Yo I thought it would be cool if we got a list going of common dubstep terms going. I’m sure even our grandma’s know what a wobble is and a drop but what’s a dub? Or VIP? I’ll try to list some common words I hear being thrown around these days.
1200s - Probably referring to Technics SL-1200s. The Holy Grail of Turntables
Backbeat - The part of a beat that emphasizes the 2 and 4 of a measure. This is normally responsible for giving a beat a groove.
Backspin - Same thing as a rewind. Makes a cool sound of a track quickly reversing.
Bass Drop - Where the sub comes back in
Banger - A really good tune.
Belter - A really good tune.
Bigup - Steppers often say thing to each other as a compliment.
Bins - Refers to bass bins. An enclosure cabinet for sub woofers.
Brock Out - Combination of Rock out and Break out. Usually refers to dancing.
Brostep - Commercial subgenre of dubstep. Many say it’s not real dubstep.
CDJ - A special type of audio player used for DJing or mixing. Includes a pitch control and a way to jog audio forward or backward.
Chainsaw - Often referring to a specific type of bass sound design style. Listen to 16bit.
DJ - Disk Jockey. Responsible for selecting tunes and mixing them into a set seamlessly.
Dub - Unreleased tune. Often cut to an acetate record (Dubplate). Also a genre of music that’s made out of chopped reggae tunes.
Dub tech - A genre combining elements of Dub music and Minimal techno.
EP - Extended Play. A release consisting of only a few tracks. Usually around 4.
Fassy - A rude thing to call someone.
Gunfinger - Putting your hand up in the air with only your thumb and first (sometimes also second) finger. This forms a gun. It is a response to a tune that you really like.
Gully - Something from the streets, gangster,
Head - Somebody who is a fan of this kind of music.
Hench - Describes someone as big and muscular.
Hoover - A synth sound made by two or more Square waves that are out of phase with each other.
“Hoover/Mentasm was a patch found on the Roland Alpha Juno synth called “What The”, and was first made famous by early 90s techno and hardcore such as Second Phase - Mentasm, Human Resource - Dominator, The Prodigy - Charly.” -wormcode
Jabroni - Poser (Me)
Joint - What I like to smoke at shows.
Krumpin - that thing you do when di riddim is fiya -mks
Label - Responsible for distributing and marketing music.
LP - Long Playing. Another name for album. Generally a release that has 8 or more tunes. Often needs two 12" records to hold all the songs.
Microdance - Dancing with minimal movements. Performed either by people who are embarrassed to dance, people who are tired, or people in a very crowded venue.
Mix - Usually refers to an audio recording of a DJ mixing tunes together. Essentially a playlist with fancy transitions between songs.
Reese - A synth sound made by two or more Saw waves that are out of phase with each other.
“Reese is named after Kevin Saunderson aka Reese, and his track Reese - Just Want Another Chance ('87-88), and later made famous in dnb tracks such as Ray Keith - Terrorist ('93-94).” -wormcode
Rewind - When a tune is SO GOOD the DJ has to pull it back to the start.
Riddim - a beat that just won’t quit -mks
Roller - a style of track named after its smooth, repetitive rolling percussive elements that drive the track. Very common in dnb. -wormcode
Rinse - Play
Single - A release that only includes 1 or 2 songs. Sometimes also includes Remixes or VIPs.
Soundsystem - What this music is made to be played on.
“Soundsystems date to the 1950s as homemade music systems used in outdoor parties in Jamaica, and electronic music has continued this tradition.” -wormcode
Show - A night where DJs play music on a sound system. Often includes light shows.
Steppah - A fan of dubstep. “also used to describe similar tracks that have a more “steppy”, often dub reggae inspired beat to them that make you want to skank” -wormcode
Tearout - a descriptor found in pretty much all electronic music to identity a very aggressive track, usually containing many edits. The opposite of a roller. -wormcode
Track - a riddim rude bwoy, seen -mks
Tune - a song or track -mks
VIP - Variation in Production. The original producer makes a different version of a song they’ve already made.
Wheel up - when you and your posse drive to the dance in your whip. -mks
Wobble - A synth sound made with LFO on a filter or volume or something. Sounds like it is wobbling.
