Operation: GROW COLOUR BASS
Posted 13/10/24
I recently posted a poll on Twitter and Instagram Stories about what is holding Colour Bass back from being a more mainstream success in the wider bass music scene. Here I’d like to discuss the results and what we can do as artists to guide this style of music towards gaining more success.
Thanks to everyone for the huge response on this!
The consensus seems to be that all the factors I mentioned are at play to some degree with the strongest emphasis on tracks not standing the test of time. Interestingly the point about people wanting darker bass music gained more votes on Instagram but that could be because the phrasing between the two polls was altered due to character limits and so might have been interpreted differently.
Here are the points I mentioned with ways they can be improved upon based on the feedback:
“Overly complex / syncopated” + “Too much emphasis on sound design”
Complex sound design and rhythms give the listener plenty to chew on when listening outside of a live context and help to make tracks much more replay-able as they provide more detail to pick out on repeat listens. The problem is that this hinders the experience on a first listen which is extremely important for the overall popularity and live playout potential of a track. An over-abundance of new sounds can also feel overwhelming and can come at you too fast to be fully appreciated.
Solution: Simpler rhythms and fewer bass sounds really help a crowd lock into the groove of a track and can help boost the earworm factor when paired with a strong riff.
“People want heavier / darker bass music”
It’s true that generally most people associate bass music with a darker vibe overall as it fits well with the “weight” the genre brings to the table. Although a brighter vibe can be popular too, it’s often paired with much more of a song-writing focus (like in most modern melodic dubstep). Colour Bass sits at an interesting point between these two worlds but depending on how it’s put together in can either compliment both sides or become a confusing mix. I wouldn’t rule out brighter sounding tunes entirely but I do think a darker tone for instrumental tracks could help the genre slot into the wider scene more seamlessly. I imagine those looking for heavy bass would be put off by seemingly contrasting twinkly sounds.
Solution: Vocal features can help draw in fans from the melodic dubstep side to complement brighter tracks. Leaning a little darker on more sound design-focused tracks can help make the sub-genre more appealing to bass heads.
“Not enough songwriting / memorable melodies” (forgettable tracks)
This is the biggest point by far with 41% of the vote on Twitter. Colour Bass is in a unique position to benefit from both ace sound design and strong musicality in one package but unfortunately a lot of tracks don’t work to the benefit of both of these aspects. Most Colour Bass tunes play with harmony a ton but fail to provide a solid melody alongside it. This can result in a track that “feels” melodic without containing any actual melodies to latch onto - therefore ending up quite hollow overall.
Solution: Harness the unique position of the sub-genre by showcasing strong melodies, riffs and vocal ideas at the forefront of drops while supporting them with cool sound design. Specific rhythms can also take the place of a riff (see: SVDDEN DEATH - Behemoth). Expand on the precedent set by tracks like: Skybreak - Waterfall, Ace Aura - Rise, Ximm - False, Paper Skies - Spirit Tell Me. We need more tracks that can be easily recognised through humming the main melody / riff to another in person.
Here are some other points made in the comments of the poll that I think are important:
“Marketing / branding from the artist”
More can be done to promote releases overall AND develop personal brands for each artist in our corner of the scene.
Solution: A more visible presence on socials that doesn’t feel fake or targeted exclusively to headbangers is needed. Unique story-telling and theming is something that can work really well with our style - this should be emphasised to create unique campaigns for each release. Paper Skies’ album launch and the “Terminal” music video from Skybreak & SpaceYeti are great examples of this.
“More vocal features”
Many Colour Bass tunes are instrumentals and so fail to tap into the wider audience looking for strong vocal performances. Many people even within the EDM scene won’t listen to music without vocals or rather are much more focused on vocals & lyrics than sound design.
Solution: Umm yeah fairly obvious - include more vocal features. Turning our tracks into “songs” can hugely help with memorability and boosting our appeal in both the live environment and streaming. Even more sound design-focused tracks could benefit from including short and simple vocal integrations from Splice or self-recorded etc. For example, think how differently a track like Oliverse - Get High would have performed without the vocal inclusion.
