Name: Emilia Frölich
Supervisor: Per-Markku Ristilammi Instructor: Margareta Popoola
Programme: IMER Master programme Course: Project Work, 15 credits Date: 09/05/27
Dubstep -
a journey into dark sounds, urban spaces
and contemporary youth identities
TABLE OF CONTENT: ABSTRACT p. 3 INTRODUCTION p. 4 BACKGROUND p. 5 PURPOSE p. 7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS p. 7 METHODOLOGICAL DISCUSSION p. 8
The interview – power relations and social positions p. 8
Limitations in my choice of method p. 10
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND p. 11
From Subculture to Neo-tribes p. 11
CCCS and it's criticism p. 12
Postmodernism p. 13
A rethinking of class p. 15
DUBSTEP AND ITS MUSIO-HISTORICAL CONTEXT p. 16
Club music and its relation to drugs p. 18
Dubstep and its rude cousin Grime p. 21
Electroclash – the opposite of dubstep? p. 22
Dubstep and the media p. 24
MUSIC AND ITS REPRESENTATION OF PLACE p. 26
The city p. 26
The university p. 27
Dubstep in Sweden p. 28
DUBSTEP AS PART OF A WIDER CLUB CULTURE p. 31
Clubbing – an experimental consumption p. 33
COMPUTER VS VOICE – A GENDER PERSPECTIVE p. 35
The female as anti-technological p. 36
MUSIC – COMMODITY OR CULTURE p. 39
Dubstep and commercialism p. 40
CONCLUSION p. 42
ABSTRACT
This paper concerns processes of youth identification and formation of lifestyles in relation to the recent British music genre 'dubstep'. The music style is viewed as a modern youth leisure practice which construct social meaning and belonging in an urban translocal environment. The research, based on analytical data and qualitative interviewing, has proven that modern youth lifestyles can not be analysed through the theoretical scope of subcultures, as these tend to be homogeneous and out dated. Therefore, a postmodern approach has opened up to possibilities to understand youth identification as fragmented and interrupted processes, influenced by a hybrid of transnational cultural meanings and spaces. The paper also discusses the role of media and the growth of consumerism in relation to youth identifications, and it suggests that the dubstep scene can be viewed as a respond to, and sometimes a borrowing of, the representation of the modern urban youth which can be found in newspapers, as well as fashion and music magazines. Furthermore, several postmodern youth studies has celebrated the rejection of old unequal categories of gender and class when analysing the way contemporary youth socialise and create belonging. However, my study questions this notion and claim that structural power relations still exist and to a certain extend determine lifestyles, behaviour and motivation among different youth.
Keywords: youth, dance music, gender, urban, consumerism, street culture, postmodernism, club culture, media, lifestyle
INTRODUCTION
The focus on popular culture within the academic world has evolved alongside the growth of the consumer society, which started to develop in Britain after the Second World War. Late capitalism has often been associated with the emphasis moving away from people being workers, towards people being consumers. The market of the industrial production rapidly realised that the new found leisure time needed to be provided with leisure goods. Post-war Britain witnessed several socio-economic changes, that came to affect all classes, all ethnicities and all generations. Sociologists, who previously had focused mostly on institutions such as work and education, gradually started to acknowledge how the process of consumption opened up to new groupings, social relations and identities. Consumption further had an effect on art and other institutions of amusement. When people were able to choose a style or a taste, scholars developed a new theoretical framework concerning 'subcultures', which referred to particular youth groups, organised through certain styles or music tastes. The activities within these style-based youth groups, started to be analysed as cultural practices.
Consumerism is a vital part of the modern society and is deeply intertwined with our daily life. Being a consumer opens up to several alternative lifestyles, which involve different cultural practices. These type of practices has become essential to study, since it has been acknowledged that they have a major impact on processes of identification. It has been recognised that identities formed through consumer choices demonstrates how we want to be perceived, rather than how we actually are (Firth, 1998: 274). When a lifestyle is available for purchase, we become someone, rather than being someone. For young people, clothes and tastes are essential tools used in order to be perceived in the 'accurate' way.
Today, many scholars within sociology and anthropology claim that music and other artistic practices have strong links to identification. People use music not only to locate themselves in a particular social context, but also to preconceive knowledge about other people and places. Artistic productions have the ability to give people a chance to express opinions about their social environment - people, who may not be able to express it through public institutions, such as the media or the academics. Additionally, the conventional forms of political participation does not represent the whole society. There are many voices and opinions which are expressed through other means, which might not always be acknowledged by the society. The conventional forms of political participation are often controlled by the state, which frequently get criticised for not being supportive enough towards ethnic minorities, young people or other individuals with low status
(Martiniello & Lafleur, 2008). This is why cultural practices, such as music is interesting. The artistic production offers an alternative mean of expression, where realities which are not always justly represented in the society can be found. Cultural practices open up to further ways of analysing identity, belonging and other social issues within our society. Cultural practices can be viewed as a reflection of some ones everyday environment and social life, which is always of interest for anthropologists and sociologists.
BACKGROUND – WHY I CHOOSE THE TOPIC
I have read a number of literature concerning music cultures in Britain and furthermore, the expression of British identity through music in relation to the black diaspora. The black music culture in Britain is strongly linked to the cultural politics and histories of Africa, the Caribbean, and black America. In order to understand the local features of black British music, they have to be explained within the context of diasporic cultural production. The musical forms in the black diaspora can be seen as a creative response to the oppressive imperial and colonial history of the New World, where Africans, through enslavement and later labour migration have been re-located world wide. In the 1980's and the 1990's, many studies concerning the diverse diasporic music styles in London were conducted. A new wave of music with a strong diversity and integration of sounds developed. It expressed translocal connections and cultural exchanges, which demonstrates that the British music culture is not static, it is a constantly developing process, which has influences world wide.
Cultural production has proved to be a useful way of expressing British identity among Asians and Afro-Caribbeans. The exchange of music cultures has showed signs of a democratic, anti-racist interaction (Back, 1996: 215-220). However, I became curious to see what the contemporary music production in London had to offer in terms of how the cultural practices reflected the modern society. I have spent five years living in London and has a very personal relationship to the town. I experienced the city different from the literature I read, which was focusing on the 'Thatcher era' and its following years, when racism, segregation and high employment were acute problems in Britain. The issues still exists on some levels, but the effects of globalisation, such as the expanding diasporic flows, has gradually been standardised and London has been very successful in its integration process.
