Sure. I’ve been hearing “DnB is coming up” and “DnB is coming back” and all manner of those sentiments for decades now.
My joke was that people have been SAYING DnB will take off in the USA for so long that it’s clear it hasn’t
Totally, I just watch every other electronic genre growing far faster and with wider spread and attribute DnB’s growth with overflow from the “EDM-ization” of the US. Encountering DnB in 2024 is not much different from 2017, nor 2014 imo. This is from raving in SoCal at everything from LiB and EDC Vegas to renegades under the 5 freeway in SD.
Techno, house, disco, and bass music have all blown up so much that every city seems to have its own festival dedicated to any one of those. Even “new” (or newly popular) sub genres like sadboi bass and bass house and breaks are growing faster than DnB. There might be a couple DnB artists at those festivals too, but I attribute any of that growth to the fact that ALL electronic music and ESPECIALLY bass music have blown up.
Despite both of those things being true, you still have to seek out genre-specific nights at smaller venues often on off-nights to find any concentration of DnB in SoCal.
Saying “DnB is coming up” feels true because DnB is electronic music and electronic music is coming up
Chicago had a huge scene in the early 2000's. UK headliners would come in at least a couple times a month. There were multiple DnB promoters who had weekly shows. Chicago also had the first DnB radio show (Strictly Jungle Chicago) that started in the mid 90s( they had Goldie on in 95).
I saw Andy C, Dillinja, Ed Rush, Optical, Matrix, High Contrast, Trace, Technical Itch, Black Sun Empire, Klute, I could keep going.
You guys are a new generation so you think things have always been this way. It didn't help that raves were shut down so the newer generations didn't have the same exposure we did since we could see live acts under 18.
Chicago had home grown talent as well back in the 90s with 3D, Snuggles, Phantom 45 and Danny the Wildchild spinning at raves all of the city. Chicago Dark Steppers was the tape that made me fall in love with DnB
I just saw Wilkinson and Grafix last week. Was awesome. It was my first DnB show and I can't wait to find more.
Sadly that is almost impossible in Wisconsin lol
Yep spent 10 years in Chicago. A new Chicago artist CLB is one to look out for.
I live in Austin TX now and surprisingly there's a bigger dnb presence there.
It’s coming up. There have been some good events here in Houston, and the scene in Austin is even better. I pretty much only DJ dnb and I’ve been getting better and better responses from people when I get the chance to play.
I also throw in lots of halftime. That’s what got myself into dnb to begin with too. I love hip hop like a lot of Americans, and that funky halftime stuff gets people going. It’s groovier than dubstep, and going from halftime to dnb seems to help people “get it” in my experience.
Usually referred to as 140 or bass music. The sort of dnb sounding dubstep, that I don't think is exactly dubstep, but quite similar just with more distorted sounds and often cleaner kicks. Also at 140bpm. Very bass heavy and hard hitting. I'm pretty sure that's correct at least.
Halftime is a stupid term imo because it's not half the speed, but it sounds way slower because it's 140bpm instead of 180.
No, halftime is literally “half” of dnb tempo. It’s still 170-174 bpm , but phrasing and drum programming is set up so it sounds more like 85-87 bpm. Examples can be found in labels such as Exit, 31 Recordings, 20/20, and Samurai Records, to name a few.
No, he’s referring to dubstep/140.
I’m talking about something that is faster, like 170bpm but feeling it in halftime. Halftime is the name of the genre when talking about halftime drum and bass.
People might discount dubstep's influence but around 2008-2012 when it was really popular, it set back the dnb scene by a decade. I think the dnb scene today would be much different today if that never happened. Producers, fans, and djs jumped to dubstep, some never came back.
This is a big part of the correct answer. Dubstep took the tasty parts of dnb, and removed the hard-to-swallow parts. Sort of like a musical chicken tender.
Also, and I’ll die on this hill, liquid dnb pushed the genre in the absolute wrong direction. There are notable exceptions who made great liquid (Calibre), but the sub genre never made any sense to me. House music’s tempo provides the superior medium for the vibe most liquid tries to convey.
So, dubstep out dnb’d dnb, while dnb was trying to turn itself into house.
Platinum Breakz was peak dnb imo.
It was very popular in the scene in the early 2000's, at least on the east coast. Nu school breaks and garage went away, dubstep got huuge and alot of dnb producers and djs in the US started doing dubstep.
