Doshy plays Earl Bar on Saturday 14 January Berlin might be best known for its trancemeisters, but Doshy (pictured above) had another calling: the siren song of the UK’s minimal, 140bpm genrebomb, dubstep. But, over the last six years, dubstep has clawed its way out of the underground and into the mainstream’s gaze, while Doshy himself has been declared one of a growing number of postdubstep producers. Ahead of his gig at Earl Bar this month, we ask Doshy whether dubstep has finally stumbled down a dead end.
Is dubstep dead? Or is it still alive and kicking?
Did hip-hop die? Did techno die? No. Like them, dubstep became a genre with many subgenres, and in the last two years those subgenres have moved apart. Dubstep will never really die. I think that deep, bassy 140bpm drop music will always have its ups and downs and will always be around in many different forms. Still, I don’t think it’s healthy at the minute. Stuff like UK funky, juke and upfront grime replaced the dubstep hype for me a good long while ago.
There’s a big difference between early dubstep – think of Kode9 and Digital Mystikz’s looming basslines and sparse, almost minimalist production – and the mid-range basslines and screechy synths of modern producers such as Skrillex and Doctor P. So which is best: ‘old’ dubstep or ‘new’ dubstep?
I don’t like saying ‘old’ and ‘new’; I think it became two different genres. I really love dubstep that has the right swagger and flow – something not too pretentious. It can be really dubby, subby or hip-hop influenced. At the moment, I like upfront grime and anything with 808 drums. I also like a lot of stuff around 160bpm, like juke or good dirty south stuff. I’m actually really into UK music, old or new. I’ve never been disappointed by it.
Is it even accurate to call the ‘new’ stuff dubstep? It seems that the only connection is the 140bpm speed…
A lot of people call the Skrillex and Doctor P stuff ‘brostep’, myself included. I don’t like most of it – it’s too pretentious. I call it ‘chainsaw nose-bleed music’! I’ve hated it ever since Rusko and Caspa created it in 2009. Even though it’s very well produced, Skrillex’s music has swapped that independent feeling for commercial flow. But I do like a lot of the brostep stuff 16bit produce, and even a few Rusko tunes. As you said, the only thing they have in common with Kode9 is the 140bpm tempo. But that’s the way it goes: artists create something new and fresh, and it’s just a matter of time before the commercial side bastardises it.
Your music has been called ‘postdubstep’; how do you classify it?
I try to produce what I love: music that sounds fresh, innovative and really sub based. I often talk about genre playgrounds; I try to find music that hasn’t many rules and can’t be easily pigeon-holed. I love playing around with ideas and trying to make them sound fresh, so, if we have to, let’s label my music ‘fresh’!
Is the ‘death of dubstep’ a myth, then, invented by bitter dubstep fans who hate the fact that their favourite genre has gone commercial?
Yes, totally. I think if you once loved something a lot, and found your identity in it, then seeing lots of people messing around with those great ideas is always a bit depressing. But I’ve felt this many times before with hip-hop, drum ’n’ bass and techno, so I was never really surprised that it happened to dubstep. And while I have to leave a party if the tunes become too stupid, the flipside is that I’m happy seeing people having fun dancing, even if I’m not into it, because that’s what music is all about.