amazing ability to describe music and my finely tuned ear, I’m able to pick out a few gems in genres you probably wouldn’t have thought to go near. (You know, maybe if you didn’t have so many trust issues, I wouldn’t have to put this at the top of all of my posts.)

And that leads us to today’s post – a New Zealand dubstep group (Hey! Don’t leave yet! What did I just spend the last paragraph talking about?). Now, before we get to the music, I’ll give you the abridged history of dubstep, and you’ll see why in a minute (or longer; I don’t know how fast you can read). Dubstep originally started out in the UK house scene in the late 90's and early 2000's, where DJs focused on hitting live audiences with a lot of low frequencies. However, laptops, headphones, cell phones, and whatever else you normally listen to music with isn’t equipped to handle a lot of bass, so most of the impact was lost. Try listening to this early dubstep track and identify the drop, which is where the music loses the percussion for a moment, builds up to a crescendo, then “drops” back into the beat. (I’ll give you a hint, it’s right around the 1:25 mark). Couldn’t find it? Not surprised.

But there was one other defining feature of dubstep – the wobble. The distorted WUBWUBWUB that everyone makes fun of. Because that hung out more in the middle range, you could clearly hear that on whatever device you wanted. This was developed and slowly the defining feature of the genre around 2008, give or take a year or 2. And it's not surprising that a little after that time dubstep became the massive genre that it is now.

If you still got Goat Stare playing, good for you. If not, go play it again. Go ahead, I’ll give you a minute. Now, do you notice how open it is? There’s very little sound, and the beat is very spaced out (it’s called a 2-step beat). However, it’s not very exciting to listen to. So now every DJ just packs in as much wobble and noise as possible with a ½ step beat and looks to make the “dirtiest” (an abstract term used to describe something with a lot of lows) drop, or just songs in general. And that’s how Skrillex was born, and the music world shed a tear. That said, there are some artists who do make good “modern” dubstep, but that’s for another day.

Mount Eden kicks it old school. They stick with the 2-step and ambient, open sounds. They do sample Optimus Prime mid-transformation, but they use it minimally and tastefully throughout their songs. And let’s not forget about the focus on the heavy, omnipresent bass, with a spattering of artful samples on top. They do have their harder songs, but it’s still a very respectful, calm mix. It may not be the most accessible for most current electronic fans, but it’s the best medium between your traditional dubstep and the modern stuff that’s called dubstep.

Remember that remix I posted Monday? That uses a fantastic Mount Eden song, along with a pretty decent Childish Gambino track, and my horrible mixing skills. They also remix the song Steve posted about a few weeks ago. However, this week, I’m going with Frozen. It just perfect to throw on when you’re studying or want some time to relax, and shows off what good dubstep song can, and should be.