Dropping the Bass

Breaking Down Modern Day Dance Music Pt.1

     One of the most common phrases to hear in modern day dance music is, "Drop the Bass!" The phrase has been around since the early acid house days during the middle of the 1990's, and has made the rounds from the underground scene to modern day EDM. The act of "dropping the bass," is done by; bringing out the bass frequencies in a song, building the tempo, creating a buildup that is then directly climaxed with a sudden entrance of a lower, louder, and deeper bass frequency. The end result is rather spectacular to witness in person, and is aurally pleasing. 

7:23-9:46 Example of a couple bass drops from Fatboy Slim @ Ultra 2013

     Many genres of electronic dance music, if not all, at some point during the breaks in the song use a buildup into a bass drop. However, the phrase as it's known today is more directly correlated with Dubstep and Trap music, two genres that utilize heavy bass frequencies to a much larger extent then their House, Trance, and Progressive cousins.
Not to say the other genres do not use bass drops, they do, but just not to the extent Dubstep and Trap do.


Who Am I by Wizard (Trap)

     Our example above, Who Am I by Wizard is a great example of bass drops and their usages in Trap music. The first or initial drop consists of merely a buildup and introduction of the bass frequency with cut vocal samples of the song Sweet Dreams by Eurthmics, giving the listener a basic outline of the track. Later, 808's are added to the song to build depth. At :54 the listener is introduced to the first break with the bass cut, and emphasis put on the vocals. The ensuing buildup climaxes at 1:15 with a bass drop with the 808's added from the start giving the song it's first big drop. Now lets take a look at Dubstep.

Internet Friends VIP by Knife Party

     Internet Friends by Knife Party is one of the best known Dubstep songs in part to it's angry girlfriend introduction, but also because it features one of the best drops of the past few years. Cue Internet Friends VIP, which is a re-edited version of the song in which Knife Party added a few more tricks to an already fantastic dubstep song. From 1:50 to 1:57 the listener is treated with a substantially fast buildup, followed by a monumental drop. However, on the second drop of the song is where things take an interesting turn. From 3:00 to 3:48 the song goes into a cue changing break, and on the second buildup the tempo is adjusted to reflect that. The song starts at 128 bpm and goes into 140 bpm seamlessly transitioning genres, and the listener is treated to a dubstep/trap infusion that brings a new meaning to dropping the bass!

     As the genres continue to evolve, one trend is certain to keep up, and that is dropping the bass. It's become a mainstay in modern electronic dance music, and producers and DJ's alike will only find better and more intense ways to drop the bass! Just be sure to hold on, because things might get heavy!

Fun Fact:

Dubstep originated from heavy metal groups, who used heavy percussion and breaks within their songs to create a dark, bass-heavy sound! Drum and Bass and Moombathon also played a large part in the development of dubstep!