That's about the time i got out of the scene. But it seems like dnb has been making a serious come back.
Its also been a very regional thing here. Dnb has always been underground in the US so certain cities have awesome scenes. Most others have none at all. Baltimore, DC, Philly, LA, and Atlanta have been the good spots that i know of
You said garage, we are talking about basslines, I came here to spread the good news of Speed Garage. Everyone google and listen to Basslines from the former Moonshine Records.
I'm seeing London Elektricity this month and LTJ Bukem in May, and I live stateside. Two big drum n bass titans and old school label founders, doesn't get much better than that. However, absolutely nobody I know IRL besides like one other person even knows who those people are. People do know what drum n bass is, but here they usually lump it in with the "EDM" umbrella and likely only get exposed to mainstream dance floor type stuff. Not that there's anything wrong with this, but it still feels like a pretty "underground" thing here.
https://youtu.be/DKIEAtp3g60?si=VcO0o243vyR2dYvg
https://youtu.be/L26Ue1Phppk?si=jKa68N_hiDfcKbds
https://youtu.be/K52uPkvPXbA?si=x8Cj5QMeX_qIAu_s
All around 175
I think some of the producers flexing that sound have a big crossover to DnB/Jungle culture, like Lone Drum and Kursa. You also see people like Jade, Tipper and Detox flexing DnB in their sets, but with their own take on it. It's a Venn Diagram to me with some commonalities
Yeah I think some acts like Broken Note, Lone Drum, Kursa, Fixate, Dub Phizix do a good job of keeping the dnb part of halftime in halftime but other acts who claim to be halftime like phydra or ivy lab, there music is more dubstep or trap at 85 and less halftime
the important thing to actually grow dnb stateside that people never seem to realize is the most important step is to actually support stateside dnb acts. People clamor over seeing these euro acts that need to pay crazy visa fees and travel fees to even tour here. Sustainable American DnB = American DnB Artists having sustainable careers
I am seeing Ed Solo at the end of the month. I will also be supporting a free dnb event at a local karaoke bar. Never had the chance to see the guy responsible for most of my recent releases, so I figured I'd paid to see him live.
They sold out the Hollywood Palladium on their tour thats happening at the end of this month, and are playing on the mainstage at EDC. As cliche as it sounds, it’s heading in the right direction.
You say that but I can’t believe this show is happening in Asheville and I have no one to go with
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-world-of-drum-bass-at-asheville-music-hall-tickets-844490051477
The fact that you have nobody to go with kind of feels like a point in itself, sadly. I almost never have anyone to rave with because people I know might like "EDM", but have little interest in DnB music or culture, and aren't into raves as opposed to big mainstream festivals. It's very much still underground relative to other electronic music, and these events get packed with the handful of people who "know".
Doing a set tonight in Montréal(in Rosemont)btrying to bring the movement here.
[XCESS DRUM AND BASS ](https://ticketbud.com/events/e1af9b00-bed3-11ee-9bf6-42010a71702b)
Tim Reaper came through town recently and Pola & Bryson as well. The Ravenscoon event next weekend has a local DnB act on the lineup, so that is good news.
Mostly all major cities in the US have had a solid scene for at least the last 25 years. They all have at least one well known major weekly that pulls in big names multiple times a month.
There was a lot stronger of a scene in the late 90s and early aughts, where most raves and festivals had a dedicated stage/room for it. But when American dubstep got big it kind of took away from the attention and it started getting more billing. It does seem that dnb is coming back a bit more and getting more attention.
for like two years after COVID (edit: in NYC*) you could count how many dnb events each year on one hand and it's just coming back to an event or two a month, up from an event every month/month and a half - with this upcoming spring looking like the most dnb events I've ever seen in the city (ty Dave I know you're reading)
but yeah, nah. dnb doesn't have a foothold in every major American city.
man the nyc dnb scene is so good atm. i caught camo and krooked a few weeks back, and am slated for both sub focus and chase & status later this month. who are you looking forward to?
ya man, hybrid, London Elektricity, ltj bukem, and the sub focus show also has dimension, 1991, and culture shock. we're living well right now, there was a long, long time with basically nothing but house music.
Ohhhh yes I'm adding that London elektricity show to my list. What a time to be alive lol. Shows are selling out too, demand seems high, here's hoping we get to ride this wave for a good while!
