Dubstep Is REALLY HARD To Make [feat. Mr. Bill]

[@BennJordan]

Btw, Bill and I will be chatting and taking random questions on my stream this Thursday. Subscribe to my streaming channel to view it! KZbin.com/@alphabasic

[@MrBillsTunes]

letsgooooo

[@Roses_R_redeR]

I truly want to gain knowledge all's I want is to learn... All I think about in my life is music... I'm a slow learner.. So many blessings Benn. Tell Bill thank you... I look up to him greatly... 🥀⛽️🎭 R. C. G. M. 🔥🙏🔥 🪕🎻🎚🎛🎹

[@rpocc]

I think the drop is interesting for a prepared listener, like a musician or producer because we can instantly dissolve the whole into elements and celebrate separate great parts whether it’s the rhythm or interesting sound or an original sequence, etc. I found your drop original, but it didn’t make me headbanging and I’m not sure if it simply does fit the rest of the song in it’s mood. The main part is very calm like a straightforward 4/4 phlegmatic don’t-give-a-fk-about-me music in a small hipster basement restaurant chill-out, filled with dark ultraviolet, tinned 25yo bare belly girls, bearded guys and alternatively pronounced persons on leather couches, but then suddenly comes close but unfocused, disorienting 6/8 part, full of changes every beat and even rhythm fairly overcomplicated with rudiments and fills. At the same time it’s not powerfull enough to brake a muscle car subwoofer or raise up a doped junkie into random convulsive dance and scratching their teeth, so probably it’s not a club sound, rather something analytic, but probably in this case I’d prefer some random modular piece by Richard Devine or something like that.

[@boydw1]

The problem with dubstep is, no matter how well you make it, it's still dubstep.

[@jtwee6590]

i'd like to take a general reproduction of your pre-drop vibe and give it a drop that might rate better than a 4...

[@Emily_M81]

Skrillex: DROP THE BASS Benn: HOW?!

[@CyPhaSaRin]

Korn: STFU GET UP! you don't think you just groooove :P

[@cdragon777]

That was Emalkay haha

[@iagmusicandflying]

I laughed my butt off when you said the drop sounded like a Fisher Price toy because I've had the idea in my head for a few months to use "the cow says moo" as part of a funny drop.

[@lunarthyme]

yes! been awhile since a benn video made me crack up so hard

[@xpercipio]

there used to be a youtube video of a guy with one of those toys, scratching it like a record over a beat. i cant find it but i wish i could. it was pretty sick

[@H3xx1st]

DO IT! would love to dance to Fisher price farm.... bowowow the dog says bowowow

[@ts4gv]

@@H3xx1stlol

[@SwishaMane420]

Its gotta be wrong tho... "The cow goes bhaaahahahaha"

[@TheInternetIsDeadToMe]

That story about Mr. Bill painstakingly reconstructing one of Benn’s tracks for a uni assignment is hilarious. I bet he waited all this time to trash Benn’s drop. Great video guys. Funny stuff.

[@andyto629]

Bill and Ben are saints

[@cameronl2760]

did mr bill release it anywhere?

[@EvoAuxilium]

The drop was really sick but to me felt a bit disjointed from the other portions of the track (which sounded utterly sublime). Huge respect for sharing this journey with us. Got me feeling very inspired. Thanks for what you do.

[@Eidraify]

i thought mr bill would teach you and you'd make a second one

[@FaithInTheGlitch]

Same. I felt like this was half a video. Make a drop, get mr bill to critique it then apply that to a second attempt.

[@stellar_cartographer]

Yeah, I'd love to see a follow up or a collaborative video

[@triplestandart7613]

Thought the same thing and would love to see it

[@Pho7on]

Benn got kicked out after the video was over 🤣"How about these night notes motherfucker!"

[@axisdev]

yes I thought this as well :)

[@projectnitefall8058]

Mr Bill is insane at music production. His samples and glitch effects and foley are so uniquely him that I can't help but appreciate him as an artist.

[@BosseCory]

Rate Your Drop? I'd say a 6/10. It was incredibly interesting, but it felt very disconnected from the rest of the song. I think there's a certain magic in making a drop that is both surprising and contains elements of the rest of the composition to keep it feeling cohesive.

[@tapdaddy69]

True. I gotta say, it made my cheap monitors sound about $1000 more than they actually are lol. The sound design on this alone is worth the listen. I liked how it was a lot more rhythmical than most dubstep stuff I hear, and it had really crazy textures. I think it might've been assisted a little more into and out of the track with stuff like a down lifter to bring us back out of it. Maybe a different approach on the pre-drop. But the drop is pretty nuts, I'm for it.

[@mcgritty8842]

Huh. I think Mr. Bill was being generous and didn’t want to give it a lower score on camera. Everything from the drum pattern to the bass rhythm was offputting and not something one could dance to. Dubstep is a very loose genre, but the kick and snare need to be tight and the bass has to flow. Much respect for trying and posing it on KZbin because making drops can be quite difficult, just like making any kind of music

[@27klickslegend]

yea lol, more like 3/10, the rest of the song was solid tho. my favorite drops are the huge buildup psytrance ones by Infected Mushroom

[@-RAV3N]

Yes! this was what it was! It felt off in a lot of parts. I looking for someone to point out what I was feeling in it.

[@HealyHQ]

Exactly how I felt. It was too disjointed.

