|
I think underground scenes can still exist with the Internet. Looking at the dubstep example, I didn't see anyone on this forum talking about dubstep before it started getting features in Mixmag and the like. It didn't become widespread on the Internet any faster than in the paper press.
The first time I heard of dubstep was on the Internet, actually, although it was directly from someone living in London and part of the scene who'd posted some pirate radio sets. This wasn't even on a music forum and must have been early 2005. Although it was online it was still coming from someone directly in the scene and I didn't hear anything on any non-local music forums or in the paper press for about another year. Even then, the roots of dubstep go back earlier than that- it was an established scene in 2005. Some people take dubstep back to 2004 or even 2002. It was there as an underground scene years before the Internet found it, and even when it did get online it took years more before it became hyped.
If people are complaining that dubstep has become commercial and sold-out: it's a five/six year old scene! It didn't take jungle six years to go from inception to the mainstream when the Internet was nascent. Trance is no older than 1988 and if you call We Came In Peace the first trance record it only took three years before Jam & Spoon were in the pop charts. The only genres that stay underground are the anti-social and outright shit ones. It's naive to expect dubstep to remain underground forever, and the Internet has nothing to do with it becoming more mainstream.
___________________
Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24
Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/
|