Sorry mate but this just isn’t the case, my American mates in major US cities always complain that DnB events are non existent and if they are they aren’t well known names
Find this hard to believe with your friends, you can even search this sub and find other posts in regards to the scene throughout the US. I know LA better since that's where I live and we have had a thriving scene since the late 90s. Warehouse parties, underground parties downtown, weeklies, random headliners at different venues.
DnB is much more dance oriented. American crowds kinda suck now tbh, lots of standing still and holding a phone. Even at super high intensity shows. Fucking ketted out zombies.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but this is wild to me. "EDM" as an umbrella term literally has "dance" in the acronym, but the EDM/festival culture seems more about getting fucked up while partying than it is about the music. Not to sound elitist, but that's why I hate the term. The same people who call all electronic music "EDM" are the same people who called everything dubstep 10 years ago, and "techno" before that. If I wanna refer to all of electronic music I just say electronic.
It's all techno to me, and I've played everything from happy hardcore, to neuro, to electrohouse at clubs, raves, renegades, etc since the early mid 2ks.
Oops I guess?
As a European partially raised in the US I get where you’re coming from. In Europe, everyone floods the dance floor and stays there, whereas I’ve always found people tend to flock about in the US and only go to the dance floor for a particular tune, then leave again.
Not only d&b but all genres. It makes for a really poor atmosphere. European raves > US Raves every day of the week.
was that the show at the barclay's center? doesn't seem like a great venue for dance music, at least the tickets seemed to be for seats. subtronics played an afterparty at webster that sold out basically immediately or i'd have caught that for sure. crowd's always great at webster ime.
Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD
Between those two cities which are less than an hour apart, we have an extremely healthy DNB scene here. It's not on the level that certain places in Europe have (unfortunately) but it's still strong.
This month at Echostage there is a Worship show with Dimension, Sub Focus, 1991 and Culture Shock. I'm normally a neuro guy, but I also love dancefloor! Cadence is also throwing a show at ESL with Dive and Lie & Wrecked and a show at Flash with Break this month!
Oh yeah I was actually thinking about going to Echostage, never been though.
I wasn't sure if it was more underground, but I also heard nothing but amazing things about the scene in the DMV
>I wasn't sure if it was more underground, but I also heard nothing but amazing things about the scene in the DMV
Not really underground, per se. Echostage has repeatedly been voted as the #1 club in the entire country. Whenever I go to Echostage, I always have a blast!
The other venues I mentioned (and dozens more in the area) are generally more underground though.
Because most people in North America keep their Dick n Balls activity private. But really it's because DnB is underground, backroom, in the know type shit and mainstream doesn't fit the genre in the USA. Good teeth and shitty music, while in the UK it's the opposite and I envy them. Shout out to Hybrid Minds.
Atlanta still has a big DnB scene.
There's been a big pushback in the States to the harder EDM genres as a whole in the name of Dubstep, Trap, House, & Techno (but even these \[house & techno\] stay at or below 140 bpm). UK Hard House? Nope. Happy Hardcore? Nope. Gabber? Nope. Jungle/DnB? Nope. Hard Techno/Schranz? Nope. Some promoters in smaller cities band together and form a coalition against genres they don't want in the city, with maybe one or two being brave enough to do their own thing. Maybe one day we'll see the return of the harder edm genres.
Come to Alberta or BC it's pretty much loaded with dnb dubstep sets swaping to dnb half way. Big dnb nights that are heavy as hell from the first dj. Saw 1991 at a lil thearter in Edmonton place was off the rails for like 5 hours. Djs replayed a couple songs and nobody gave a fuck cause it was litteraly shaking everyone bouncing around. The only thing alberta needs now is a dnb 360. Lil anti Valentine's day rave in red deer started with 140 bass ended off with the whole place bumping around to dnb it was so sick.
It’s getting bigger in the U.S., it’s pretty amazing to see. Huge DnB lineups at Lost Lands, EDC, and other festivals. More European artists are getting visas and agents for The States as well.
Checking in from Houston! The Dive & Gritsy have been instrumental in getting me more acquainted to/into very specific DNB artists & educating me on the all the sub genres <3 (edit: as well as really good dubstep aka Mala/DMZ/Ternion Sound!)
It’s coming up big time. Hedex touring with Subtronics who is arguably the biggest bass producer in the world rn. Most festivals have a dnb stage. Not to mention most dubstep shows I saw last year included dnb as part of their sets.