There are many music genres of today that demonstrate how the multicultural flow has led to an enormous process of borrowing and mixing sounds from different music traditions. Bhangra is one example, which is a dance genre associated with Punjabi traditions such as harvest festivals and later has been re-invented using hip hop beats, by British South Asian youths. Bhangra gave these youth a stronger connection to 'their' music and at the same time signalled a self-consciousness of being South Asian and British (Back, 1996: 201-215). However, in modern studies, it is not only issues of ethnic belonging that is of interest. Identifications are often fragmented and has come to involve a multitude of belongings to different social affiliations.
In recent times, I have come across a new music genre called 'dubstep'. The name, which include the word 'dub', made me draw an association with the Jamaican music genre, referred to as simply 'dub', which on a basic level can be described as style that remixes existing reggae songs, but with a deduction of the vocals and often with an echo effect. Even though the Jamaican sound system culture can be found in dubstep it is nevertheless classified as an electronic music genre, with 140 bpm (beats per minute), compared to for example drum and bass, which has around 170 bpm. The sounds are created through instruments such as a drum machines, turntables, synthesizer etc., which are organised through computer-programs and is defined by its heavy bass and its dark sound. It has only existed for approximately 6 years and has its roots in south London. One of the main characteristics of the genre is the several different music influences that exists in dubstep, which are all related to the local London music production. In dubstep one can find '2-step', which is a sub-genre of UK garage which has been influenced by drum n bass, which in turn is influenced by dub, hip hop and techno. Since dubstep has covered several different local music cultures, dubstep is a genre that could be viewed as something typical 'Londony'. It is a modern and interesting scene to explore in terms of what the contemporary music productions of London reflect, express and symbolize.
PURPOSE:
With this essay I want to gain a deeper understanding of the reality of the contemporary London youth, through studies of their leisure practices, such as clubbing, listening and producing music. Moreover, I am interested in how a specific music genre, in this case dubstep, co-relates to its immediate urban environment. I further want to explore how global forces facilitate the creation of new forms of experience, identity and lifestyles.
Theoretically, I will critically analyse previous explanations and analysis of the relationship between music, style, youth and society. I will argue and explain how certain theories and categories has proven to be insufficient and out of date, when analysing cultural practices in contemporary London. In addition, I will introduce more recent theoretical concepts and demonstrate how they easier co-relates to my fieldwork.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In what way does the dubstep scene correspond to processes of identification among youth?
What significance does categories such as class and gender have when studying the dubstep scene?
METHODOLOGICAL DISCUSSION
In order to understand how the dubstep scene is linked to wider social aspects of the young generation of today, I want to study the contemporary youth's perception and relation to this specific style of music. Therefore, I have chosen to use interview and observation as my research methods. I decided to collect my own qualitative data, although the essay is relatively short. However, with my experience of living in London, I considered myself to have an advantage, in terms of effectively finding contacts, clubs and being, to a certain extent, an insider.
I have interviewed five young Londoners, which all are music producers or DJ's. Four of them are also teaching music for teenagers. Additionally, three interviews were conducted in dubstep clubs, where the informants were all under the age of twenty four. In Sweden I have interviewed two females in their mid twenties, who frequently visit dubstep events in Malmö. The venues were I have conducted my observation is club FWD in Shoreditch, a vibrant area in London with numerous clubs, restaurants and art galleries. FWD is considered to be the first and most successful dubstep club in London. I also visited a venue called Plan B, which is located in Brixton, an area famous for its large West Indian population. In Sweden, I have visit Inkonst in Malmö, who once a month runs a night called 'All out Dubstep'. Apart from interviews and observations, I have also read dubstep reviews and visited dubstep blogs and forums online.
THE INTERVIEW – POWER RELATIONS AND SOCIAL POSITIONS
When discussing interviewing as a research method, it is essential to address the importance of the different positions the interviewer and the interviewee hold. Unlike a spontaneous conversation, the interview exists of predetermined social roles, which means that both interviewer and interviewed knows the logic of the particular conversation. An ideal situation would be a communication free from power practice, but it is almost always the interviewer that leads the conversation. Because of these positions, it is common that the unbalanced power relation makes the respondent feel unease. In order to avoid this, the interviewer can distribute power to the respondent and thereby create an atmosphere that is more equal. Schostak and Barbour (2007) have acknowledged these power structures which operate between interviewer and interviewed, but question if the power relations always are homogeneous and fixed? There exist a unique interplay in every interview situation, where the person holding the power can be shifting. The one who is in control is often associated with the interviewer, since he/she leads and masters the interview. On the other hand, it is clearly that the interviewee has power over the situation as well. He or she is after all the one that hold the information.
The access to the respondent's information is related to how the interviewee connect with the interviewer. It is crucial that the respondent feel that the researcher is trustworthy, otherwise the information given will be very limited. Therefore, the researcher needs to give a friendly impression in order to get access to personal accounts and answers. The language of the interview plays an essential role. Ideally, the questions should be described in a language that relates to the world that the subject lives and acts in. Too much theory-based words may confuse the participant or even worse - intimidate him or her, if the words are found too difficult to understand.
The social positions of the varied actors involved in the interview creates a unique combination of beliefs, behaviour and opinions. In some occasions, it helps when the researcher and the respondent belong to the same group, age, class, culture etc. Similarities can imply, on an unconscious level, that the researcher and the interviewed are familiar with each other (Aspers 135, 141). Thus, in my research, were I interview music artists, DJ's and clubbers, it is helpful that I have a personal interest in music, belong to the same age-group and in a sense, is considered to be a 'Londoner'. This gives me an impression of being more of an 'insider', which most likely will have a positive effect on the information I receive from my interview subjects. Furthermore, if we share similar social positions, the interview will appear more natural. It makes it easier for me to put myself into the informants situation and in return, the interviewee might find it easier to express him/herself to someone he/she has similarities with.
This reasoning is linked to the concept of trust, which plays a crucial role when getting access to information. Interviews are very dependent on the social interaction and the interviewer have to prevail some social skills. I believe that it lies in the nature of most interviews to search for similarities between the participants. Just as the interviewer is searching for a common platform where he/she can meet the informant, the informant is searching for signs that make the interviewer trustworthy. In other words, both participants are trying to move away from being strangers by searching for some kind of recognition. We trust people who seem familiar and friendly, not people who are impersonal and strange. In order to gain trust, the interviewer have to find a balanced level of both giving and taking. When I encountered people who are involved in the dubstep scene, I think that my exposing of knowledge of the music helped me to appear as more trustworthy. However, because I interview artists and supporters of the music who are inspired and enthusiastic about the topic, they appeared happy to promote their culture and did not seem to have any particular issues with trust.
The content of the interviews is connected to what relation the interviewed has towards the topic. There is a risk when interviewing people who are involved in a culture, that they are not able to look critically at the culture they feel part of and as a consequence, the information I will receive will be one-sided and biased. Nevertheless, the fact the they actively defend their culture and find certain questions intimidating is still a valuable outcome. The interview has evoked feelings or reactions that are representing a 'truth', even if their verbal arguments is limited to one set of idea of what dubstep means for the people involved.