[@hexial]

This video made me think a lot about how to take criticism 🤔 And Benn, you took it like champ. Or maybe more likely, like a professional. This was really eye opening. You allowed yourself to be quite vulnerable in public, and that was probably quite hard. Thank you 🖤 (and I love your music)

[@Gregorovitch144]

Actually the origin of the drop, as understood today, is in the Jamaican reggae sound systems in late 60's early 70's. It was copied later in hip hop, techno, House etc. The sound systems used big (like very big for the time) home made amps that had internal filters/crossovers routing to three pairs of outputs connected to the treble horns, the mid-range cabinets (mix of 8" and 10" usually) and several 15" and/or 18" bass bins. Each output had a switch to mute it, especially the bass channel. The Selector (what a sound system DJ is called) would on occasion either begin a song with the bass channel off or sometimes switch it off mid track such as immediately after a chorus. Then after letting the track run for a time, usually until a suitable drum fill, they would switch the bass cabs back on. Boom! This was known as "dropping the bass". It's were the term "drop" comes from. So in this respect just as pretty much all of rock 'n roll can be traced back to the delta blues pretty much the whole of electronic dance music can be traced back to the Jamaican dance hall reggae styles.

[@harrytuttle5810]

This is the truth ! Also where to me the whole brostep thing misses the point is , that in dub and proper dubstep (lol) the sub bass aint just a thing to give some weight to the ear piercing middy synths .It is melodic , driving and quite often the focal point of the song , just pure sub . If a tune works with just the sub and drums its proper.

[@thundafellow]

@@harrytuttle5810 brostep isn't "missing the point" tho, it's essentially an entirely different genre from dub and classic dubstep.

[@thundafellow]

@@Neiltrama1 you are entitled to your (wrong) opinion :)

[@swarthygiant1463]

@harrytuttle5810 I think something interesting is how many brostep guys came from the metal and core scenes, Skrillex being the most obvious example. Breakdowns in metal/core are pretty atonal due to extreme distortion and detuning, but they obviously use the extreme lows same as a bass drop. Biggest thing in a breakdown is a throbbing slow heavy rhythm. This absolutely contextualizes why mr Moore and some of the other guys would come at a bass drop with violent dissonant Atonalaity, and especially with screamy “CALL 911 NOW!!!” type vocalizations

[@freashty]

Great piece of music history! I don't personally think you can say the "whole of electronic dance music" can be traced back to dance hall reggae since there's plenty of EDM that is arguably more of a descendent of disco and funk, genres that in turn have their own origins in rock, swing, and jazz. The bass drop is just one facet of songwriting and did not become prevalent in house music until influences from techno and hip hop started to influence the scene. There is also a large body of African and Latin dance music and contributing to the development of the Chicago/Detroit club scenes as well as Reggae itself. Dubstep, however, including a large portion of UK electronic and dance music in general, is a direct result of Jamaican soundsystem culture in general - to the point where it's even baked into the name. Beyond just the bass drop, heavy use of tape delay effects and similar engineering techniques taken directly from Dub Reggae were applied heavily to 2-step Garage which is how dubstep was born. Even beyond the writing and engineering, the whole ethos of Dubstep at its point of origin could be said to be inspired primarily if not almost solely by Jamaican culture. Damian Marley collaborating with Skrillex is a full-circle moment for the genre

[@lankythedanky]

hearing the amen break at the start of that drop is like hearing a jazz musician play the lick lmfao

[@GumikoVT]

As a dubstep producer this is going to be really fun to watch. You have been one of my favorite music production channels for a while, so I can't wait to see you try and make dubstep. Especially with Mr. Bill.

[@colourbasscolourbassweapon2135]

fr

[@colourbasscolourbassweapon2135]

same here

[@jonasharp3]

I hadn’t heard of Mr, Bill till around 2016 when I saw him at a small, now defunct, Colorado Springs venue, opening for Infected Mushroom. His whole set, my jaw was on the floor. Then afterwards I saw him on the patio smoking, so I walked up and told him how happy his set made me, he just gave me a big hug and we talked about music for a while. He’s a really nice dude, and even more talented.

[@simonwxyz]

I'd like to hear another attempt at making a drop, but with a focus on pulling ideas through into it. One of the problems with the one you showed in this video imo was how disconnected the drop was from the previous section. I'd like to hear some resampling from the first section dropped into the glitchy bit and bringing back aspects of the first beat / melody sooner and higher in the mix after the drop lands. To be fair I definitely enjoyed the start, the drop, and the ending in isolation, but it felt more like two separate songs being smushed together.

[@coderaven1107]

This! Felt the same(would rate it 3/10), it was disconnected rythmically and melodically. But what it should do is elevate the established ideas. The drop itself had the vibe of an interesting piece of experimental music (felt very classic somehow :D), but it just violently erased everything, that was before it, like it never existed. The best surprise and goosebumps I got in a drop for a while was "Kneel before me" by Asking Alexandra, Slander, Crankdat. The first drop is "standard" but the second did some misleading, which made it punch ULTRA hard! Also the drops in Herbalist by Skan are heavenly imo (esp. the second one) @Benn Jordan Either way, I am really impressed that you put this video out. I will also do a drop and even though it will be bad, its about learning! Thanks for being an inspiration!

[@mr-mizu]

I agree, it sort of sounds like Flashbulb made the verse, Mr. Bill made the chorus (drop)

[@KonstantinZilberburg]

one of the reasons it’s so disconnected is that Benn just introduces entirely different rhythmic pattern without even teasing it earlier in the track

[@PlugInGuruVideo]

EXACTLY! I picked up a bit of copy/paste vibe, make it all the same song, just taken somewhere new and you're at least in 7/10 territory! lol

[@apoclypse]

Yep. I agree here. One of the things Ben could have done is to bring in the vocal as a response to the bass part to pull people back to the 1st section every few bars. One of the staples of the drop is call and response. It's like putting the listener in a seesaw of emotion

[@somatoastmusic]

i find it helpful to start the project making the peak of the song, then take bits and pieces from that to write everything else around it. The additional sections remain simpler and maintain relevance to the focus of the song. The song almost puts itself together at that point. It is also much easier to bring the song down and create builds for the "hype" that is already there, rather than attempting to feel fulfilled by a large build you made without knowing what would follow.