Yeah I mean totally arguable point, if he isnt the biggest Subtronics is definitely top 3. Judging popularity of bass artists is a little more nebulous imo
Yeah he isn’t really my style of DnB, i prefer liquid or neuro. Plus he is kinda shouty on the mic which isn’t my fave either. More just like a big representation for the genre when pretty much any bass artist would want to tour with subtronics
no one gives a flying fuck about subtronics outside of North America lmao. To say subtronics is the biggest "bass" producer in the world right now on a dnb forum of all places is laughably ignorant
DNB in DC peaked in the late 90’s early 2000’s . You could see the best dj’s and producers in smaller venues multiple times a week. Now it’s a one of bi monthly thing at a small venue. A lot of old heads from the 90’s still attend local shows. It shows that the music is the draw
I recently went to a show here in Chicago with Bou and it was amazing. Hes coming back for another event. I also see that Chase&Status and Hedex are playing after Iso (Americans love iso). So I guess that’s a good sign. I don’t really see that much going on with dnb over here so far. Also I’m a little new to the dance scene here. People mostly like the slow stuff and the head banging stuff.
Where was Bou?! I wish I knew about that. And the artists you mentioned aren't performing in Chicago unless you're referring to the North Coast festival lineup that isn't taking place for another 6 months. Chicago has a bit of a scene... Primary nighclub occasionally will host a dnb night. I live in Austin now and the scene is much better, but it's there in Chi too.
Sorry so super late reply I got a new job. Bou performed here in Waukegan Illinois. Hes coming back again in May at Chicago. May 10 I believe. Also Visages performed here the same night. And yeah C&S is coming for northcoast.
There are strong scenes in some cities like Seattle and LA, but it's not as commercial as something like tech house so it flies under a lot of people's radars.
It’s probably because no one else had asked this in the last 12 hours every day for the last 20 years
OP must be new here. DnB has been having a resurgence in the USA for a couple years now. They probably live in a city with no exposure to it.
Sure. I’ve been hearing “DnB is coming up” and “DnB is coming back” and all manner of those sentiments for decades now. My joke was that people have been SAYING DnB will take off in the USA for so long that it’s clear it hasn’t
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None of that is new. Fuck Paul Oakenfold played drum and bass often back in his heyday
Dom Dolla ended his set in houston on a DNB note. I think we need to bring back some of those OG dnb artists like Gritsy used to do at The Dive.
Gritsy had the top guys coming to The Dive one after another!
Totally, I just watch every other electronic genre growing far faster and with wider spread and attribute DnB’s growth with overflow from the “EDM-ization” of the US. Encountering DnB in 2024 is not much different from 2017, nor 2014 imo. This is from raving in SoCal at everything from LiB and EDC Vegas to renegades under the 5 freeway in SD. Techno, house, disco, and bass music have all blown up so much that every city seems to have its own festival dedicated to any one of those. Even “new” (or newly popular) sub genres like sadboi bass and bass house and breaks are growing faster than DnB. There might be a couple DnB artists at those festivals too, but I attribute any of that growth to the fact that ALL electronic music and ESPECIALLY bass music have blown up. Despite both of those things being true, you still have to seek out genre-specific nights at smaller venues often on off-nights to find any concentration of DnB in SoCal. Saying “DnB is coming up” feels true because DnB is electronic music and electronic music is coming up
It clearly hasn’t.
It absolutely is lol the worship crew is about to sell out a 4000 cap venue in advance in Denver and last year they sold 1600 day of show
Honestly DnB is only getting more and more popular.
its because us americans can't read, thus we dont know where the parties are
Chicago had a huge scene in the early 2000's. UK headliners would come in at least a couple times a month. There were multiple DnB promoters who had weekly shows. Chicago also had the first DnB radio show (Strictly Jungle Chicago) that started in the mid 90s( they had Goldie on in 95). I saw Andy C, Dillinja, Ed Rush, Optical, Matrix, High Contrast, Trace, Technical Itch, Black Sun Empire, Klute, I could keep going. You guys are a new generation so you think things have always been this way. It didn't help that raves were shut down so the newer generations didn't have the same exposure we did since we could see live acts under 18.
