Bassline house

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Bassline house
Stylistic origins
Cultural origins
Typical instruments
Mainstream popularity Largely an underground scene but with some chart success

Bassline house, or simply bassline, is a sub-genre of UK garage music that mixes elements of speed garage, 4x4 garage and R&B, and shares characteristics with fellow sub-genres dubstep and grime for their emphasis on bass. The style originated in Sheffield around 2002[1].

Bassline has been at the centre of controversy in Sheffield due to a police raid on the former bassline club night Niche, after which the club closed down. Police raided the club amidst reports that the scene had been attracting violence, drug use and gang culture. Since it was the most popular bassline night in Sheffield prior to its closure, Niche is sometimes used as an alternative name for the musical genre. Like grime and dubstep, bassline is still associated with violence, anti-social behaviour and criminal activity [2].

Contents

[edit] Characteristics

Like dubstep and grime, bassline house generally places a strong emphasis on bass[1], with intricate basslines (often multiple and interweaving) being characteristic of the genre[3]. Bassline tracks use a four-to-the-floor beat.[3] The music is often purely instrumental, but vocal techniques common in other styles of garage can also be present, such as female R&B vocals sped up to match the faster tempo, and also samples of vocals from grime tracks.[1]

Bassline is gaining popularity on the pop charts and allegedly one reason for this is it appeals to both genders, while grime and dubstep gathered a predominantly male following.[4]. The increased appeal of bassline may be in part due to the vocal contributions of female artists such as Jodie Aysha. The lyrics of bassline are often focused on love and other issues that may be considered more feminine [3]. In a blog posting, Simon Reynolds described the bassline house genre as "the drastic pendulum swing from yang to yin, testosterone to oestrogen, that I had always imagined would happen in reaction to grime, except it took so long to happen I gave up on it and just forgot."[3] It has been argued that grime and dubstep originated in turn from "an over-reaction – to the ‘feminine pressure’ of late-'90s 2-step."[3]

Together with its return to feminine-style music, bassline is said to embrace pop music aesthetics, and to have an euphoric, exuberant quality similar to that of earlier British rave music - both also in contrast to grime and dubstep.[3]

Bassline has been described as largely similar, and in some cases synonymous, with its precursor 2-step garage, a description denied by proponents of the scene. The 4x4 beat of bassline house has been noted as a difference between the two.[3] Producer T2 maintains the genres share a common origin in house music but are different sounds, while major bassline distributor and DJ Mystic Matt describes bassline as having a similar rhythm to UK garage, but that the strong emphasis on bass renders it a separate genre.[5]

[edit] History

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[edit] The closure of Niche Nightclub

The storefront of Niche in 2008
The storefront of Niche in 2008

Bassline originated from the Niche Nightclub in Sheffield,[6] which was closed down on November 27, 2005,[7] following a police raid named "Operation Repatriation", where over 300 police officers raided the club, although no one was arrested.[8] The police force had expressed fears that the scene attracted violence, gang culture and crime,[5][1] largely from outside of Sheffield.[8]

Sheffield's police force have stated that "the only gun crime related to nightlife in Sheffield has been with bassline", and that many shootings, stabbings and drive-bys have occurred in and around bassline nightclubs including Niche. However, since the closure of Niche, the police force have focused more on patrolling Sheffield's night life and keeping clubs safe, and the level of crime surrounding them has lessened somewhat[citation needed]. Steve Baxendale, the former owner of Niche Nightclub, has also expressed that the closure of the club that brought bassline into the spotlight has helped to increase the genre's popularity,[1] but also that organising bassline nights has become significantly harder, as club owners are put off by its early history.[8] Baxendale currently runs a night called Hanky Panky at Sheffield's Club Vibe which has since taken over from Niche as one of the leading bassline nights in the city.[1]

[edit] Emergence into the mainstream

 

T2 feat. Jodie Aysha - Heartbroken (2007)

Excerpt from "Heartbroken" by T2, one of the most widely known bassline tracks and the first to be internationally popular.
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Bassline still remained an underground scene in the north of England until the release of T2's single "Heartbroken" on Universal records,[9] which attracted international attention, entering the music charts in several countries, including the UK singles chart where it reached #2.[6] Grime MC Skepta reported from a tour of several resorts in Greece and Cyprus in summer 2007 that the track was requested in clubs there.[1][6] Additionally, the track received significant airplay on UK radio stations. Some music critics have said bassline is more mainstream-friendly than grime, since it appeals more equally to both sexes, whereas grime gathered a predominantly male following.[9][10]

In December 2007, a reworked version of Heartbroken, renamed "Jawbroken", created in aid of Ricky Hatton's world title fight against Floyd Mayweather, was selected as warm-up music for the fight.[6][11]

T2 has expressed that he is pleased with Heartbroken's success, and with bassline's emergence into the mainstream and its potential to become popular in the rest of the UK and internationally.[1] Since the scene emerged after Heartbroken was released, one of London's leading bassline producers, Delinquent, signed a deal with All Around The World for another national release, My Destiny.[8]

Many new releases are queued up or currently being produced for the year ahead[citation needed]. Two compilations have been recently released that are bassline centric, "Sound of Bassline" (MOS - 3CD), & "Addicted 2 Bassline" (UMTV - 3CD)

[edit] List of artists

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Collins, Hattie. "Deep down and dirty", The Guardian, 2007-11-29. Retrieved on 2007-12-16. 
  2. ^ “Bassline House Looks to Find a Niche Where Grime Failed”. October 17, 2007. March 13, 2007. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/10/bassline_house_looks_to_find_a.html
  3. ^ a b c d e f g K-Punk, "Bassline House and the Return of Feminine Pressure," Fact Magazine, January 2008.
  4. ^ Beck, Richard. “The Low End: The Bassline House Invasion”. February 26, 2008. March 13, 2008. http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid56914.aspx
  5. ^ a b Morris, Davina. "Niche: The new garage?", The Voice, 2007-11-29. Retrieved on 2007-12-16. 
  6. ^ a b c d "David Beckham digs bassline", Central Station, 2007-12-12. Retrieved on 2007-12-16. 
  7. ^ Niche Nightclub Website
  8. ^ a b c d Collins, Hattie. "About To Blow! Bassline", RWD Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-12-16. 
  9. ^ a b McDonnell, John. "Bassline house looks to find a niche where grime failed", The Guardian, 2007-10-17. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. 
  10. ^ Collins, Hattie. "Get down to dirty pop and bassline", The Guardian, 2007-11-03. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. 
  11. ^ "Hatton's Round T2 Knockout", The Sun, 2007-12-07. Retrieved on 2007-12-19. 

[edit] External links

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UK garage
Other electronic dance music genres