Nobody like the old fart who criticizes what the kids are into these days. Unless of course that veteran music-maker and performer is absolutely right. As has been said before, the American version of dubstep that has achieved massive popularity has evolved to have little to do with the music’s roots, and a lot more to do with the sound of ’90s nu-metal. One person who knows the difference is Dutch producer Martyn, who was one of the few non-English DJs to infiltrate the London dubstep scene almost ten years ago. In an interview with the Guardian, Martyn said:

It [American dubstep] has very little to do with me! Dubstep in the U.S. has taken the place of nu metal. An electronic music rave in America now is like a Limp Bizkit concert 10 years ago. If you listen to a Skrillex set, it’s basically just an orgasmic reaction every three minutes. It has little to do with what dubstep was really all about, which was sort of a meditation on bass. Now it’s like a caricature of that in the US.

Granted, there’s a lot more scantily-clad young people at a modern rave versus a Limp Bizkit show (less fear of rape?), but given the sonic similarities between U.S. dubstep and Korn, it’s hard to ignore the dismiss Martyn’s statement completely. All part of America killing dance music, we guess.

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