After the popularity of dubstep reaching new heights in 2011, the predictions for 2012 are coming in thick and fast. Plenty of journalists have been harking back to 2003, where a young Benga was reported as saying ‘I don’t think it’ll go overground as such’ and now, well it’s just a case of how mainstream dubstep will become.
From the comfort of your own home, nestled amongst your couch
cushions or out at a live gig immersing yourself in the deep bass, as fans of dubstep you can’t not be excited for the new year and all the potential bursting out of it.
The Sound of 2012
With the success of 2011 behind them leading dubstep artists have already been recognised for their potential in the coming year by several leading bodies in the musical industry. First, let’s take a look at the success of Flux Pavilion, the producer behind THE dubstep classic of 2011 “Bass Cannon”. No other tune summed up 2011 more concisely and his other work has been used extensively in sampling by other artists and producers. August saw Flux’s “I Can’t Stop” feature on Jay-Z and Kanye West’s album Watch the Throne. 2012 proves to be an even bigger and better year for Flux as he was named on the shortlist of the BBC Sound of 2012, which is of course a critically acclaimed BBC Radio poll of music critics and industry figures. This is clearly a sign of things to come and with recognition from a leading industry experts, it’d be difficult to suggest that dubstep isn’t heading for chart success and Flux will be up there with the best.
Next up, is the leading star of 2011, Skrillex. LA-Born Skrillex firmly positioned himself amongst the big players in the genre throughout the last year and even earned himself the MTV EDM Artist of the Year seeing off competition from other genre leaders including deadmau5 and Swedish House Mafia. This again, has got to be seen as testament to the growing popularity of dubstep and its advent to the top in 2012. Skrillex is known for his non-stop touring and will be in the UK, Germany and US in the first half of 2012. Skrillex also featured in the BBC Sounds of 2012 and came in fourth place, a position previously held by artists including Plan B and Glasvegas, who went on to gain chart success and acclaim. All these accolades coming in Skrillex’s direction are showing that dubstep is emerging from the underground and becoming more popular amongst mainstream music fans.
From screamo to Skrillex
Casting off his previous guise as the singer in scream band From First to Last, Skrillex has forced himself to the forefront of dubstep and after his storming 2011, 2012 is going to be even better. Responsible for remixes of some serious big players including Lady GaGa and The Black Eye Peas, Skrillex is edging his way into the mainstream one track at a time. Launching the OWSLA record label in the middle of last year, we can expect more from Skrillex and the artists he chooses to work with including Zedd, the German electro house group.
Knife Party paving their way to further success
Another artist we predict will be instrumental in the development of dubstep in the mainstream has already collaborated with Skrillex. Knife Party, are a side project of drum and bass festival hit Pendulum and are already making waves across dubstep. Working with Skrillex on the track “Zoology” and then later featuring on Swedish House Mafia’s “Antidote”, released in the US on 16th December, there’s much more to come from this new development from Australia’s finest EDM artists.
As more and more artists are seeing their tracks remixed by dubstep artists, their popularity widens and there is more scope for experimentation. With TWO dubstep artists featuring the BBC Sound of 2012, this really is an indicator of how things are looking for the New Year and how dubstep is believed to be edging its way into mainstream radio air play and charts. Rather than being banished to late night pirate shows, dubstep artists are featuring increasingly in mainstream prime time radio features and this is set to continue throughout 2012.