“Colour Bass as a term can be constricting”
Several artists in our crew have felt constrained by being grouped in and labelled as a “Colour Bass artist” and therefore feel pressured to make music that conforms to this style. This is certainly not conducive to creativity and so should definitely be addressed.
Solution: Take a looser approach to creativity in music production. The best tunes in this style aren’t going to come from sitting down to specifically write a Colour Bass track. Rather those constraints should be expanded to involve a whole host of musical styles within bass music that combines by heavy and more musical elements. This includes: removing any internal restraints of tempo, combinations of other sub-genres and styles, incorporation of anything “outside of what might be considered Colour Bass”. Ultimately the movement is all about keeping fun and creative bass music alive whether it be future-facing or bringing important elements back from Dubstep’s past eras.
Further to the points mentioned in the poll, here are some negative ideas floating around the sub-genre that we could work to change:
“Colour Bass is a gimmick / all sounds the same”
Some people see Colour Bass sound design as a gimmick and that it’s actually “(insert other sub-genre) with Pitchmap” or similar comments. This is largely true in the case of many producers embarking on the genre and even some more established artists. There’s always going to be this aspect of the sub-genre in the same way we saw a ton of “Terror Squad-like” tracks following Zomboy’s success post-2013.
I think though that us more established artists in the scene need to lead by example to help reduce this negative aspect of our work. Colour Bass can be so much more than “colourising” bass sounds - the original intention of the term was developed to incorporate everything that sits in the large spectrum between the islands of melodic and heavy bass music even before many of the new sound design techniques were developed.
Solution: De-emphasise the prominence of overused colour sound design techniques to focus on the wider picture of what can be offered by the sub-genre. Use these techniques tastefully and more naturally so the blending feels seamless rather than slapping Pitchmap, Chroma etc. on and calling it a day. To combat the “samey” claims, we should work on developing our own signature styles in different directions from each other to expand the scope of the style and become easily distinguishable from each other. We’re already making good moves on this - Ace Aura with heavier, Briddim-flavoured tunes, Skybreak incorporating some UK vibes, Kaval developing a Tearout-inspired sound, Convexity with their Jazz-influence and darker tones, KERO with a fresh, almost more Pop-ish take etc.
“Colour Bass is ONLY for: gamers, furries, other producers, rhythm game enthusiasts etc.”
As of right now there is a perception that Colour Bass is specifically targeted towards the “chronically online” - one that could be off-putting to the more extraverted, neurotypical show-goers of the scene along with the promoters and agents working to cater towards them.
It’s true for sure that a lot of us producers fall into these categories ourselves of online gamer, neurodivergent and queer communities and so naturally connect most readily with fans of the same groups. This is by no means something I wish to change entirely since it has resulted in such a welcoming and unique community around our music. However I do think there are some tweaks we can make to open up this circle to a wider audience.
Solution: Work to integrate more show-goers into our audience with all the above-mentioned changes to the music. Spread awareness and acceptance in our online presence to ensure we foster a safe and welcoming community in the live environment. This will have the added benefit of making our more “online” audience more comfortable attending shows. Recognise the parts of the Venn diagram we might be missing - there are ravers / wooks / headbangers that we may not initially connect to that might still enjoy Colour Bass. We should work to welcome them too.
“Colour Bass doesn’t go hard live”
This is a tough one to change since it depends on the opportunities that are given to us as artists based on our sub-genre’s overall success.
Solution: Take every live show as an opportunity to prove this wrong. Capture and share footage to socials that show how mad and fun a Colour Bass set can be. Work on everything else mentioned here to increase these future opportunities.
That basically wraps up my thoughts at the moment! I’ve been thinking a lot about this because ultimately I’d love to foster support for all the younger producers looking to get into making this style with a view to creating a sustainable career in music production. I really think that should be our overall goal - get us many of us into a position to call ourselves full-time music producers and support those making incredible new music for the love of the craft.
I’m currently working to shift my own work into this direction as much as possible and I’m excited to have more of these kinds of Chime tracks release through into 2025! 💙