My interpretation of the information given in the interview is connected to the individual meaning that I read into what has been said. I have found a meaning outside the written words, which is highly subjective, because it is not taken from the words in the conversation. Another person may have found another meaning, which would have resulted in a different outcome. This demonstrates that the result or the final analysis of an interview is very individual.
LIMITATIONS IN MY CHOICE OF METHOD
Qualitative research methods operates most efficient when the researcher has time to get to know the subjects and carefully go through and analyse the material. In this case, the time has been very limited and as I only spend a week doing fieldwork, it has restricted me in my quality and amount of conducted interviews. The main problematic issue is – how valid are my conclusions, considering the critical amount of interviews and observations I have collected within this limited time? Will I even be able to make substantial conclusions based on seven recorded interviews and three observations? Are they representative? I will in relation to my lack of participants defend my fieldwork's validity by discussing the use of interview as a method from a postmodern perspective, where every participant represent their own truth. Knowledge is relative and therefore does not the quantity of opinions make something more legitimate or more real. Every story in itself is true and valid.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND - FROM SUBCULTURES TO NEO TRIBES
Several scholars within the field of cultural studies, sociology and anthropology (Bennett, 1999), (Maffesoli, 1996), (Muggleton, 2005) claim that contemporary cultural analysis of youths are in need of a serious reconfiguration of its theoretical framework. The concept ‘subculture’ has proven to be outdated when studying youth lifestyles of today and its usefulness has been strongly questioned alongside the development of new analytical concepts. In order to understand why subcultural theory is not workable when studying contemporary youth culture, a short genealogy of youth cultural analysis in post-war Britain is necessary.
The first time youth culture was acknowledged academically was in the 1950’s, when fundamental social changes took place in Britain that brought a new set of experience for young people. Post-war British culture came to involve leisure and leisure goods, which was the beginning of the consumer based society we live in today.
Studies concerning youth, style and musical life has often been associated with The Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) who were responsible for the development of subcultural theory. Postgraduates from the University of Birmingham published numerous amount of studies concerning how youth in Britain expressed their life and reality through various cultural practical forms. The young peoples relationship between education, family and leisure activities was analysed through a theoretical framework strongly influenced by the American subcultural model. The American youth studies were mainly focusing on youth gangs and their connection to their locality. The first works of CCCS were following the same path, and youth gangs came to be associated with the deprived area where these young men (it was only males involved in these studies) lived their everyday life. What came to differentiate the British youth studies from the American, was the shifting emphasis from youth gangs, to groups of youth expressing a particular style, such as the Teddy boys, mods and skinheads. The groups who adopted an alternative style was now referred to as ‘subcultures’. Their deviant behaviour were explained as ‘the collective reaction of youth themselves, or rather working-class youth, to structural changes taking place in Britain post-war society’ (Bennett, 1999: 600). In the famous CCCS work ‘Subcultural Conflict and Working Class Community’ (1972) Phil Cohen highlights the fact that this collective reaction was in fact a response to how the traditional British working class communities were going through a process of shattering, because of the urban redevelopment of several city neighbourhoods that took place in the 1950’s. Subcultures were in general explained as a shared experience were young people expressed their conflicting feelings towards the new social situations that started to develop
in the British society. The deviant style enabled the youth to perceive themselves as the other, and not only a person from the unrespectable and low status working class.
CCCS AND ITS CRITICISM
In the 1970’s, almost all texts produced by members of CCCS concerning different British subcultures, had a strong theoretical emphasis on class positions. The strong emphasis on class, led to the development of theoretical concepts such as ‘bricolage’, which refers to a process were items from the dominant culture are reconfigured into alternative meanings and new identities. An example would be how the meaning of safety pin was transformed within the punk movement and started to be used as a type of decoration.
The subcultural theories were often heavily influenced by a neo-Marxist perspective, where the youth resisted both the parent culture, or in other words the traditional working class culture, and the dominant culture. However, the usage of a Marxist perspective determines that the young people involved in subcultures can only belong to the working class, considering the fact that subcultures are operating as a political force against the dominant classes. Middle class youth groups, such as the Hippie movement or working class youth who were more conventional than the radical Teddy boys or Mods were therefore not given the same attention (Muggleton, 208-209). The participants of subcultures then, seem to be associated exclusively with the the working class and further only of young men. One of the strongest critique directed towards the subcultural theory is its neglect of young women's practices and social life. The earlier works of CCCS offers no cultural analysis with a gender perspective. It was argued that girls did not participate in sub-cultural activities because of parents being stricter with regulations on their free time. Their territory were simply constructed around the house and the bedroom, which was not where subcultural activities were taken place. However, McRobbie (1980) argues that the researchers of subcultural studies fail to understand that the social life of the youth takes place at home as well as on the streets. She further criticises the sociologists of the CCCS to ignore girls in subcultural studies because the female consumption of cultural forms, are viewed as more conventional and less interesting (Bennett, 602-603).
The CCCS ‘project’ has also been criticised for the way their theories do not coincide with the reality. The validity has been questioned because of the lack of empirical data. Methodologically, observations and interviews have rarely been conducted or has the qualitative information that does appear been taken from secondary sources. The meaning of youth cultures for the actual youth has
not been given the same attention as for the sociologists themselves (Muggleton, 210).
The lack of qualitative interviews, the absence of a gender perspective, and the frequently used explanation of subcultural practices as a class positioned resistance makes the analysis of subcultures reductionistic and insufficient. The portray of subcultures appears homogeneous with fixed categories and a non-conflicting reality.
POSTMODERNISM
A theoretical shift became apparent in the 1980’s, when meta-narratives such as Marxism were strongly criticised. The meta narratives were challenged by postmodern theory, which claimed that knowledge has always arrived from somewhere in the social order and is never stable or neutral. The postmodern idea was embraced and welcomed in the youth cultural studies. Having its roots in artistic movements expressed through architecture, fashion and music, it was considered to be a very effective theoretical framework to use when analysing the relationship between youth, music and popular culture. With the help of postmodernism, youth cultural studies quickly moved away from the old Marxist position, which limited the research with its fixed set of participants and categories. On the contrary, postmodernism saw the fluidity and the contradictory relationship that existed in youth cultures.
Postmodernism was further an answer to the new set of social changes in the country. Comparing it to modernism, which was associated with manufacturing and industrialisation, postmodernism reflected a new time that co-related to the reality of a decline in heavy industry. Instead, post- modernity is “characterized by greater choice, flexibility and individuality, paradoxically it is also associated with ‘risk’, uncertainty and insecurity” (Nayak, 2003:31).