[@shinyPIKAx]

I liked your drop, but listening to it I really wanted a part of the previous section to carry through the drop, something to keep it slightly connected. It just felt like a hard cut to a completely different song almost. Ether using the cords or parts of the lyrics. Idk, I've just barely gotten into making music but that's the only thing that stood out to me. Loved your video and super glad you included your annecdote on how you do your drums. I saw you do them like that in past videos but couldn't figure it out, awesome to know.

[@coderaven1107]

Yes!

[@chenzenzo]

As someone who's made dubstep since its inception and experimented with bass, sound and electronic music for decades, the challenge isn't making dubstep, it's making innovative dubstep. Respect and love!

[@georgerosebush9754]

It reminds me of learning to play the saxophone, it's easy to play...badly.

[@mainpage725]

Facts

[@HighlyRegardted]

True… I was just saying the other day to an old friend that used to be in the scene how I don’t listen to dubstep nearly at all anymore and it used to be one of the biggest genres in my digital library … it felt like there was a lot of innovation in the genre 10+ yrs ago and now it feels repetitive… I’ve basically just gone back to old school dnb / jungle type stuff and this new sub genre “barber beats” thing is okay imo… it’s not necessarily innovative but all the compositional elements I enjoy are there…

[@nikodoyon7429]

@@HighlyRegardted thats funny, dnb sounds very repetitive to me, as if it havent evoled in the last 10years..

[@dannaglia]

And then, mixing and mastering it properly to boot.

[@t1merickson]

the collab I never expected, but now need. AWESOME

[@welcomemcnall]

I'm all about that Practice Drop. That thing has some really cool rhythm in it and feels more like a unique take, as opposed to the "bro-step impression" that is the main drop of the video. Make more stuff like that practice drop, haha

[@superlynx98]

Honestly, if I heard a drop like the ones you made at a festival, I would lose my mind. While they might not be the most innovative or current sounding, they're really fun to listen to listen to and definitely stick out from what's currently popular in a good way

[@stevenswall]

10:37 Love seeing the Kii Three monitors. Those and the Dutch & Dutch 8c are oncredible for gettign accurate bass and mid ass in a room with their room correcrion and cardioid dispersion. Or for a crazy system Genelec has some massive woofer systems that turn their monitors into incredibly capable towers.

[@codexstudios]

I love dubstep. Both the 140 underground UK stuff as well as the aggressive modern sound.

[@somedude3443]

I never really thought of this before, but the "drop" in electronic music is a bit like the "breakdown" in metal. First thing that came to my mind when you were explaining how to build it was the end of Hysteria by Spiritbox

[@Godzilla_Star_Eater]

Exactly. I got into metal through brostep. Tearout and deathstep are dubstep subgenres more like really heavy metal. Listen to Code Pandorum - Night of The Crows

[@Godzilla_Star_Eater]

Angel Eyes by Spiritbox has a breakdown similar to a dubstep drop too. Deathstep even has some really slow beat drops like in Angel Eyes. Listen to Code Pandorum - Amnesia for an example. Or Odium by Antima and MVKUTA is probably a better one. My favourite slow dubstep drop ever is an unreleased track by NIMDA near the end of his 2023 id showcase mix

[@somedude3443]

@@Godzilla_Star_Eater This is a rabbit hole I never even knew existed... I'm excited! Thank you for telling me about this. I gotta check this out. For some reason, your description kind of reminded me of -Penn- Pinn Panelle (I think that's the name of the band); they're a metal band who modded all their instruments with weird electronics so they could fuse dubstep elements into their sound. I don't think it's what Code Pandorum or Antima do (I'll find out when I look into them), but I thought it was an interesting parallel

[@ClintMoody]

Can confirm: Harmor is nuts and is crazy.

[@otzcz]

Is it from U-He or not? I see similar GUI.

[@milhouse777]

​@@otzczimage-line

[@AziDoesQuestionableThings]

@@otzcz it's a stock fl plugin

[@laurenpinschannels]

one of the more expensive ones. it's really hard to get the soft warmth of analog out of it - it can be done, but you have to know where to put all the little wiggles and what shapes to use and such. there's a nice example in the presets. but if you toss it through a quick convolver and a very slight saturating waveshape and don't use its built in distortion, I really like how wacky you can get with microtonal sounds with it.

[@pleasure1689]

Harmless is better for me. Hamor is too complicated imo and doesn't return the best sounds for the effort.

[@ianhale5482]

13:37 exactly! I expected simplicity and the drop into IDM forced me to experience fear

[@stuey95]

@BennJordan Big fan of the fish out of water concept dude. Forced play within a genre you find formulaic seems a fun excercise to pull out your unique take, interpretations and influences.

[@arkarmoethouk2445]

Benn is the most technical FL Studio user I've ever seen. Damn ...

[@coderaven1107]

Seeing his approach vs eliminate is really funny. (Eliminate is also very technical with automations, but just in such a different way :D )

[@xn4pl]

@@coderaven1107 We got benn making dubstep, now we need eliminate making idm.

[@arkarmoethouk2445]

@@coderaven1107 Benn was like 'Idk how others do it but I'mma do it my way' haha

[@NifesTheCat]

@@xn4pl Someone brought up IDM in a recent Eliminate stream and he was like "WTF is that, that can't really be what they call that genre"

[@coderaven1107]

@@xn4pl This would be soo good :D

[@JoshuaDb_The_Witness]

Ben - I SOOOO respect your authenticity man. I been making music - badly since the mid 90s - I wasnt a fan of drops - but I get that they are worthy of exploration - thank you..

