Future Bass
Future bass is an umbrella term for a genre or technique in electronic dance music emphasizing modulated synthesizer bass sounds. The genre was brought to mainstream by Flume, Lido, Wave Racer, and Cashmere Cat and was popularized in the mid-2010s by artists like Louis the Child, Marshmello, Martin Garrix, Mura Masa and San Holo. 2016 was seen as the breakout year for the genre.
History[edit]
Future bass's roots can be traced back to Burial's self-titled album, released in 2006. The genre was pioneered by Rustie, Hudson Mohawke & RL Grime, who began producing future bass tracks in 2010. One of the first popularity-fueling releases in the genre was Rustie album Glass Swords, released in 2011. Later, in 2013, the Flume remix for Disclosure's song You & Mebrought the genre into the mainstream, and future bass became popular in the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, China, Korea and Australia.
Characteristics[edit]
The sound waves are often modulated using automation or low-frequency oscillation controlling the cutoff of an audio filter (typically a low- or high-pass filter), or the wave's amplitude, to adjust the waveform (to create a ‘wobbly’ effect on its parameters). In addition, it is common to utilize a somewhat "twinkly"-sounding gradual rise in pitch during "risers" (pre-drop buildups of white noise), and arpeggio chords, vocal chops or vocoders. Future bass tracks with mainstream pop influences often use supersaw chords, while underground tracks tend to experiment, blending real instruments into the songs and using many different sounds.
Sub-genres[edit]
Kawaii future bass[edit]
Kawaii future bass, also known as simply kawaii bass, is a subgenre of future bass, known for its happy and cute timbre and strong Japanese pop culture influences. Often, chiptune sounds, soft square waves, anime samples, percussion instruments, and door and bed squeaks are used. Hyper Potions, Aiobahn, Snail's House, and other producers have produced tracks of this subgenre, with the latter being credited as the pioneer for the genre after releasing an album in 2015.
Artists and producers[edit]
- Alison Wonderland
- Cashmere Cat
- Conro
- Diplo
- Flume
- Flux Pavilion
- Grandtheft
- Gryffin
- Hudson Mohawke
- Illenium
- James Blake
- K?d
- Krane
- Krewella
- Lido
- Louis the Child
- Madeon
- Marshmello
- Martin Garrix
- Mura Masa
- Mustard
- Nghtmre
- Odesza
- Ookay
- Porter Robinson
- R3hab
- RL Grime
- Rustie
- Said The Sky
- San Holo
- Slander
- The Chainsmokers
- Wave Racer
- What So Not
- Whethan
See also[edit]
- List of future bass songs
- List of future bass albums and extended plays