Postmodernism can be understood as critical tool, deconstructing old notions of nation, gender and race through a strategy where margins are placed in the centre. Universal truths which are found in meta-narratives such as Marxism, Islam and Christianity are rejected in postmodernism, where rationality and logocentric thinking are viewed as being ideas constructed by hidden power structures that are intertwined with the value- and moral systems which operate in our society. Even though Marxism was completely abandoned, issues of class systems were still analysed. However, not in terms of economic inequalities, but through style-based identities. Postmodern thinkers are therefore more reflexive in their interpretation and allow contradictions, since this is how reality actually is. In postmodernism, there is no singular emphasis, nothing is valued and there exists
multiple truths and narratives. Thus, using a postmodern perspective on subcultural studies means that there is no priority to study masculine norms rather than female, resistance rather than conformity, working class rather than middle class or white youth rather than black.
Postmodern works on youth studies have a tendency to focus less on political economy, labour and education, as scholars from the 70’s and early 80’s did, and rather study social practices such as dance, music-scenes and consumption. Night-clubs and shopping mall has become the field for contemporary scholars, compared to the school, the street or the workplace (Nayak, 30-33).
In relation to the youth and their different choice of styles, postmodernism allow one to understand the dynamic and indefinite forms of youth representations. The 'looks' used by young people are fragmented and interrupted and it is an expression of the 'tangible connections between the general conditions of life today and the practice of cultural analysis' (McRobbie, 1994: 13)
The shift from subcultural theory to a more postmodern approach towards relationship between youth, music and style has led to a new theoretical framework, where the focus no longer is on the group, but on the individual and the different spaces where the 'postmodern persona' negotiates identities. The identifications that might be shared by more than one has then come to be described not as subcultures, but as argued by Maffesoli, 'neo-tribes' (Bennett, 1999: 605). According to Maffesoli, the formations are scattered and shaped rather through a state of mind, which is expressed through style, then by a fixed class or culture. “It is a case of a kind of collective unconscious (non/conscious) which acts as a matrix for the varied group experiences, situations, actions or wanderings.” (Maffesoli, 1996: 98) Maffesoli's very fluid concept of tribes has been popular, since it is a considerable attempt to move away from identifications based on class, gender and race. Collective identities in the modern society are not linked to a fixed culture, class, nation or locality. Tribes, in a Maffesoli sense, is not a determined group, rather, what characterise them is its constant movement in and out of groupings and styles.
In the post-subcultural studies, there has been many theoretical suggestions of how to understand social identity among the contemporary youth. Several scholars prefer to use the concept 'lifestyle' rather than culture because it offers a clearer understanding of the social practices and everyday life of young people. “Lifestyles do not constitute or substitute ‘identities’, but represent them” (Chaney, 2001: 7 in Pilkington and Johnson, 266). Miles has a similar way of thinking, when he argues that young people of today or not in need of a fixed subcultural loyalty in order to construct their
identity, rather they “construct deterritorialized lifestyles that are as flexible as the world around them” (Miles 200: 159 in Pilkington and Johnson, 266)
The concept of 'lifestyle' has also proved to be useful in the way it demonstrate how individuals actively choose a lifestyle through consumption, rather than, as the CCCS scholars would argue, being born into certain ways of being according to class background. The concept of lifestyle therefore shows an understanding for the fact that consumerism actually offers the individual new ways of negotiating structural inequalities, rather than determine them (Bennett, 1999: 605-607).
A RETHINKING OF CLASS
In contrast to Maffesoli's very postmodern and inconsistent tribalism, a number of scholars have in recent times reconsidered the subcultural theory and have not fully given up the class perspective when analysing youth culture.
In contrast with the critics of the subcultural theory, Pilkington and Johnson's study re-focus on the aspects of class among youths in relation to their lifestyles, which is directly linked to the process of consumerism. They claim that it is often the middle-class youth who stress the importance of consumption of certain 'trendy' commodities. Youth identities of today are closely related to the transnational media and the flow of information through images and objects.
“Where imaginations of modernity are rooted in national economic prosperity, global consumption may facilitate a near universal middle class identity and a growth in cultural diversity and opportunity” (Pilkington & Johnson: 268).
Global connectivity can be associated with a growing disconnection at the local scale, and Smart and Smart argue that this generates class divisions. These divisions can be described as a 'digital divide' between the local and the transnational. Working-class communities often contain an effective local network, however, lacks the transnational engagement which is needed in order to make a progress in the global economy, where digital and transnational knowledge is necessary. Smart and Smart further argue that awareness of the global economy and technology is “differentially distributed and that working-class communities may develop a localism that reduces understanding of the challenges and opportunities that globalization poses” (Smart and Smart 2003: 274).
One of the reason to this divide is related to the decline of industry work and the fact that the labour market offers a minimum amount of well paid jobs for those without high educational qualifications. As a consequence, these trends have led to the development of an underclass that is socially excluded from the labour market and therefore without the resources needed to advance and
upgrade (Smart and Smart: 272-274).
Tracy Shildrick has studied different social groupings of youth in Deighton, a town in North East England and has in her study demonstrated how certain types of neighbourhoods is connected with lower versus higher social positions. The local areas mark a differentiation between the young people Shildrick studied, in how they socialise and what style they identify themselves with. The interest in the socio-economic aspects of young people's lives has made Shildrick not to completely dismiss the CCCS's subcultural theory. She argues that there exists an essential connection between unequal class structures and youth's cultural identification (Shildrick, 2006: 64-71). The old notions of subculture were exclusively constituting class relations in their analysis of subcultural behaviour and motivation. Shildrick acknowledges that there exists a multiple of social identities, but are not willing to ignore the class structures, as they are actively present in youth interactions.
DUBSTEP AND ITS MUSIO-HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Even though dubstep is described as 'fresh', and modern, it should not be viewed as something being newborn and detached from previous musical genres. Cultural practices and alliances does not begin as an unwritten story, rather it is produced in a historical context. Dubstep co-relates to traditions and social relations of older generations of producers and consumers (Connell & Gibson, 2003: 14)
One of my informants, Fabio, a music producer from North London compares the uprising of dubstep to another local music tradition of the 90's, namely UK garage. Several of the people I interviewed, as well as dubstep blogs on the internet, points out the strong influences of UK garage and its sub genre 2-step in dubstep productions.
Fabio states that:
“Dubstep came out of garage, which was a bigger revolution. Garage was a DJ revolution, everyone wanna get into vinyl. Dubstep is nothing new, youth has always been loud and using revolting ways of expression.”