[@defusedhero6561]

I’m glad to see my two favorite KZbin music creators working on this video together.

[@defusedhero6561]

Definitely hope to see more collaboration between the two of you.

[@masonminetti]

Thank you for making this video. For one, I really enjoyed watching your process from someone who doesn't make this genre but knows how to sound design really really well. I also appreciate it because as a dubstep producer myself, people often like to put the genre down for being something just generated by a computer. However it clearly is much more than that lol and is definitely a thought out and very intentional style of production. Especially, considering how everyone is constantly trying to out do each other in sound design etc. I'd love for you to do another video showcasing something maybe Bill has taught u and applying it!

[@rivvelmusic]

Dubstep and harder bass music has been figured out alot more nowadays than in 2010. It's all about sound design and flow. A good rythm to it all. Usually it's better to make just one sound and create small variations of it during the song with automation. Use other sounds only like small fills and for a little variation. Spamming different bass sounds everywhere just creates a chaotic mess that is also hard to mix.

[@ProjectHMF]

Honestly melodic elements and harmony are also very important, otherwise it will sound like every brostep song ever xd

[@rivvelmusic]

@@ProjectHMF well here I'm thinking for harder dubstep songs. Big issue with old "brostep" songs us that they start as a happy typical dance, and then randomly swap to dubstep without a transition. Of course well thought out melodies harmonies, song writing and production is necessary for dubstep to sound good.

[@jimmygonyea9752]

Yeah just put the whole genre in a box lol. There’s no rules stop making them 😂

[@rivvelmusic]

@@jimmygonyea9752 ? What box?

[@scary5455]

​​@@rivvelmusicthey don't swap to dubstep. The happy parts are dubstep too. Evilwave makes deathstep with extremely horrific drops, but uses music theory to seamlessly blend different vibes. What you are talking about isn't a problem. It's appealing to people. NIMDA and Barely Alive literally play happy house tracks or pop songs, then switch to a brutal dubstep drop out of nowhere for impact at shows. Even lots of classical music doesn't get this right. The finale of Swan Lake tries to mix good vibes with the apocalyptic tone of the rest of the piece, which is honestly it's weakest point, in my view.

[@ThisIsTechToday]

Now I want to waste time in Harmor, lol. What do you use for the visualizer of your audio during the song sample at 11:00 ?

[@bluepixeldoom]

Making this video without attending a dubstep show is what is missing. So much of dubstep is how it's enjoyed live.

[@itsZee369]

very true about edm as a whole, if i played you a techno song through my phone or in the car it’s gonna be weird, but to witness an entire night of it is life changing

[@preventablesuffering6239]

yeah bro u gotta experience psychologically stunted fratbros and girls who are there to dress slutty outside of halloween and be plastered standing stationary and doing a zombie like "epic headbangtm" & grabbing onto a rail....otherwise you simply wont get it *eyeroll* dubstep reinforces the idea that "dance music" enjoyers dont actually dance. the optics of how those crowds act is worse than ppl sitting on dancefloors at massives getting lightshows. isnt a staple of dubstepfestivals literally dragging a couch onto the dancefloor? disgusting wooks

[@blueberrimuffin6682]

@@preventablesuffering6239 Are you a DOA member? This reads like a DOA post.

[@preventablesuffering6239]

@@blueberrimuffin6682 the fuck is DOA? not everyone is ta erminally online NEET like you lmao

[@astrolopitekos]

This video made me enjoy ott’s music even more. Really nice way to showcase the complexity of going from an idea to a complete song WHILE building a framework to develop drops etc that feels natural for the producer

[@xSaintxSmithx]

Harmor was the first synth I ever learned! Love that you can load an image as a waveform. Making sounds out of memes is a video I should totally make.

[@Kallyn]

How did you learn harmor? It seems so overwhelming there's just so many buttons

[@philipmorison7769]

Yesssss Benn!! Perfect description of bro step ! Make me so happy when I hear these comments in fact so happy I had to rewind and hear it again .

[@jecoeur]

Drops r interesting because i think its less often about the drop itself and more about how you set it up beforehand, and also about how you keep the interest rolling. Thats probably why the idea of a "semi drop" before the actual drop is such a powerful idea, cuz u can introduce some simple concepts that get you excited, strip it back a bit, then absolutely slam you with a dramatic reimagination of those simple ideas with the "real" drop. The semi drop also acts as a tool for the dj for mixing purposes, so theres a lot of intent that goes on behind the seemingly straightforward idea of buildup and release, and theres lots of ways of going about it thats not just 8 bar riser into bass

[@jecoeur]

I feel like the drop in the video is rly cool and could maybe have worked better if there were elements from it worked into the previous sections, or if there was a 8/16 bar space to indicate a big switch up was gonna happen

[@devinbelangermusic]

Awesome to see you get out of your comfort zone! Great video as always Benn.

