Future bass is an umbrella term of electronic dance music mixed with bass music, it originated in the 2010s.
It can be described as music that "takes the ecstatic drops of dubstep or trap, but provides a warm bounce rather than a lumbering bruteness.
Basslines are provided by harsh, detuned synths that buzz and purr instead of gulp and whomp."
The genre was pioneered by producers such as Flume, Lido, San Holo and Cashmere Cat, and it was popularised in the mid to late-2010s by artists such as Martin Garrix, Illenium, Louis the Child and Mura Masa.
2016 was seen as the breakout year for the genre.
History
The genre was pioneered by Scottish producers Rustie and Hudson Mohawke and American producer RL Grime, who began producing future bass tracks in 2010.
One of the first popularity-fueling releases in the genre was Rustie's album Glass Swords, released in 2011.
Later, in 2013, the Flume remix for Disclosure's song You & Me brought the genre into the mainstream, and through the mid-2010s future bass became popular in the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, China, Korea and Australia.
Characteristics
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" (gradual pre-drop buildups of white noise), and arpeggio chords, vocal chops, or vocoders.
Subgenres
Kawaii future bass
Kawaii future bass (also known simply as 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, samples from anime or video games, percussion instruments, and door and bed squeaks are incorporated into such songs.
Snail's House and other producers have produced tracks of this subgenre, with the former being credited as the genre pioneer after releasing the album Kirara EP in 2015.
See also
List of future bass songs
List of future bass albums and extended plays
References