Fabio explains that even if UK garage was more ground breaking than dubstep, music productions among young people always seem to contain some level of challenging elements, both musically and socially. Additionally, Fabio compares the young dubstep producers with his own teenage years when he discovered UK garage. His friends were not from his school, they were located at the estate in Islington, where he lived and normally 'hang out'. Fabio got in contact with UK garage
through the pirate radio stations of North London, which influenced Fabio to produce his own music. Eventually, some of Fabio's friends came to play on the pirate radio stations as well, such as FreakFM in Stoke Newington.
“Garage started in North London, around 96-97, I was sixteen, seventeen. It died 2001 when it got commercialised. The tunes were only good for a week, it was more like quantity over quality, it became boring, not very inspirational”.
UK garage has often described as an attempt to move away from the dark and ominous jungle scene, which in turn has been described as a rhythmic resistance in the troubled times of Thatcherism. Jungle got the black British youth involved in the dance culture which led to the import of the Jamaican sound system culture with sounds of reggae, dub and dancehall MC's (Reynolds, 1998: 255-256). After the downfall of jungle, many ex-junglist's, now with money in their pockets, started to develop a new style, both socially and musically. The new scene was moving away from the street mentality, and towards a more glamours way of living, which involved designer clothes, champagne, cocaine – and UK garage (Ibid, 377). Thus, the Garage-style's dress code signalised wealth. In addition, Fabio mentions the importance of wearing the right Reebok shoes and portraying yourself as if you are affluent.
Even though Fabio believes that the young producers of dubstep share similarities with the young producers of UK-garage in the 90's, he claims that the dubstep-scene differ from the UK garage-scene. For instance, the dress code is different. On dubstep events people often wear 'hoodies', a slang word for a sweater with a hood on. Moreover, 'hoodies' has a wider meaning and is often linked to troubled teenagers, hanging around on the streets, drinking, smoking cannabis and committing petty crimes. They have further adopted a dress style associated with hip hop, where the 'hoody' plays a central role as it conceals the face.
Dick Hebdige was one of the most profound scholars writing about subcultures in Britain. In his book Subculture – the meaning of style (1978) he writes about the significance of symbols and signs within the different subcultural styles. Objects, which normally are considered neutral and without any specific connotation are used by subcultures in order to express resistance through coding systems. When using the object in a subcultural context, it transforms into a symbol of the particular group, representing an opposition of 'the normal'. Hebdige argues that the process of taking over the meaning of certain objects (such as the safety pin among the Punks) represents a “symbolic
violation of the social order”, which always will attract attention and provoke the “silent majority”. In a way, Hebdige's argument can be applied to the contemporary use and association of the 'hoody'. Young people referred to as 'hoodies' are considered to often carry out anti-social behaviour, which in other words can be explained as an “interruption of normalisation”(Hebdige, 1978: 17-19). Furthermore, the 'hoody' is in itself a piece of clothing, a neutral object, but
“are taken by subcultural groups made to carry secret meanings which express, in code, a form of resistance to the order, which guarantees their continued subordination” (Hebdige, 1978: 18).
However, Hebdige's explanation is limited in the way that it is leaving out all the dubstep participants, which are not considered to be 'hoodies'. Hebdige does also incline that the subcultural groups always are subordinated, which is an assumption that has been strongly criticised by modern scholars. Hebdige's theory is insufficient since it does not consider the fact that it actually is a hybrid of young people that visit dubstep clubs or listens to dubstep. Dubstep in London is supported and produced by London youth, which are British black, British white or British Asian. Several previous studies about youth, music and identity have focused on the second generation immigrants and how they are using their music production as a way to express their double identity, connected both to their parents origins and to Britain. An elaboration of sounds, regional and international, reflect their own experience of belonging to more than one locality. Dubstep, on the other hand, is different. The producers and supporters can not be traced to a specific ethnicity and the music influences are not specific to just one ethnic or cultural tradition.
CLUB MUSIC AND ITS RELATION TO DRUGS
Another significant difference according to Fabio, is the social play between men and women in the clubs. In clubs were UK garage were played, flirting was an important element. People were dressed up and as Fabio admits, “boys came to the club to pick up girls”. Reynolds argues that the voluptuous elements in UK garage, which are normally quite unusual within the dance club scene, was a consequence of the increasing use of cocaine, which evokes feelings of sexual desire (Reynolds, 1998: 380). Dubstep however, is considered to be very gender neutral. The attitude found in dubstep clubs is strongly connected to the experience of the actual music. The DJ is central, which can be seen in the way the clubbers is organised so that they all face the DJ. There is a minimal contact with other clubbers and no recognition of gender differences.
Fabio believes that the focus on the big bass makes it difficult to dance to dubstep, people are rather appreciating the music by nodding the head to the rhythm of the bass. He further perceives dubstep as 'meditation music' with 'a touch of anarchism'. In addition, Fabio explains that it is common that people are smoking marijuana inside the clubs, even though it is either legal to smoke cannabis or smoking in general in public premises.
“When it was legal to smoke inside, it was even worse. The smoke used to hit you as soon as you walked down the stairs, then everyone was smoking.”
That drugs are extremely common within both youth cultures and club cultures is nothing new, but there seems to be a connection between what type of drugs that are being used, to what type of scene or lifestyle. According to Reynolds, the use of cocaine creates a different atmosphere at the clubs, where the feeling of being more alert, having more energy and being extremely excited effect the social interaction in the club. When exploring the different drug-use that exists in different scenes, it is interesting to know how a particular drug is connected to a particular scene. Is cocaine used in UK Garage clubs because the energy in the drug correlates to the energy of the music? Or is the energy of the music inspired by the energy of cocaine? Cocaine has never been associated with street styles, but rather within circles where a certain wealth is apparent. The same distinction is visible with the use of different alcohol beverages. Discursive assumptions are prescribed towards the person drinking a pint of beer, as well as the person drinking a glass of champagne. The same distinction operates within the use of drugs, and just as with alcohol, it is related to money and status. The individuals who can afford champagne and cocaine is naturally assumed to live a more glamorous lifestyle. In contrast, beer and cannabis is associated with the 'ordinary' people. The teenagers use of particularly cannabis can therefore be explained through their economic limitations. It is simply the cheapest and the most accessible drug available.
Lorna, a North London musician and a music teacher believe that the young people's use of cannabis is connected with the production of the dubstep sound. She has noticed that:
“The skunk culture among teenagers is unbelievable, when you got 13, 14 year olds that are just dropping out school because they are smoking skunk, their brain haven't finished growing and they are destroying their lives from quite young, in the sense that they get into skunk and then naturally dubstep comes through that...”
sound of dubstep?