[@DafterHindi]

As someone who's learning to make dubstep atm, I can confirm that dubstep is indeed hard to make

[@WhatWillYouFind]

As an example: People don't give Sonny from Skrillex a lot of credit. He can sing, he is also a capable producer. The thing that made dubstep DROP into the mainstream was the refinement that some of the most popular bands brought to the scene. Bangarang has the guitar rift. The echo and chorus conflicts. Tempo'd and dirty bass reverb. There is a reoccurring motif that each riff or transition into another part of the piece includes duality. It has predictable and yet nasty drum and snare sections that are raw and overtuned but they work because of the mirroring of each part. The thing that also stands out too is that BENN had an amazing introduction section much like skrillex has in some of his songs. The problem occurred because it was disconnected, nothing mirrored or recalled back. There was no conflict or resolution when returning to prior parts. The essence of the drop is there, I actually feel like his DROP was good . . . a bit too clean but it gave me chills. Ironically everything BESIDES the drop needed to be changed? The thing that makes dubstep REAL MUSIC is that it fundamentally in some cases understands the science behind expectations, musical melody and dissonance, and creating an experience as opposed to a product which is why Dubstep became so popular in my opinion . . . it was a refreshing new thing that did a LOT of things right, even if it did assault your ears a bit. :D

[@DafterHindi]

@@WhatWillYouFind well, his never music has been better than ever, and his newer dubs (like tears) do have a consistent vibe. agree with what you said tho.

[@Wam_somp]

Been making dubstep since 2016 and I’ll say now it doesn’t get much easier bahaha

[@markbuckler4793]

I'm a brostep aficionado who loves your work, so thank you! In terms of review I would say that the drop you made is exactly what you described you considered a drop to be in the intro lol. I might suggest introducing additional tension and release within the drop itself, so that it isn't just "lots of sounds all at once" and instead has the sounds play off of each other in a call/response fashion. Seems like Mr. Bill also suggested just doing less. This is awesome, thanks :)

[@Unit27]

I think a very easy trap (hehe) to fall into when making drops is that you focus so much in making the sickest, most intense drop, that you lose sight of its place in the song and its relationship to everything else. For yours, I think the intro of the track with the vocal melody is so strong that I just wanted a bigger, more intense version of it for the drop. When you get something completely unrelated after the build-up, the hype just dies down and you get confusion instead.

[@nsjx]

good call 👍

[@stephengibson848]

agreed, was not really a drop, not connected and never ended, then just randomly jumped back to the great tune you built. also, the rhythm should carry through so the dancing fools can keep moving, too much arhythmic beats (no matter how awesome they sound) are just sounds strung together. brilliant effort and as always really enjoy your humility and opening the doors to tour process 🐥

[@FGCLovesYou]

@@stephengibson848 Agreed - the switch back felt very abrupt, and the rhythm of the drop felt completely disconnected from the rhythm of the first part, such that I noticed myself pause and try to figure out what the new rhythm was. It felt to me like a rhythm that would be fun to dance to (it's probably relevant here that I am a practitioner of what some friends of mine years ago labeled Spastic White Boy Dancing), but difficult to catch when coming from the previous part, whereas I would think you'd want such a rhythm to flow more naturally out of the previous part (and vice-versa).

[@minusED]

Great video! IMDB part finished me:) Cat is also a plus. Insightful conclusions. Thank you!

[@bipedal_earth_roamer]

I was feeling the 4/10. You’ve really shined some light on the art of the drop. In my very limited non-drop making experience, a filter sweep right before the drop goes a long way for the build up. There was something lacking in the drop though. Not enough sub-bass? Idk.

[@Pho7on]

He did a filter sweep but it was like 2 seconds long, followed by a weird kind of drum stutter, then the drop. It was a terrace instead of a cliff of a drop.

[@marmolejomartinezjoseemili9043]

there wasnt enough silence before the drop as well

[@rorymartin4910]

As a dialogue sound editor and post production mixer, may I congratulate you on the cut away to the rain outside to "justify" the sound of rain on the roof! The number of times I've wished editors would do that so that I didn't have to try and denoise the sync dialogue is ridiculous! By having that one cutaway shot allows the viewer to "accept" that background "noise"

[@McIntosh.R]

That audio visualiser looks amazing, what is it? And can us mere mortals obtain it

[@olivejun6641]

This is such a highlight of your channel! Really appreciate your vulnerability and stories

[@tim3line]

Mr. Bill is easily my favorite artist atm and I've been binging your stuff lately too. This is GREAT

[@MrBillsTunes]

ay ty

[@renegade43]

half the bass sounds in the drop and some carryover continuity would have tied it all together . valiant effort, thank you!

[@LukeLendrum]

I rate the video 10/10 The drop though honestly 2/10 It kinda felt like someone doing something they don’t love, like a forced school project, which in a feeling driven genre is the kiss of death. Felt a little rushed and a bit throwaway. All way better than I can make though, obviously. Mr Bill is an all time fave for me and his collab with Virtual Riot, Thwek!, which is only on Soundcloud is maybe my favourite piece of EDM ever.

[@stellar_cartographer]

Awesome video Benn! I honestly like how the track came out. But most of all, this video inspired and reminded me that I really need to get back to stepping out of my comfort zone. My favorite aspect about your drop is it sounds like nothing else out there, with your blending of influences and genres. It honestly leans more innovative and uniquely creative vs an imitation; and for that I really enjoy it

[@apparenthorizon935]

man that practice drop kinda gives off old uk dubstep vibes but with modern sound design, i kinda like it

[@tjwillson]

would be super cool to see you get in the studio with Au5. he has extremely technical knowledge you would appreciate for the engineering side, but also manages to be extremely expressive with instrumentation and song structure.

[@MiDnYTe25]

I really felt the same way about your drop as Mr. Bill, although to me it's closer to a 3/10. I can feel the insecurity in sound design and selection, which , with your IDM background, is really reasonable. Kinda reminded me of early KZbin dubstep "remixes" with lots of wubs just thrown together, haha. The effort you put in it, on the other hand, is definitely commendable.

[@DerekRobertsteig]

When I saw this video pop out, I knew it'd be a good one. Always cool to see you branching out and doing the new things! :) Cheers, it was a fun watch! The drop was alright too, I guess. I'm gonna "Fantano" it at a "Decent 5"

[@DecibelMasher]

It was one of the drops of all time. The video was fantastic and a pleasant surprise considering previous promises to never make dubstep.