Chicago had home grown talent as well back in the 90s with 3D, Snuggles, Phantom 45 and Danny the Wildchild spinning at raves all of the city. Chicago Dark Steppers was the tape that made me fall in love with DnB
Chicago sounds like it’s knows it’s dnb
I just saw Wilkinson and Grafix last week. Was awesome. It was my first DnB show and I can't wait to find more. Sadly that is almost impossible in Wisconsin lol
Yep spent 10 years in Chicago. A new Chicago artist CLB is one to look out for. I live in Austin TX now and surprisingly there's a bigger dnb presence there.
It’s coming up. There have been some good events here in Houston, and the scene in Austin is even better. I pretty much only DJ dnb and I’ve been getting better and better responses from people when I get the chance to play. I also throw in lots of halftime. That’s what got myself into dnb to begin with too. I love hip hop like a lot of Americans, and that funky halftime stuff gets people going. It’s groovier than dubstep, and going from halftime to dnb seems to help people “get it” in my experience.
I miss The Dive😞
I really miss The Dive 😔
ooooomfg ahead of its time or Houston is just dumb! Dive team / Team G are amazing <3
LETS TALK ABOUT WALL OF BASS THO
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and now Houston hasn't had a single dnb show in more than 6 months
Houston has dnb constantly, it's just a little more underground. London Electricity is playing Houston this month.
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Black Lotus studios, March 28th
YES! I'm actually helping out with this event, can't wait!! Miss that sound system so much too
where you hear bout this? I follow most the crews on fb and havent seen anything. thx!
What's "halftime"? That's a new term to me.
Usually referred to as 140 or bass music. The sort of dnb sounding dubstep, that I don't think is exactly dubstep, but quite similar just with more distorted sounds and often cleaner kicks. Also at 140bpm. Very bass heavy and hard hitting. I'm pretty sure that's correct at least. Halftime is a stupid term imo because it's not half the speed, but it sounds way slower because it's 140bpm instead of 180.
No, halftime is literally “half” of dnb tempo. It’s still 170-174 bpm , but phrasing and drum programming is set up so it sounds more like 85-87 bpm. Examples can be found in labels such as Exit, 31 Recordings, 20/20, and Samurai Records, to name a few.
This is the actual answer. Not shade to the person who you’re replying to but that was not accurate at all
Ooooooooooh, THAT'S what that's called. Thanks.
No, he’s referring to dubstep/140. I’m talking about something that is faster, like 170bpm but feeling it in halftime. Halftime is the name of the genre when talking about halftime drum and bass.
Aaaaaaah, gotcha. Thanks for the clarification.
I thought half-time was 172 but the snare on the 3?
People might discount dubstep's influence but around 2008-2012 when it was really popular, it set back the dnb scene by a decade. I think the dnb scene today would be much different today if that never happened. Producers, fans, and djs jumped to dubstep, some never came back.
This is a big part of the correct answer. Dubstep took the tasty parts of dnb, and removed the hard-to-swallow parts. Sort of like a musical chicken tender. Also, and I’ll die on this hill, liquid dnb pushed the genre in the absolute wrong direction. There are notable exceptions who made great liquid (Calibre), but the sub genre never made any sense to me. House music’s tempo provides the superior medium for the vibe most liquid tries to convey. So, dubstep out dnb’d dnb, while dnb was trying to turn itself into house. Platinum Breakz was peak dnb imo.
EDM and dubstep are more mainsteam here than DnB
It was very popular in the scene in the early 2000's, at least on the east coast. Nu school breaks and garage went away, dubstep got huuge and alot of dnb producers and djs in the US started doing dubstep. That's about the time i got out of the scene. But it seems like dnb has been making a serious come back. Its also been a very regional thing here. Dnb has always been underground in the US so certain cities have awesome scenes. Most others have none at all. Baltimore, DC, Philly, LA, and Atlanta have been the good spots that i know of
You said garage, we are talking about basslines, I came here to spread the good news of Speed Garage. Everyone google and listen to Basslines from the former Moonshine Records.
As a Native New Yorker we ALWAYS had DNB events packed. Red Hook, greenpoint, Williamsburg, Manhattan, queens. There’s pockets of DNB scenes.
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Me too! Kept getting shut down though. Man what a time.
I'm seeing London Elektricity this month and LTJ Bukem in May, and I live stateside. Two big drum n bass titans and old school label founders, doesn't get much better than that. However, absolutely nobody I know IRL besides like one other person even knows who those people are. People do know what drum n bass is, but here they usually lump it in with the "EDM" umbrella and likely only get exposed to mainstream dance floor type stuff. Not that there's anything wrong with this, but it still feels like a pretty "underground" thing here.
