It starts off with a synth flurry so juicy it could quench an army. It develops into a groove so dark it could destroy an army. It has barking dog samples.
We are talking about the latest Terrorhythm power-stepper: AWE – Griffin.
It’s caused something of a stir on the YouTube channel… It seems a few people don’t think it belongs on UKF Dubstep. We called up the LA-based producer to get his take on the passionate reactions. But first, we caught a vibe from Plastician: he signed the track, if anyone can clarify how to categorise this, it’s him.
“Griffin, for me, is a representation of all that is good right now in bass music. Within one track you can hear so many influences and it’s so well-rounded that it just works among almost anything you want to play it next to.” – Plastician.
Bingo: you truly can hear all manner of influences in there… The start of the journey is a flavour so vibrant it could make Rustie blush. As the dynamic gets darker and darker we’re in techno territory – a territory that many dubstep figureheads have found themselves lurking around this year (perhaps most notably acts like Killawatt and Thelem). But enough from us. Enough from Plastician, even. This is how AWE breaks down The Griffin…
It’s sad that some people expect the same thing they did in 2009. This music is based on technology and look at how much technology has progressed since then. We’re in a fast-moving world with fast moving technology and fast-moving music; why would you want to sit still?
“Firstly, I don’t think of genres when I’m making music. Yeah it’s got the 808s and trappy elements but I never sat down to make a trap tune. I feel a lot of trap – or certainly the mainstream stuff – is a little generic and a bit tired. I’m not hating on the genre, but I think we’re at the time that we don’t need to call things any genres. What does it matter what genre it is or isn’t?
It’s all so subjective anyway. Like… is Duke Dumont making house music? Or is he making UK bass pop music? Is Boys Noize making techno or acid house or big room house? There’s so much crossover between genres anyway.
As for the track itself, it came about pretty randomly… I was working with synths and doing some sound design stuff with a crazy, ridiculous busy chord progression and I’d lost the project file. All I had was a tiny 8-12 second thing. I thought ‘where the heck am I going to put this? It’s not useful at all!’ Then I thought ‘maybe if I just put it at the intro of a song’ Like to wake people up and think ‘woah what is this?’ Then that hook that follows is actually the very tale of that intro clip. So the riff, which develops throughout, is a result of that weird intro.
The title itself, Griffin, relates to the mythical creature. It’s a huge combination of different animals… Is it a lion? Is it an eagle? Is it trap? Is it dubstep? It doesn’t matter; it has a life of its own.
Besides, dubstep is where UKF started, so I’m happy Luke has put this track on the channel. Look at loads of other producers who made their name in dubstep… they’re all looking for new and interesting and inspiring sounds and techniques. You have to move forward and develop as an artist to keep things exciting. Look at Skrillex’s last album; he wrote all types of things for that!
It’s sad that some people expect the same thing they did in 2009. This music is based on technology and look at how much technology has progressed since then. We’re in a fast-moving world with fast moving technology and fast-moving music; why would you want to sit still? I’m still very much inspired by dubstep but what I’ve loved about it the most is that it’s always included and referenced lots of other sorts of music. Just like Griffin.”
Amen to that!
AWE ftw.
That was me who posted most of the top comments on the video. Yes, I did complain about the direction that the UKF Dubstep channel is going. I don’t have a problem with this track or AWE. This is a good track and AWE makes great work. I don’t want everyone to make the same old 2009 dubstep forever. What I want and judging by the response what I think a large segment of the community wants is for UKF Dubstep to be what we’ve known and loved for so many years. I want it to stay dubstep and for other genres to have their own place to shine on their own channel. If we’re in a post-genre world then why not put this track on UKF Drum & Bass? I’ve been hoping for a UKF Bass channel where tracks like this can get the attention they deserve while dubstep fans can still enjoy their favorite channel. If one day people just stop making dubstep then fine, just post anything on the channel. I just don’t think that day is here yet. I think dubstep still has life left, enough to keep the channel going the way it has with so much success for 5 years. It’s easy to frame this whole issue as “oh it’s just a few people who want every artist to stay in 2009” and try to ignore us but I don’t think that’s fair. There are a lot of fans out there who truly love UKF Dubstep. You can’t just radically change something that is such a big part of people’s lives, so near and dear to people’s hearts and expect them to all just accept it. I think it’s time for a new channel. If you must change the existing channel, how about a new dubstep-only channel? I will still be a fan whatever direction you choose, Luke. All I ask is for an explanation why. Could you at least give us an article explaining your reasoning?
I agree with your point but honestly making a petition about it isn’t going to do anything.
At the end of the day UKF is Luke’s channel and he’ll do whatever he wants with it.
UKF Dubstep isn’t “the core of the scene”. Just because there’s less and less dubstep on there doesn’t mean there’s some sort of overall decline. There’s tens of thousands of other dubstep channels and promotion sites. The owner of a channel gets to do whatever he wants with it. Even if he shouldn’t advertise the channel as dubstep-only, 95% of the music on it still is dubstep.