[@nicktefft6225]

I really love seeing you actually using FL and doing weird stuff in the DAW, I learned more from that FL21 video than in most tutorials

[@X-101]

nonononono the drop comes from Reggae dub versions the producer would drop the beat and while pushing up the feedback knob on a echo let it tail off and then bring the beat in AND it was big in Jungle/DnB before UK Garage(which was basically people who outgrew jungle and started making house produced like a jungle track...) it had nothing to do with any US style of music

[@yeshello2528]

true, true

[@yeshello2528]

there was a lot of missing from this vid, which is... well, typical for US.

[@notflanders4967]

I've been listening to electronic music for over 20 years and dub-step for over 15 years. I've been producing music for about 10 years. On the surface, or the outside, it seems so simple.. There's been countless times that I've heared a song and thought "I could do that, easy!" Then to sit down and try to emulate it while doing your own thing is a whole different story. I feel you on this one. It's oddly difficult to make everything jive. I find I get the best results when I stop striving for something, and just push through til I have something. BUT, like you did, I always end up with something that isn't quite the style I thought I was shooting for. Although typically I'm still impressed with what I was able to create, even though, once again, it wasn't dubstep lol. Thanks for sharing! Id give it a 6/10!

[@rowlz2507]

Dope video, nice to see someone who doesn’t think modern dubstep is the worst thing that’s ever happened to the world. It’s not like zomboy took burial out back and shot him, both styles can coexist fine

[@MisterMajister]

Off topic, but just wanted to say that after watching your videos for a while (they're great!) I recently started listening to The Flashbulb and I absolutely love it... You are so god damn talented. I work with software development and tend to only listen to instrumental music (often game OSTs since it's kind of designed to make you focus on what you do) and your albums are basically the only thing I listen to atm. Keep up the brilliant work you're doing!

[@harrytuttle5810]

A drop can be as simple as just sub bass coming in with no bells and whistles and over the top build ups , just sub giving the movement and energy. Thats the best kind of drop imo like in lots of dub music.

[@yfactorx1082]

I feel it was sick, a Ben Jordan twist. That song was amazing . First time I heard your music, the intro was very beautiful And the drop had surprise, like no vocal chop to introduce the drop, I could totally tell that was by design, how the drop came in , as far as timing was all surprising and by design. Stay inspired bro you got skills

[@nickonfaith_music129]

I actually loved the practice drop, all that glitchy, resonancey and rhythmically interesting feedback sounded very cool. Would love to hear a more polished version of that type of sound. Real drop was cool as well but same sentiments as everyone else, a bit disconnected from the prior music. Am not a dubstep producer,/ much of a dubstep listener, but definitely appreciate Mr Bill's artistry, his sound design absolutley blows my mind!

[@nickonfaith_music129]

by practice drop I mean the one that comes in 5.57

[@oninoodle7916]

That’s the thing. You gotta feel it in your soul, you gotta make something that will get you excited and bang your head.

[@SendyTheEndless]

I've always preferred the drops in more jungle/d+b style music. Often a long pre-drop amble to let the baseline groove set in (not the bass line lol), sometimes even a bit of teasing with multiple stages of drop (deceptive drops) where a new beat might enter, only to fade away and come back twice as mean, then hit with the heavy sub-bass when extectations are stretched. Funnily enough the people I knew in the 90s called that "when the tune kicks off" because the term drop came a little later... Then there'd often be a second drop, more syncopated and with a different accent on the rhythms. That said I'm sure I'll learn something valuable in this video!

[@MutleeIsTheAntiGod]

I'd love to see a "how to" mini video on your automation process in FL studio. The video was great and the Mr.Bill story was amazing, worth the build up itself.

[@unclemick-synths]

Kudos at having a try! Most art forms turn out to be not so easy when one actually makes an attempt. I've seen many people attempt Jackson Pollock paintings but there's always something essential missing.

[@SinfulCreature]

Awesome video, Benn. I rate your drop a 6/10! It wasn't bad by any means and was enjoyable to listen to, but it felt less like a bass drop and almost like a drum solo? When I think of a drop I think of a portion of a song that changes tone on a dime but can be faded, transitioned or otherwise blend harmonically back to what the song was prior to the drop occurring for a more cohesive listening experience. As someone who is horrible at making music but slowly learning themselves it was very cool to see the process, thanks for sharing!

[@CardfightVanja]

"Harmor is nuts.... Harmor is crazy" - I've used it on nearly everything I've made for like a decade and I still sit back and have those moments constantly. Fun video!

[@NicStage]

I'd give the drop 3/10. You got the night notes!

[@duositex]

The video is fantastic but the drop is a 5/10. You had some amazing things happening melodically from the vocal sample, but I found myself disappointed that none of that harmonic content was present in the drop. It was like smelling a cup of very good coffee, then taking a sip and finding out it tasted like Mountain Dew.

[@SendyTheEndless]

I liked your drop by the way. I can see what Bill is saying, it's definitely an IDM drop. That's probably why I like it : )) I did find the transition back to the regular beat could have been stretched out over 16 bars or so, it felt a bit sudden, but I liked how jarring going into the drop was. It also needed more subs I guess.

[@BillTribble]

Forgot jungle / D&B in your history section? Endless drops for years before dubstep!

[@kevinlasher2812]

2:55 As a self-proclaimed "dubstep hipster" who "liked it before it got mainstream" in the US, it's alright and you're not wrong. It seems that once a major industry corporate player gets ahold of something new, it goes through a sort of "junk food-ification" and that's absolutely what a lot of it sounded like - baby music for big lost boys. I'm excited to see how y'all blend your EDM signature style with my guilty pleasure, obnoxious dubstep and industrial bass. edit: okay you know i love you but that first drop needs work but I'm so happy you tried

[@swarm69]

man your practice drop was great, its definitely how I imagine a flashbulb drop sounding...kinda glitchy! and yes harmour is CRAZY!