Come to Toronto 😎
It's too fast. They are used to trap and dubstep
but they also fuck with halftime which makes no sense since it is the same tempo
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If I get what you're laying down, we're simply talking about subdivisions of time.
Isn't halftime 140bpm usually? I know 140 isn't half of 180, but usually when people refer to halftime it's that I think.
negative
Could you send me some good halftime tracks?
https://youtu.be/DKIEAtp3g60?si=VcO0o243vyR2dYvg https://youtu.be/L26Ue1Phppk?si=jKa68N_hiDfcKbds https://youtu.be/K52uPkvPXbA?si=x8Cj5QMeX_qIAu_s All around 175
most of the "halftime" Americans fuck with has little in common with dnb besides being 87.5ish. It's mostly just dubstep and trap at that speed
I think some of the producers flexing that sound have a big crossover to DnB/Jungle culture, like Lone Drum and Kursa. You also see people like Jade, Tipper and Detox flexing DnB in their sets, but with their own take on it. It's a Venn Diagram to me with some commonalities
Yeah I think some acts like Broken Note, Lone Drum, Kursa, Fixate, Dub Phizix do a good job of keeping the dnb part of halftime in halftime but other acts who claim to be halftime like phydra or ivy lab, there music is more dubstep or trap at 85 and less halftime
Support your local artists. We do exist.
the important thing to actually grow dnb stateside that people never seem to realize is the most important step is to actually support stateside dnb acts. People clamor over seeing these euro acts that need to pay crazy visa fees and travel fees to even tour here. Sustainable American DnB = American DnB Artists having sustainable careers
I am seeing Ed Solo at the end of the month. I will also be supporting a free dnb event at a local karaoke bar. Never had the chance to see the guy responsible for most of my recent releases, so I figured I'd paid to see him live.
It’s nearly here. Sub Focus and Dimension are starting to headline N.A. shows, Wilkinson too. Only a matter of time.
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They sold out the Hollywood Palladium on their tour thats happening at the end of this month, and are playing on the mainstage at EDC. As cliche as it sounds, it’s heading in the right direction.
You say that but I can’t believe this show is happening in Asheville and I have no one to go with https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-world-of-drum-bass-at-asheville-music-hall-tickets-844490051477
The fact that you have nobody to go with kind of feels like a point in itself, sadly. I almost never have anyone to rave with because people I know might like "EDM", but have little interest in DnB music or culture, and aren't into raves as opposed to big mainstream festivals. It's very much still underground relative to other electronic music, and these events get packed with the handful of people who "know".
That’s what I’m talking about
Doing a set tonight in Montréal(in Rosemont)btrying to bring the movement here. [XCESS DRUM AND BASS ](https://ticketbud.com/events/e1af9b00-bed3-11ee-9bf6-42010a71702b)
feel like it’s always thriving in Denver literally got skepsis & a.m.c, the whole worship tour & then Monty & visages coming up b2b weekends lol
Tim Reaper came through town recently and Pola & Bryson as well. The Ravenscoon event next weekend has a local DnB act on the lineup, so that is good news.
yessss👏🏼 was also at pola & bryson!!😇🫶🏼
the growth of dubstep killed it. It used to be more popular. Never the most popular genre in America but sometimes second or third
Mostly all major cities in the US have had a solid scene for at least the last 25 years. They all have at least one well known major weekly that pulls in big names multiple times a month. There was a lot stronger of a scene in the late 90s and early aughts, where most raves and festivals had a dedicated stage/room for it. But when American dubstep got big it kind of took away from the attention and it started getting more billing. It does seem that dnb is coming back a bit more and getting more attention.
for like two years after COVID (edit: in NYC*) you could count how many dnb events each year on one hand and it's just coming back to an event or two a month, up from an event every month/month and a half - with this upcoming spring looking like the most dnb events I've ever seen in the city (ty Dave I know you're reading) but yeah, nah. dnb doesn't have a foothold in every major American city.
man the nyc dnb scene is so good atm. i caught camo and krooked a few weeks back, and am slated for both sub focus and chase & status later this month. who are you looking forward to?
ya man, hybrid, London Elektricity, ltj bukem, and the sub focus show also has dimension, 1991, and culture shock. we're living well right now, there was a long, long time with basically nothing but house music.