“Yeah, cause you got a frustration feeling about it in a way, but also the loudness of it, the vibration you feel in your body, makes you kind of yearn for more, you want to feel larger than the city... Teenagers and the skunk culture is much bigger than it used to be and its much stronger than it used to be as well. A lot of schizophrenia is becoming more and more usual, they fucking themselves up too young and then you get a lot of paranoia and that's when the gun crimes come in, because they are very paranoid. Music is a reflection of the feelings they coming out with.”
Simon Reynolds has in his music blog in the Guardian noticed an increase in the usage of the drug ketamine, (a tranquilliser normally used on horses) in the British club scene and argues that the 'chemical actually seemed to be driving the direction of a style of music and shaping the vibe on the dance floor' (The Guardian, 090305). He further sees a connection between the famous dubstep producer who has named himself 'Zomby' and how that is precisely what ketamine-users are referred to as. In a dubstep forum Reynold found a comment from a ketamine user and a dubstep fan;
"The heaviness of ketamine is magic with sub-bass. The dissociation that it gives fits perfectly with the dark, mechanical feeling of the music. And the psychedelic neon-like effects of the drug fits perfectly with the alien feeling of dubstep. In fact, I find that dubstep is the exact same feeling that ketamine gives: a tension between wilderness and mechanization, a tension between being hollow and being holy... There's a quote from Fight Club that describes exactly what I'm trying to say: 'Lost in oblivion. Dark and silent and complete. I found freedom. Losing all hope was freedom.'”
However, the link between dubstep and ketamine is strongly criticised, which is demonstrated in the comment's on Reynold's article. A lot of the answers is stating that ketamine has been in the club scene long before dubstep emerged. Reynold also get criticised for stereotyping the genre through wild allegations based on rumours. Even though many of my informants have confirmed the usage of ketamine among the youth today, there is a lack of empirical information to conclude that it is related to dubstep in particular.
There is no clear class distinction within the dubstep scene. Fabio refers to the artists as being 'producers from the estate', which in a British context often is associated with considerably poor living conditions and a dependence on housing benefits. However, dubstep has also been described as a 'white middle class thing', compared to the additional contemporary London music genre 'grime', which is significantly more distinct in its ethnicity and class belonging.
Robin, a music producer from London states that:
“Who are into dubstep? White kids. Middle class white kids. It is. Because its not working class white which is... funky house. I know I'm being were genre specific here, but it does kind of work like that. Its not working class black in the city, that's grime... Dubstep is white, definitely.”
Compared to dubstep, grime is seen as a genre easier to outline in its participants and its motivation. An essential difference between grime and dubstep is the fact that grime consists of lyrics. The genre is a British form of hip hop, which has elements of UK garage, but also drum n bass/jungle and Jamaican dance hall. The producers of grime are more than often of a West Indian origin, something many music reviewers argue is what makes grime different from American hip hop. It has, just as dubstep, dark elements and consists of low frequency bass lines. The sometimes different backgrounds of dubstep producers and grime producers can thus be demonstrated through their musical influences. As Robin puts it:
“I mean a lot of the kids who are into grime has been brought up on reggae, because of their parents. Dubstep kids often have a good knowledge of reggae but they have also been brought up with drum n bass and more psychedelic stuff as well, Pink Floyd, shit like that, all the trippy stuff...“
Moreover, grime has reached a different controversy in the media than dubstep. It is often associated with youth gang crimes and knife violence. The conservative leader David Cameron has questioned the music style and claims that it “encourages people to carry guns and knives” (BBC NEWS, 2006). Furthermore, a former culture minister in the UK, Kim Howells, has stated that in the grime culture, “killing is almost a fashion accessory” (Ibid, 2006).
It seems as if there exists an ambivalence between perceiving grime as a genre that in an honest and blunt way expresses the harsh reality of several young individuals of today and on the other hand, a genre which glamorise and promote gun and knife violence.
“Grime is an expression of what they see in the street. The flipside is that on a certain level it is also promoting it, people are thinking; are the lyrics leading to more gang crimes?”
Many of my informants have suggested that there is a link between dubstep and grime, considering that both are being relatively new genres and both have sprung up and developed in the same city. However, there also exists a distinction between them, where grime is considered to contain a 'rudeboy' mentality, it is more radical, rough and 'real', compared to dubstep, which consists of, at least in comparison with grime, more white, middle class supporters and producers.
ELECTROCLASH – THE OPPOSITE OF DUBSTEP?
When dubstep is not being compared to its subversive cousin grime, dubstep also hold perceptions of being an unpolished underground scene with powerful and resonant sounds, representing something distinct and 'cutting-edge'. In order to further understand the deeper symbolic language of the dubstep scene, I will introduce a study of another recent dance music style, referred to as 'electroclash'. It was apparent in cities such as New York, Los Angeles and London, with its peak years being between 2001-2004. Brent Luvaas argues in his article 'Reproducing pop – the aesthetics of ambivalence in a contemporary dance music' (2006) that the electroclash scene has a close, but ambivalent relation to the media, which can be seen in the way the electroclash lifestyle 'engage and respond to meanings within existing media text' (Luvaas, 2006: 167). Comparing electroclash to dubstep has proven to be an interesting way to define the dubstep scene and further analyse how the style corresponds to the stereotypes and meanings created about the contemporary youth by the media.
Just as dubstep, electroclash started as an underground scene, but its popularity rapidly developed into a trendy club movement with electro hits frequently appearing on chart lists. The wide recognition spread in such a high speed, that the popularity of the genre just as quickly started to fade out. As soon as the electro explosion was visible on MTV and in the majority of music magazines, the alternative value and the underground feeling of the genre was lost.
Luvaas study of a music scene is contemporary and offers a perspective which is helpful when analysing how dubstep can contribute to a deeper understanding of the social reality of the youth today. He analyses the cultural expressions of electroclash as a way to demonstrate the enormous involvement the media has in the everyday life of the young generation. Alongside the escalation of media influence, the youth of today are brought up in a time where the power of meanings
produced by media, are almost impossible to separate from a reality free from a media-structured order of truths. The power of the media is so effective, that it 'structure the experience of contemporary life' (Luvaas, 2006: 168). Electroclash artists are very aware of the substantial media promotion, and play with these constructed representations, but the ambiguous part of their relationship lies in the fact that these artists never fully abandon them (Luvaas, 2006: 167-168). Moreover, Luvaas is moving away from the subcultural theory when he states that electroclash is not a subculture nor an enclosed community, but rather have more things in common with Maffesoli's concept of 'neo-tribes'. The young individuals are characterised by a consumer taste and style, rather than by classic categories such as ethnicity and class (Luvaas, 2006: 167-172).