[@Dan-ms4oq]

I'd love to hear your take on the modern UK garage sounds, there's been a huge wave of very technical drum patterns combined with the familiar rhythms that defines the genre.

[@sentinusdeus]

Do you have any recommendations for modern UK garage producers? I love all the old stuff, but I would love some pointers on who currently produces the good stuff

[@jasonmacfarlund2703]

​@@sentinusdeusI think conducta's recent BBC Radio 1 essential mix is a good place to start, but idk what OP is specifically referring to.

[@voynich7825]

@@sentinusdeus Conducta, Sammy Virji, Interplanetary Criminal, Main Phase, the previous two together as "ATW", Bailey Ibbs, Ell Murphy, Cortese, Chavinski (aka Coco Bryce), Bakey, Breaka. These are my current UKG favs

[@deezuschrist]

A big thing you're missing about the drop, which makes it somewhat easier to compose, is the 'call' and 'response' component. Most successful dubstep producers use this structure. Skrillex is particularly good at this. There will sometimes even be calls and responses within the call and response. This is what makes it 'catchy' and have a consistent rhythm and pattern. It's not just a bunch of random noises. And then you can have fun with fills after every 4 bars or whatever too...which can either be classic drum fills or just weird glitchy sounds or vocals, and those help maintain interest and keep the hype going, as you switch up or build on the previous call and response after each fill.

[@Godzilla_Star_Eater]

But hay. Call and response between different synth patches is just an audio carousel like different farm animals on a kids toy! These takes on brostep are so easily debunked. Neurofunk does it too, yet never gets criticised. And it sounds nothing like baby music when most of it is in the same scales as METAL - Phrygian dominant scale, minor pentonic, harmonic minor, double harmonic minor, etc

[@Godzilla_Star_Eater]

Learning about music can change how much you like it. I used to think that breakcore sounded like meaningless random aounds. But then I saw a video edit using that music to represent cyberpsychosis in cyberpunk 2077 and it fit perfectly and sounded really cool.

[@MrShay2077]

Mr. Bill was pretty accurate in his score imo. I also gave it a 4/10. Musically, I think your style is closer to someone like Kaskade or more chill step artists. Maybe looking into those types of artists for drop inspirations would give you a better direction to include drops into your style of music going forward if you so choose.

[@MG-jn6vl]

Nice to see another fellow N. Georgian. I really enjoy your channel. Just found it recently.

[@stephenrodgers9698]

Maybe I'm just a huge IDM fan but that drop gave me more dopamine than any EDM ive ever heard

[@julianingle6856]

I'd love to hear a song length version of the practice drop! The reverby sfx chord into the drop sounded so clean and other worldly

[@intranexine8901]

As someone who makes "aggro dubstep" (lol) as a hobby, I think I have some insight on what went wrong with yours, cuz I literally laughed out loud at it, it's like all the things I have stuggled with myself in the last years knocked you over the head at once, and you have no idea how to deal with this stuff. Here's some thoughts from me, take them with a grain of salt: 1. Do the drop before the buildup. The buildup isn't just a way to build tension, it is a transition, if you have a more melodic part before the drop, you need to transition toward the more agressive atonal stuff that you'll have in the drop during the buildup, without spoiling the energy. At 13:30 Mr. Bill correctly assessed that your buildup wasn't really transitioning to new ideas, but just building up tension toward a bigger/heavier version of the ideas before the drop. You essentially wrote in a circle and that's why the drop ended up disappointing. 2. There is theory behind the madness, most of us just do it on instinct, having heard a lot of Dubstep and knowing what sounds good, but if you want some names to the concepts at play, look into "Hocketing" (Adam Needly has a video on it) and the concept of "Tonecolour Melody" (or "Klangfarbenfmelodie" in the original german). 3. At 16:35 you say that it would make your music more methodical, as a proof to the contrary I would raise you: Camellia, a japanese electronic producer that is most certainly not predictable, but uses builds and drops in insanely creative ways. If you bind yourself to the classic "intro - buildup - drop - bridge - buildup - drop" structure it's of course going to be formulaic, but drops can do more then that standart procedure. Concepts like fakeouts and double drops come to mind, it's a tool like any other and can be used more or less creatively based on the user. 4. The calm pad under the drop weakens it a lot, if you want a crazy energetic drop, you need a crazy energetic backdrop, hocketing comes to mind again, fast arps, alarm sirens, screechy sustains or highpassed riddim chuggs, crowd noise, chants, whatever it takes. Those pads would work for Melodub, but not for brostep, they kinda undermine the mood. Otherwhise you could also try and make a more chill drop, those exist (but let's be fair, they're boring :P) 5. You seem to like more melodic/harmonic music, look into Colourbass sounddesign for a kind of Dubstep drop, that might be more to your taste and fit your style better. 6. Make yourself a fatrack, a kind of default processing chain consisting of mostly Compression and Saturation (for starters just use a default OTT followed by a CamelCrusher on the "british clean" preset), and make a habit of putting it on the channel before you even start sound design in the synth, so you make sounddesign decisions based on what's interesting, not just what's louder and brighter, because it's already loud and bright enough by default. This is the secret to Dubstep's agressive sound.This sounds like a joke but funnily enough, it's not: If in doubt , just add more OTTs, and if the sub gets muddy, highpass and layer with a separate sub synth. Virtual Riot and Au5 make great tutorials on all things sounddesign, when in doubt, they know. I would highly recommend you try and really experiment with this concept a bit more, because there's a world of music out there to be explored with drops, it's just a range of emotions that are hard to express any other way, and it limits your palette to not use them at all. Here are some personal listening recommendations so you see kind of the different directions that modern Dubstep and Drops can take: "The Living Proof - Control" a prime example of modern Brostep that incorporates both heavie and melodic chops interspersed. "Virtual Riot - In My Head ft. PRXZM (Panda Eyes Remix)" Melodic but Heavie, I've cried to this track 10/10. Also it's got an interesting drop structure that is fairly uncommon. "Convexity - Displacement" this one's jazzy as hell, Dubstep has quite the range and this one features some surprisingly harmonic dubstep noises, not any less crazy though. "MARAUDA - AVOIDABLE CAUSE" here's the opposite extreme, just heavieness no harmony, pure tonecolour melody, Tearout Dubstep at it's best 🔥 "かめりあ feat. かめりあ - 灰の羽搏" not that much dubstep in this one but Camellia sure knows how to drop it in a million different ways, this guy is painting with ALL the colours at once. hope I could convince you of giving Drops another chance, good luck with your musical explorations, have fun ✨

