Digital Mystikz- Anti War Dub

http://youtu.be/5mOIXdC4rgA

This is a prime example of the genre known as “dubstep” . The producers go by Digital Mysitikz (DMZ) but are individually known as Mala, Coki, and Loefah. They were extremely influential in the formative years of this genre in the early 2000’s .

As common throughout most dubstep songs, the beat is syncopated and slightly off tempo which creates atmosphere of extra space. You will also notice that there is very heavy bass. This type of music can only truly be appreciated through a set of high quality speakers with heavy emphasis on sub bass. This stems from the early influence of Jamaican dub sound system culture in the UK, where sound engineers were constantly equalizing the speakers during the show, tailoring it to each individual song. This same idea applies to dubstep shows.

This is a form of electronic music which makes it a bit difficult in describing the timbre since there are no traditional instruments being used. There is however, a lot of use of different types of percussion. Hand drums, and a regular drum kits are used throughout. There is a some string/violin use as well as what sounds like a distorted malled pad, and also another synth heard during the break down. There is heavy bass used which gives the driving pulse, as well as the vocal sample which is probably the strongest melodic element in this piece.

The texture of the song is homophonic and is written in a minor key, which creates a melancholic mood.

2 thoughts on “Digital Mystikz- Anti War Dub”

  1. JERRY CHEUNG

    Your analysis of the genre dubstep was informative. You focused on some basic background information as well as general details such as instruments used, origin, use of texture. All those were explained clearly and with relation to the music. However, it would have been overall more informative if you focused on other musical elements such as tempo and other ones. It seems you focused primarily on the genre of dubstep rather than the music you chose. You did give some examples of instruments used such as drum kits, string/violin, and heavy bass. However, you did not mention its effect; you did say how they contributed and created the piece, but not the effect on the listener. Overall, this analysis was fairly good with lots of information, but lacked specifics with could have been elaborated.

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