As with electroclash, dubstep producers and supporters are not representing a specific class or ethnic group. The influences found in dubstep are entangled with music styles which long ago lost its ability to be traced back to a single distinct cultural or ethnic origin. The various genres that dubstep has directly been influenced by, are already fusions of different music traditions, containing rhythms, languages and instruments from different parts of the world. Rather, dubstep has a clear connection to its locality, the city of London, where these eclectic music cultures has developed, in correlation with the post colonial situation of Britain, the urban experience and the force of globalisation.
The electroclash scene is characterised by its fascination with the artificial. It has been described as the revival of the 1980's, with its commercial pop, neon fashion and love to plastic. Furthermore, electroclash often follows a science fiction theme, where cd and vinyl covers often consists of space motives, the songs contain 'robotic' noises and the clubs are named 'Synthetic' or 'Plastic Factory'. The obsession with the popular culture of the 1980's, Luvaas believes is associated with the fact that the generation producing electroclash, people who are now in their twenties and early thirties, grew up to the music of this decade. There is a nostalgic element to the sound, since it is the first type of music that electro clash producers clearly remembers. In addition, the era of the 80's also represent the decade where forces of late capitalism was introduced and carried out, in terms of more cooperate control and an expanding materialistic obsession. Thus, the attraction to wealth and the material, which the electroclash artists often refer to, can also be viewed as an ironic respond to how the media constructs truth and biased representations of ethnicity, gender and essentially, youth.
“Rather than avoiding the tropes and clichés of popular music,..electroclash artists make explicit use of them, subverting their meanings and playing with their underlying conventions. They co-opt
the images and sounds of the commercial mass media instead of waiting to be co-opted by it, and then they use irony as a means of disavowing any ideological link with the appropriated material. Irony, here, has become a distancing mechanism” (Luvaas, 2006: 169).
Thus, the electroclash scene recognises the hegemonic forces that exist within the music industry, through their conscious play with media constructed symbols and meanings. The irony and exaggeration demonstrates a certain distance, but yet this play is taking place within a space where the material still has an overhand, a status that is not completely neglected. It demonstrates that the relationship between youth and media has a complex character, where they neither fully resist, or, fully embrace the mass media (Luvaas, 2006: 173-174).
DUBSTEP AND THE MEDIA
Luvaas argue that electroclash, through sound and style, can be seen as a response to how the media is too deeply intertwined in our daily lives. Electroclash further questions the construction of unjustly representations of, for example, youth. Is this an argument that fits into a dubstep context as well?
The media representation of London youth is frequently associated with a destructive lifestyle, involving knife crimes, cannabis smoking and gang culture, which portrays the teenage generation as lacking both ambition and talent. Even though this perception is far from an accurate account of all young people in London, these kind of problems does exists and Meena believes that music is a way out of that lifestyle. The young males producing it are 'normal street kids', who might not do very good in school, but are looking for other ways of finding a career.
There are many essential differences between electroclash and dubstep. For example, dubstep completely lack the fun, the shallowness and the colourful fashion. The fact that electroclash artists are “dancing in tight clothes, flirting with the audience and singing songs about eating candy” (Luvaas, 2006: 178) is as far away from the dark underground dubstep scene that is possible. As mentioned before, dubstep clubs tend to be completely gender neutral, with no particular acknowledgement of the distinction between males and females. Further, the dress code is the opposite of electroclash's avant garde, plastic neon style, since the people who attend dubstep clubs are often dressed very neutral and casual, in jeans, sneakers and ordinary tops and sweaters.
Moreover, there is no irony in dubstep, it is serious, dark and real. Instead of electroclash's catchy melodies, there is a heavy bass line, instead of the high heels and the make-up, there are hooded
sweaters and sneakers, and it has absolutely no elements of glamour or decadence.
Just as the formation of electroclash is negotiated and motivated in relation to the imagery and knowledge production of the media, dubstep is also effected by the media's role in shaping a representation of London youth. The dark sound, the small underground clubs and the general subversive attitude towards the mainstream does correlates to the typical 'street kid', the 'estate boy' that is frequently portrayed in the British newspapers. However, if the scene includes people of all social classes, it becomes problematic to assume that all the participants of dubstep only express their everyday situation, without any elements of 'fakeness'. Even though the dubstep scene gives the impression of being 'real', there exists a conscious social code and a style that in some cases has been adopted by people, in order to share a belonging to the scene. Luvvas argues that the classification of the scene, the style or the music genre is not a process controlled by the artists and the fans, rather it is articulated by the music journalists and recording labels (Ibid, 173). Consequently, the identity formation through music is not developed on equal terms, since it is 'mediated by relations of power' (Connell & Gibson, 2003: 15)
Dubstep, as well as electroclash, perform an active dialogue with the stereotypes constructed through media. Dubstep can be viewed as a respond to, and sometimes a borrowing of, the representation of the modern, urban youth, which can be found in the newspapers, but also in shape of fashion styles on MTV and in music magazines.
The comparison of dubstep with both electroclash and grime, demonstrates that dubstep has no fixed definition. One of the reasons why dubstep supporters, as a group, appear ambiguous and inconclusive is because dubstep contains several musical influences, creating a community of people who would normally be involved in different settings. The movement of sound through migration flows and internet technology opens up to new global networks, were musical taste shapes transnational affiliations (Connell and Gibson, 2003, 106-107). The idea of the dubstep lifestyle appears different, depending on what other youth music lifestyles it is being compared to. In relation to grime, it is seen as less rebellious, however, next to electroclash, it has regained its radical elements and its creditability. Dubstep has to be understood within its historical context – how previous music styles has developed and influenced modern music styles and how it operates as a respond to the local context - the social, political and economic conditions at the time.
MUSIC AND ITS REPRESENTATION OF PLACE
organisation. The production of popular music can be seen as a movement of people, sounds and cultures across space, where narratives of a specific place is being articulated. The identification through music, cultural or ethnic, is therefore strongly connected with our perception of a particular place. This perception is developed and structured through various media such as television, film and music. The exposing of images and narrative is deeply intertwined with our everyday life. Several understandings of certain places are directly linked to popular music. For example, Roskilde and Glastonbury or most likely associated with music festivals, while Kingston, Memphis and Nashville often are related to reggae, blues and country. Perceptions of cities can also be connected to one specific group, such as Liverpool and the Beatles or Seattle and Nirvana. Several electronic music genres are even named after the city where its first started to be produced, such as Detroit-techno or Chicago-house. Moreover, a genre can also be named by the country of origin, such as UK-garage or where its mostly played, which is the case with the genre Goa-trance. Thus, myths of places can often be traced to music productions, where the heritage of a certain music style or genre forms popular impressions about particular cities or places.