[@iustingalea1547]

A well diserved 5! Maybe 5.5. The dedication and the skill specially in Fl Studio is remarkable. I started as well in the late 90 with Fruity and finally decided about 3 years ago to move on Cubase. I make me consider open FL again!

[@aaronocelot]

what I feel practice drop (the whole thing around 6:00) really needs is a part of each bar where it unleashes, everything is held back with these staccato bursts, and you have the right instinct there with twiddling them around, but they need to either alternate with another very brutally open sound, or feature that same sound with a differing envelope such that it sings out a bit... it can't be choked the whole time, it's like sliding a decay controller back and forth manually or with an LFO would do the trick. that would give it a more authentic vibe, IMO

[@cornbone]

I've been having a really rough time with imposter syndrome lately and this honestly really helped. artists don't usually show the work they aren't happy with, so it makes it seem like everyone is basically perfect.

[@StevenMaff]

i love how no matter what you try, the aphex twin inside of you shines through

[@PettenVeevo]

nice take on it! It is so nice to see a deep dive from a pro american producer point of view into something that we brits kinda grew up and grew into!

[@stephenharvey3400]

I thought Bill was generous. I have never heard two disparate sections of music bolted together so poorly - I guess it was in time though... the fact that you had a countdown so we didn't miss it was extremely funny.

[@Rivalofficial]

10/10 for creativity, there's no way I could dance to it or remember it at all though haha

[@lightweissdnb]

I kinda agree with the less note in dubstep/bass music concept, and I think the reason for that mainly bc the bass music producer tend to design their bass with amount of overtones harmonically, and also I would like to point out that for bass music producers, it normally requires a lot of music theory as well(for good producers), and the reason behind that is they have to make sure the sound that they create did actually fit with the content, and that’s really difficult to get. Other than that, really good vids, I truly enjoy the track you made, big up mate!

[@azido]

love your stuff Ben! had no idea Slicex had it's own p-roll like FPC.

[@Whally]

I have loved a big amount of your tracks. I think you are bad trying to do what other do. Your IDM, piano wibe, incredible sound design are excellent. Anyway, great video. 👌

[@marstedt]

I appreciate your non-profit drop. I value and adore your content, channel and spirit. Thank you.

[@OperculumAudio]

Dope! Vid collab with Mr. Bill and his insights and explanations. Awesome video Benn!

[@EL_Aura]

I'm sitting at 5:23 and honestly I think the 2007 uk bass drop could work in a different way, more like a fake drop? could "drop" into that but then redrop into the more american style or whichever works more in current times?

[@bartekglinski2665]

I was pretty surprised that you didn't mention about classical music in context of drops and tention. Great video 🎉

[@shongbrl]

ngl I LOVE THIS VIDEO other than people in their mid 20s like me, working on basses and sound design- its soothing to watch someone like Benn working on dubsteppppp!

[@tverdyznaqs]

Man, this was so interesting! It felt like listening to a drop made by someone who isn't sincerely a lover of drop-heavy music, like you're following a trend without fully understanding its core appeal. Except the trend is from like 10 years ago when everyone was going crazy over skrillex. I mean, clearly you put tons and tons of effort into this, but it felt needlessly complicated, especially in the context of the rest of the track, it just felt like a part from a different song spliced in the middle, with a completely different feel and rhythm and no relation to what was happening up to that point These are, of course, the exact same pitfalls I remember myself falling down as a 16 y'old aspiring dubstep producer with no prior experience and it is actually incredible to see someone like you make these same mistakes in spite of all your technical experience and knowledge. So far I've been really harsh, but I actually gained even more respect for you as an artist because it takes some real balls to come out and publicly eat shit like this, genuinely. Like there's real craftsmanship involved in a bass drop arrangement, lots of little tricks and techniques that can require years to learn and practice and it isn't just playing sounds at random like most people seem to believe. Thank you so much for making this video, watching an artist I love and respect, failing at bass music basics I learned years agovthrough youtube tutorials as a dumbass teenager gave me a huge confidence boost. All electronic musicians are exploring this craft in their own unique ways and this incredible diversity in approach should be embraced and celebrated

[@slimyelow]

The drop releases an ambush wave of serotonin while the mdma is already kickin' in full force. - it is the best feelin' ever

[@walkernotte3019]

Not sure about the little jungle amen at the drop 😂 but i respect the idea and admire your sound design/musicianship. Ive been a fan of this youtube channel for a long time now and its awesome to see you and Mr. Bill's workin on stuff togethrr. His tutorials helped me in my early production in 2010-11