When UKF dubstep etc was peaking between 2009-2011 or whatever it was, the sound was largely dominated by these LFOs and aggressive noises that I’m sure we’re all familiar of. I’m not an expert on musical trends/timelines but it seems over the past few years the BPM has been changing but the sounds behind it remains relatively similar (in certain scenarios, i’m not trying to put a blanket over everything.) I noticed a few of my friends listening to Jump up or DNB that basically had the same ‘Go as hard as you can/most ridiculous synth = better drop’ as the dubstep that was popular in the era I mentioned above. It also seems to be the same kind of thing in some bassline and some house/techno.
I am in no way trying to say that Dubstep did it first or anything like that, but more trying to pose a question or start a discussion as to WHY this is the trend? I will also state that I don’t have anything against this kind of music or LFO’s or whatever, anything done well can be enjoyable I guess. But what really is it inside a great deal of the human race that really likes these aggressive (testosterone driven?) sounds? Perhaps I’ve got it wrong and I’m rambling on about crap but it’s just something that’s sort of crossed my mind recently.
The appeal of an lfo is the same regardless of the tempo.
But a short answer is something like that it’s enjoyable when stuff is dynamic across the spectrum and low frequencyoscilation means there’s these big low end cycles we can sub- or just consciously follow aswell as other parts going on in the tune. And just happening in the lower less ‘busy’ register.
In a super black and white understanding you could say lfo is born as all the organ fx in church , that then was tried out on guitars and then finally with DNB ! was tried out on the bass because there wasnt room for all the other instruments + drums.
There’s also the relation between an lfo and what a sampler does.
yeah, producers like wub basslines for the same reason guitarists like wah wah pedals. really simple concept but you can do a lot with it. you can turn a shitty monotone bassline in to something a lot more interesting, or make a little guitar lick way funkier.
i think there’s also something in wubs that relates to human speech. everyone can make a wub sound with their mouth. when mr oizo - flat beat was a hit you couldn’t go anywhere without some shitcunt wubbing out the bassline with their mouth.
How I see DnB these days is that if Noisia decides they are bored, they just release an EP or an album and then 90% of the scene spends the next 6 months trying to recreate that sound…
Anyway, I think the LFO thing is just about the movement. Having even a tiny movement on the sub often allows you to push it by 1 or 2 dBs without making it stale. Even more with brostep stuff. Especially with fm, u get these crazy spectral dynamics that are like magic. You can spend an hour trying to make a typical trance lead sound interesting or 10min in FM8 making a growl bass and the growl would still have more movement and it could be pushed a lot harder because of that.
Like 111 said, it might have something to do with human speech also. Loading an acapella into your DAW and staring at the analyzer is a good reminder of how boring and undynamic most basic synths are on a physical level compared to a human voice, or real world sounds in general. These modern sounds are definitely getting close tho.
was tried out on the bass because there wasnt room for all the other instruments + drums.