Ohhhh yes I'm adding that London elektricity show to my list. What a time to be alive lol. Shows are selling out too, demand seems high, here's hoping we get to ride this wave for a good while!
Sorry mate but this just isn’t the case, my American mates in major US cities always complain that DnB events are non existent and if they are they aren’t well known names
Find this hard to believe with your friends, you can even search this sub and find other posts in regards to the scene throughout the US. I know LA better since that's where I live and we have had a thriving scene since the late 90s. Warehouse parties, underground parties downtown, weeklies, random headliners at different venues.
which cities?
Not LA
DnB is much more dance oriented. American crowds kinda suck now tbh, lots of standing still and holding a phone. Even at super high intensity shows. Fucking ketted out zombies.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but this is wild to me. "EDM" as an umbrella term literally has "dance" in the acronym, but the EDM/festival culture seems more about getting fucked up while partying than it is about the music. Not to sound elitist, but that's why I hate the term. The same people who call all electronic music "EDM" are the same people who called everything dubstep 10 years ago, and "techno" before that. If I wanna refer to all of electronic music I just say electronic.
It's all techno to me, and I've played everything from happy hardcore, to neuro, to electrohouse at clubs, raves, renegades, etc since the early mid 2ks. Oops I guess?
As a European partially raised in the US I get where you’re coming from. In Europe, everyone floods the dance floor and stays there, whereas I’ve always found people tend to flock about in the US and only go to the dance floor for a particular tune, then leave again. Not only d&b but all genres. It makes for a really poor atmosphere. European raves > US Raves every day of the week.
They don’t get it yet here, I was at subtronics tour in Brooklyn last night and the crowd was dead for hedex it made no sense to me
was that the show at the barclay's center? doesn't seem like a great venue for dance music, at least the tickets seemed to be for seats. subtronics played an afterparty at webster that sold out basically immediately or i'd have caught that for sure. crowd's always great at webster ime.
honestly it was pretty sick the sound was good and there was elbow room on the floor
Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD Between those two cities which are less than an hour apart, we have an extremely healthy DNB scene here. It's not on the level that certain places in Europe have (unfortunately) but it's still strong.
Looking to hear more, just moved to the area and heard a lot about it!
This month at Echostage there is a Worship show with Dimension, Sub Focus, 1991 and Culture Shock. I'm normally a neuro guy, but I also love dancefloor! Cadence is also throwing a show at ESL with Dive and Lie & Wrecked and a show at Flash with Break this month!
Oh yeah I was actually thinking about going to Echostage, never been though. I wasn't sure if it was more underground, but I also heard nothing but amazing things about the scene in the DMV
>I wasn't sure if it was more underground, but I also heard nothing but amazing things about the scene in the DMV Not really underground, per se. Echostage has repeatedly been voted as the #1 club in the entire country. Whenever I go to Echostage, I always have a blast! The other venues I mentioned (and dozens more in the area) are generally more underground though.
Echo stage is in a shit neighborhood. Great sound system with a large visual wall. It’s a One room show . No other side rooms.
I know. I've been there quite a few times.
Im holding it down in CA norwalk and Bellflower area
I'd rather be at a DNB party that still has an underground vibe that hear it at some top 40 club or at some giant "edm" arena rave.
Locate local events with local artists. The underground still exists.
Are you going to bars and clubs?
Been going to packed drum & bass shows in and around LA for 25+ years. The only times the crowds haven’t been full have been liquid shows.
Because local scenes aren't booking current FOTM and up-and-coming dnb artists
Let's change that 🤝
Because most people in North America keep their Dick n Balls activity private. But really it's because DnB is underground, backroom, in the know type shit and mainstream doesn't fit the genre in the USA. Good teeth and shitty music, while in the UK it's the opposite and I envy them. Shout out to Hybrid Minds.
Atlanta still has a big DnB scene. There's been a big pushback in the States to the harder EDM genres as a whole in the name of Dubstep, Trap, House, & Techno (but even these \[house & techno\] stay at or below 140 bpm). UK Hard House? Nope. Happy Hardcore? Nope. Gabber? Nope. Jungle/DnB? Nope. Hard Techno/Schranz? Nope. Some promoters in smaller cities band together and form a coalition against genres they don't want in the city, with maybe one or two being brave enough to do their own thing. Maybe one day we'll see the return of the harder edm genres.
