Future bass is a style of electronic dance music which developed in the 2010s that mixes elements of dubstep and EDM trap with warmer, less abrasive rhythms.
History
The genre was pioneered by Scottish producers
Rustie and
Hudson Mohawke, 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 of 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
Mix automation or low-frequency oscillation controlling the cutoff of an
audio filter (typically a
Low-pass filter or
High-pass filter 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, vocal chops, or
vocoders.
Tracks commonly feature a time signature with Tempo set between 130BPM to 175BPM.
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
, 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 extended play
Kirara in 2015.
J-future core
J-future core (also known simply as Future core), refers to hardcore styles mixed with melodic content and the characteristic sound design of future bass.
Its name comes from the "FÜGENE" compilation album on SoundCloud in the first half of 2017.
Often,
chiptune sounds, active square waves, edited vocals, samples from future bass and hardcore, percussion instruments, make the genre sounds more like a Future products. The compilation led some music producers from Japan to recognize it as a new musical genre.
See also