THE CITY
One of the most common word used by my informants to describe what dubstep sounds like was ‘London’. The majority of the people I talked to made a strong connection to the city where dubstep was born, even though it today also is produced outside London and the UK. The city is an essential geographical site, where music productions continue to reinvent new styles and sounds. This can be explained through the migration flows which constantly transform the city. The big city recreates old musical traditions but let it self be influenced by the social and cultural shifts that migration brings. The local music productions of the city is therefore never fixed or homogeneous, it operate and breathe off the multiple origins and cultures that exists in their immediate everyday environment (Connell & Gibson, 2003: 1-9). Moreover, larger cities contains a wider network of studios, clubs, audience and managers, where music productions can easier develop and gain recognition (Ibid, 92).
The sound of dubstep is linked to the urban actuality, since the city is the environment where dubstep producers have been brought up, where they live and where they create meaning and context. Through their everyday life, they actively participate in the course of the city and thus, it represent a familiarity, a frame of reference. Fabio believes that the fact that many young producers who have been brought up on council estates in various parts of London, referred to as 'the concrete jungle' by Fabio, has an effect on the sound of the music. There is a direct link between the hard,
cold and dark sounds of dubstep and the urban experience of the producers. Lorna share his opinion;
“There is a strong city element to dubstep, its almost like a cry of the pressure of the city, a kind of dark night feeling... You know that thing about gun culture and how scared the youth are these days and how hip hop for example, how much they talk about violence and gun crimes and in film, there's so much of it and how the sound are becoming very like dark and electronic... You could really feel that in the music, you could really feel that city feeling, especially when you come from the city.. and when you listen to it you can feel the city in the music. It's an expression of reality. Its just like with reggae, it comes from Jamaica, that's a feeling, that's the Jamaican feeling, you know... Dubstep has been born in London and that's a feeling of London in the music. It's not a feeling of sunshine and happiness, its a feeling of city life, how busy we all are, how we don't smile very much or say hello to people, we got a lot of stress, a lot of demands”.
THE UNIVERSITY
At a dubstep event in London, a young girl told me that:
“Dubstep is popular here, but you can find any kind of music in London, its very diverse. Dubstep is more concentrated as a lifestyle in Leeds and Bristol, because of their university communities.”
Music and its affiliation with a specific place does not only have to refer to a city, region or a country. As mentioned above, the typical British council estate has operated as a site of inspiration, where rural nature is replace with the urban concrete built environment. In hip hop, the street and the neighbourhood are also considered to be important places when discussing the emergence of particular sounds. What most of the diverse places associated with music has in common, is the sense of community. In order for a scene to grow, there have to exist an appreciative and supporting audience. University towns have proven to be successful place for alternative music styles to develop. All universities consist of several social networks, in which the young students look for social gatherings and entertainment. The university years tend to be a time of exploring and experimenting, which makes the university a natural place for new sounds to develop and spread. The university life consists of university radio, bars, cafés and clubs especially directed towards the students where independent music flows and gain recognition. The unique university environment, with its mobile population and vibrant culture interest makes it a comfortable place for innovative music production (Connell & Gibson, 2003: 102-103).
DUBSTEP IN SWEDEN
In the transnational world, where music travels through advance communication technology and migration networks, music rarely stays local. It often reaches a global audience, beyond regional and national boundaries. Music press and record companies are rapidly promoting a local sound and the global distribution has lead to local music styles appearing in unexpected places, far from the geographical context.
Malmö, Sweden's third biggest city offers since the last 6 months dubstep nights at several different clubs every weekend, all located in the area called 'Möllevången'. This area is described as a colourful and diverse neighbourhood, with a large population consisting of young, politically active people. Here, markets and shops offer food from all over the world and the club venues are famous for their impressive selection of world famous DJ's and artists. The interest of dubstep in Malmö has grown fast. There are five large venues around Möllevången, and dubstep are frequently being played at least in three of these. 'Retro', a relatively small but popular bar, has since a couple of months organised a night called 'Fish n Chips – London Style Beats, Bass & Jungle', which offers not only dubstep, but other music styles related to London and UK. Another club called 'All out dubstep', has reached an enormous popularity through their always remarkable line up including the most famous dubstep artists from UK.
The sound of dubstep has clearly captured the youth of Malmö, but what happens to the locality of the music when its taken out of its geographical context? Is there still a sense of place, or is that lost once the music has been globally distributed? Even though several music scenes has been supported and sometimes reproduced worldwide, specific sounds are often 'bound up in wider processes through which places are mythologised: a fetishisation of localities' (Appadurai, 1990: 16 cited in Connell and Gibson, 2003: 110). The local origin plays an essential role in the process of making sense of a style or a scene. As the case with dubstep, the cultural origins of a music style is often traced back to the place where the musician and his/her first audience is located. The 'fetishisation' of a place is related to issues of authenticity. The importance of knowing the origin of a genre or a style signalise an awareness of the 'roots', which, if you are far from where it all started, counts as a valid reason to belong to the scene.
Felice is a Swedish art student who is living at Möllevången and frequently visit the dubstep events in the area. She is aware of how knowledge and experience of the place of origin plays an important
role;
“There are a lot of Swedish people coming back from London who goes like: I lived in London for 5 years, look what I found in a fancy underground record shop in London... and then that becomes really trendy.” (my translation)
Being experienced of, or familiar with the origin of the music is thus linked to a certain status, where the individuals who have a closer connection to the place appear to have more creditable knowledge about the particular sound. Felice further explains how this status has developed,
“Sweden has always found it extremely trendy with everything OUTSIDE Sweden. A real Swede doesn't like to be recognised as a Swede, we want to give the impression that we are cosmopolitan”. (my translation)
Fabian Sjö, in his study of the Swedish club culture, makes a similar conclusion when he writes that Swedish clubbers does not want to be classified as a 'Svensson', a ordinary Swede. The Swedish clubbers rather identify themselves with the global youth culture, (Sjö, 2005:35) which confirm Felice's statement about wanting to be part of the cosmopolitan world. This type of mentality can also be described as a global openness and a curiosity of wanting to know more about the world, which in this case is a process taking place through music.
A music journalist from a Malmö newspaper is, in relation to the Swede's approval of cosmopolitanism, upholding the notion that music consumers want music to be related to a specific locality. In a review of the latest album produced by the dubstep artists 'Burial' and 'Four Tet', Jonas Grönlund writes:
“With digital motorways only a broad band connection away, the geographic does not hold the same important meaning of how music sounds any more. But thank God that it still produces albums and sound files where traces of a local environment is evident..[..] With [Burial and Four Tet's] collage of samples, they have created a soundtrack of their own [London] neighbourhood, which is dirty and beautiful at the same time...[..] The album is unexpected and the most pleasant London trip of the summer”. (My translation)
The music journalist clearly states that music for him is a journey through different places. He prefers when the music creates spatial images, and in the case of dubstep, the musical pictures are