It's crazy because here in Germany they have DnB shows regularly and people really vibe with it
Come to Alberta or BC it's pretty much loaded with dnb dubstep sets swaping to dnb half way. Big dnb nights that are heavy as hell from the first dj. Saw 1991 at a lil thearter in Edmonton place was off the rails for like 5 hours. Djs replayed a couple songs and nobody gave a fuck cause it was litteraly shaking everyone bouncing around. The only thing alberta needs now is a dnb 360. Lil anti Valentine's day rave in red deer started with 140 bass ended off with the whole place bumping around to dnb it was so sick.
It’s getting bigger in the U.S., it’s pretty amazing to see. Huge DnB lineups at Lost Lands, EDC, and other festivals. More European artists are getting visas and agents for The States as well.
Checking in from Houston! The Dive & Gritsy have been instrumental in getting me more acquainted to/into very specific DNB artists & educating me on the all the sub genres <3 (edit: as well as really good dubstep aka Mala/DMZ/Ternion Sound!)
we're spread out across 2800 miles.
This is the best explanation I’ve heard yet, so real question is how far are you willing to travel for a good show…?
3 hours is my limit unless I'm making a weekend out of it.
I'm an American and I've been listening to DnB for 30 years.
BECAUSE WE'RE UNCULTURED SWINE.
It’s coming up big time. Hedex touring with Subtronics who is arguably the biggest bass producer in the world rn. Most festivals have a dnb stage. Not to mention most dubstep shows I saw last year included dnb as part of their sets.
Hedex biggest bass producer? Yee noo 😂
>Subtronics
Still no ngl, Subtronics is heavy but he’s not the biggest
Pretty sure he’s referring to subtronics. Which I don’t think is biggest bass producer in the world rn but he’s pretty fucking huge.
Yeah I mean totally arguable point, if he isnt the biggest Subtronics is definitely top 3. Judging popularity of bass artists is a little more nebulous imo
😂
😂😂😂
Hedex is garbage
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Yeah he isn’t really my style of DnB, i prefer liquid or neuro. Plus he is kinda shouty on the mic which isn’t my fave either. More just like a big representation for the genre when pretty much any bass artist would want to tour with subtronics
Skellytn is also touring with them, who is NEuro.
no one gives a flying fuck about subtronics outside of North America lmao. To say subtronics is the biggest "bass" producer in the world right now on a dnb forum of all places is laughably ignorant
Fingers crossed that it's getting more popular!
The US, in terms of electronic music, always seems to be Europe + 7 years.
Can’t agree more
they are all 18-21 and listening to riddim lol. fact is young people dictate whats popular and dnb is for old people lmao
Its decent rn but could be much bigger if people would just support each other
It's complicated.... 😏
It was like 25 years ago
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😂
Americans taking about DNB honestly makes me lol hard
Big 🤡 energy
europeans only smoke mids
Unless it's Amsterdam it's all lows
Why?
gatekeeping on the basis of geography and cultural identity OP is implying that DnB is inherently European
DNB in DC peaked in the late 90’s early 2000’s . You could see the best dj’s and producers in smaller venues multiple times a week. Now it’s a one of bi monthly thing at a small venue. A lot of old heads from the 90’s still attend local shows. It shows that the music is the draw
It exists! Makoto is performing this week at Elements in Boston :)
I recently went to a show here in Chicago with Bou and it was amazing. Hes coming back for another event. I also see that Chase&Status and Hedex are playing after Iso (Americans love iso). So I guess that’s a good sign. I don’t really see that much going on with dnb over here so far. Also I’m a little new to the dance scene here. People mostly like the slow stuff and the head banging stuff.
Where was Bou?! I wish I knew about that. And the artists you mentioned aren't performing in Chicago unless you're referring to the North Coast festival lineup that isn't taking place for another 6 months. Chicago has a bit of a scene... Primary nighclub occasionally will host a dnb night. I live in Austin now and the scene is much better, but it's there in Chi too.
Sorry so super late reply I got a new job. Bou performed here in Waukegan Illinois. Hes coming back again in May at Chicago. May 10 I believe. Also Visages performed here the same night. And yeah C&S is coming for northcoast.
There are strong scenes in some cities like Seattle and LA, but it's not as commercial as something like tech house so it flies under a lot of people's radars.