Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Hervé and the Evolution of Dubstep

Late last year, dubstep was my favourite kind of music for a couple of weeks. Virtually every song hits like SebastiAn's HAL. The bottom half of dubstep tracks make Miami bass sound like trance, and trance sound like Peter Bjorn and John. It borrows elements from dub, trip hop and electro, paying homage to reggae, hip hop, and r&b all the while.
Then, after Lynas valiantly tested dubstep out on the wonderful drunks at Public Assembly, we concluded that the world (outside of the UK) was not ready for dubstep. I realized that there is rarely an appropriate time to play it. The genre's signature combination is of the wobble (technical term for that fat trembling bass line characterizing all dubstep), and the slightly off and sparing drum patterns which are unmistakably borrowed from trip hop and used more appropriately in such somber, weeded out, and often quiet music. Dubstep is extremely loud and obtrusive club shit to which you can't dance.
In December, I decided that dubstep was too inaccessible to soon be considered in the realm of house, techno, trance and electro. And then, in a stroke of simple genius, similar to that of the Earl of Sandwich when he asked for his ham to come between two pieces of bread, in comes Hervé with what always seemed to me as a logical combination, a four to the floor and a dubstep wobble. Game changed.
Example- So Many Roads (Hervé Remix)

Born Joshua Harvey and better known as Count of Count and Sinden, Hervé is a moderately successful LDN based dj/producer/songwriter, and apparently, like every other Cockney dubstepper, seems to be a psycho wilder. Cool. Besides for the Hervé and Count and Sinden releases, he has recorded under the monikers Voodoo Chilli, Action Man, Dead Soul Brothers, Speaker Junk and Young Lovers. But even as the relevant nomenclature, dude has delved into tons of sub-genres, particularly in his remix selection. Nevertheless, whether cracking out Block Party or Kidda, Santogold or Unklejam, Hervé's music is most unique in its overlying theme: definitive dubstep with unwavering electronica rhythm and timing.
Bloc Party- Mercury (Hervé is in Disarray Remix)

The most obvious and sudden result of this combination is the capability to give every song a beat break (or several breaks) that hits like a sledge hammer.
Kidda- Under the Sun (Hervé Remix)

New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream (Herve Goes Bananas Mix)

Dubstep has a long way to go before it is played widely anywhere but within the Commonwealth. But Hervé has catalyzed the lemons to lemonade transformation of a genre with overwhelming dance music capabilities. And as the Serbs say, "lemons are good, but lemonade is delicious."
Estaw- Break it Down (Hervé Remix)

Dune- Bloodlines (Hervé's Love is Messed Up Remix

1 comment:

The Commander aka Jerk Store said...

Good shit. I, personally like dubstep, just feel like I need a head full of vicodin and cough syrup to listen to it for longer than 15 minutes. On a side note, Serbs do always say that about lemons, but I don't know why. Lemons don't even exist in Serbia...