A Global Lesson, and Dubstep

me: do you know what dubstep is?

Z: yes

me: like it? (much?)

Z: depends on my mood.

me: lol

Z: friday night in the city... sure!

me: lol again

Z: why oh why do you ask?

me: so do you know Skream & Benga?

Z: not tooo familiar. i'd probably know some of their popular songs

me: how about Seeeriousss by Noah D. or Machinedrum, aka Travis Stewart ...

Through the marvel of modern technology, I spent a day last week slaving in a Bangladeshi sweat shop. The idea was to condense a web page about each of 21 groups/artists into 3-4 line paragraph descriptions of each.

I learned a lot about both the music and about being part of the global electronic workforce. The workforce thing is a whole 'nuther story. (More on that another time.) But the music is interesting and I offer a few of the unused summaries here for your perusal.

• Skream & Benga (schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS19370) Who created Dubstep? These guys did it. Both are solo artists but frequently team up, along with Arthur “Artwork” Smith, to perform as the group Magnetic Man. Skream released his second full length album, “Outside the Box,” in 2010. Benga’s two albums to date – “Newstep” and “Diary of an Afro Warrior” – were both 2008 releases. Skream & Benga were featured on New Years Day 2012 at Sydney, Australia’s Field Day music festival. www.skreamandbenga.com

Click here for a sample of their high-intensity,

bass-driven music. (You'll need to click on the

"play" icon, then give it a minute to get rolling ... )

• Reid Speed (schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS19990) From listening to the work of Reid Speed, you’d soon realize she knows no limits, no boundaries, and perhaps no fear. Besides laying down some monster tracks across all genres in the bass music word, she also is the co-founder, with Alexander Rosson, of Play Me Records, the Los Angeles-based digital label. A native of New York City, she has been mixing since 2001. www.facebook.com/djreidspeed
  
• Drop the Lime (schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS18635) Singer, songwriter and guitarist Luca Venezia, who performs as Drop the Lime, brings his truly diverse background to bear on an already stunning career. A Manhattan native, Drop the Lime majored in music at Bard College where he studied under cutting edge electronic musicians. Combining that with an early heavy exposure to the music of Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Richie Valens, as well as the gang culture of New York, and it’s little wonder that he embodies a 21st century reincarnation of a 50’s rock’n’roller. www.dropthelime.com
  
• Dubtonic Kru (schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS17677) Although they all hail from Jamaica, each of the five members of Dubtonic Kru brings a unique musical background to this Reggae-plus band. Their diverse styles combine to produce an exquisite style that earned the band the title “Best New Band in the World” for 2010-2011 at the Global Battle of the Bands World Finals in Malyasia in February 2011. www.dubtonickru.com

So there you have it - a short introduction to dubstep and other quasi-related stuff (and quasi-music). What is it, you might ask? Interesting, if nothing else.

Z: hahahaha

very interesting