Music Post Disclaimer: You might try that outside your home, but please use headphones with bass, as for the last music posts.
Besides the cheese and the music, Colombia is a very diverse country. I understand why people like latin american music that much, for its cheery vibe, countless sub-genres and all those sexy hip-shaking dancers. Still, that kind of music doesn’t really kick my ass so I prefer practicing the dance as such instead of listening to the music too often. Wandering around the city continuously exposes you to latin beats, during lunch, coffee break, while shopping, chatting and resting in a park. To some degree, it makes sense assuming that this is part of the South American culture, as electronic pop music is in Europe.

I asked some people about their personal taste of music here and so far, there were only two groups of people: Those who care for music and those who don’t. The former listens to a lot of different music, naturally biased by their personal preference. The latter just listens to what those few billion radios on the street spit out everyday. There are some exceptions, especially in the first group. Being too late for the night bus (and unwilling to wait for another hour just to get home), I encountered a metal-loving Uber driver. I immediately told him how relieving that shot of different music is for me and he was quite happy, turning up the volume in response. He said that his car is the only place where he can just listen to what he likes to listen to and that he got bored by random latin american music.
Speaking of personal bias, I was surprised how many people know and like Drum and Bass here. For me, it hasn’t been like that all the time and I’ve been pretty preoccupied regarding music long ago, even getting upset and personally offended when listening to music I absolutely don’t enjoy. That changed and opened some doors to other kinds of music and me making some delightful discoveries along the way. One of those discoveries is Dubstep, up to the present day not very likely to ever become one of my favorites.
What I do like a lot in electronic music is the concept of a drop. More or less slowly, the songs builds up to a certain bass-heavy moment, finally loosening the brakes and releasing the joy promised before in a ear-warming wave of danceable noise. Usually, that wave is exciting and uplifting, even in Dark Drum and Bass. Not in Dubstep though! It sounds like a modern shiny rocket preparing for launch, wildly blinking, swooshing, steaming, being ready to lift off and then, eventually … tipping over. Like cheese from the southern caribbean coast watering your mouth, smelly enough to expect taste, but leaving you with just plain salt.
During the last two decades, Dubstep first popped up and then kept contaminating video game footage, clubs and cars with Non-Drops. Yet, there’s a particular element in Dubstep which is to my taste: Salt. I mean, Drama. A good ingredient for movies and games, telling hero tales and stories of challenging encounters like operas do, but using synthesizers and sounds from 80s computer hacker movies. Good to hear that classic opera and video game score finally found its way into low frequencies, increasing its musical influence even more.
There are songs which feature more of that drama than usual, at the same time slightly shifting the default Dubstep syncopation to Breakbeat or Drum and Bass. I still remember the first song that convinced me to try another dish:

• Noisestorm – Breakdown VIP

The drop is less energetic compared to Drum and Bass but the marvelous intro and interlude make up for that. Intros in all those songs are usually longer, lasting from 45 seconds to 2 minutes and are apocalyptically satisfying.

Altogether, I call it: Dramastep.

Next, a song that you probably already know since it’s being played a lot in dance clubs since the late 90s. The transition between buildup and release is very smooth but there’s definitely a hard drop after the interlude:

• Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up

A special piece of Dramastep, sounding like someone won the battle already:

• The Fat Rat – Xenogenesis

Terravitas album “Gunpowder” includes three explosive pieces of victory fanfare:

• Terravita – Gunpowder
• Terravita – Blaze With Me
• Terravita – My Name

Quite cheery and a bit faster:

• Pegboard Nerds – Swamp Thing
• Tokyo Machine – Fight
• Omnitica – Omniverse
• Knife Party – Battle Sirens
• James Egbert – Jettison

If you like the Battle Beat in “Fight” and don’t mind missing intros, try:

• Borderlands OST – Burning Rubber and Shooting Bullets

Meant for virtual snowboarding and one of the few Camo & Crooked songs with a pinch of dubstep:

• Camo & Crooked – Heat

Another video game song for the final round:

• Rogue – Fury

Very intense and a bit mysterious, leaving enough room to breathe between the drops:

• Psychic Type – Indigo Plateau
• Psychic Type & Going Quantum – Rare

Smooth Dramastep from Noisestorm and a few other artists:

• Noisestorm – Sentinel
• Noisestorm – Heist
• Noisestorm – Barracuda
• Jordon Schor – Comin’ Back
• Slips & Slurs – Divided
• Axel Boy – 3rd Degree
• Axel Boy – Raw to the Floor
• Rusko – Everyday (Netsky Remix)

Slightly aggressive electronic Hip Hop:

• Jumpa & Reddy Roc – Yallah
• Excision & Pegboard Nerds – Bring The Madness
• Skrillex & Sirah – Kyoto
• Apashe – Kung Fu (ill.GATES Remix)
• HiClass Weapon – Real Revolution

Arab influences are always giving a mysterious touch to a song, trapping your feet stomping on the sandy ground and spawning cool sunglasses with red LED backlights on people’s heads:

• Mantis – Anubis
• Audial – Arabian Riches
• Bad Catholics – Astapor
• Desert Trap Mix

At last, if you are more into pure Dubstep, don’t despair:

• Ylvis – Someone Like Me

I’m joking here, it’s Dramastep again. Adiós!