Anarchy in a clockwork universe: August 2013

*Note: All photographs are property of the respective photographers. No infringement of copyright intended and has been used to showcase examples. Cheers!

It's been a while since my last blog post and the reason for that is that I take my time to write a piece. I contemplate on the topic for days to let it brew ideas in my head, finally coming up with something that's hopefully not trash. For this one, I've been meaning to write for a while now so I finally thought I'd give it a go. So, without wasting any more blog space, let's get straight to it, shall we?

If my title didn't give it away, this post is about skanking and the numerous things related to it. What is skanking you say? Skank or skanking is a form of dance which has its roots in ska and reggae music originally, dating back to the 1960s. It is closely associated to the Jamaican culture and the music but due to musical renaissance, the dance has been adopted and modified by listeners of different kinds of music. Skanking has been around for quite a while and it has evolved with ska, punk, reggae, jungle, two step and in recent times, dubstep and drum and bass music. My post will be specifically about skanking to dubstep and drum and bass music and how I've seen them in different raves in London. Skanking to bass music can mean a number of things: it can mean just feeling the beat and dancing to it, getting into moshpits or simply jumping around with your arms swinging around. Before writing this post, I've Googled quite a bit to find stuff on skanking to bass music but didn't find much except for the roots of the dance so I thought I'd have a go at it from what I've experienced. Since I've discovered bass music in London in 2012, I have been really fascinated about the underground music culture, the artists, the clubs and the scene. So this post is for people who wonder how to respond to bass music and what to do when a tune nears its drop.

I've heard people say that bass music sounds like robots having sex and that it's difficult to dance to. All I have to say to them is that you should go experience this music in a club where it gets really sweaty and heady. Just feel the beat and the moves will come to you naturally. If it still doesn't, here's my take on skanking.

Elements of skanking

Bass face: As stand up comedian Russell Peters once said, what is a cum face? It's the face that you make when you cum. Similarly, a bass face is a face that you make when you know a tune is going to drop hard and heavy. I know it sounds silly but it'll come to you eventually.

Martin from Noisia making his bass face.

Fingers pointing like a gun: This gesture is an absolute essential in dubstep and DNB music! You can't move around to these genres of music without having two of your fingers swinging in the air.

Mates skanking hard at cable.

Hand gestures when a drop comes: Another hand gesture to do when you are anticipating a heavy drop in a tune. It's like when you are holding something heavy, carrying all that weight and then when the drop comes, you drop it. It's that simple.

That's right, hold it till the drop comes.

Badman Funtcase trademark!

Moving your body from side to side: This shouldn't be so difficult to do, just listen to the beat and go with the flow.

Skanking out.

Moving your feet: Movement of the feet is similar to that of breakbeat. It might sound difficult but it's not: just move your weight from one foot to the other with each skank, making sure your arms and legs coordinate.

How to breakbeat.

Alright, so those were all the things you need to do to skank to dubstep and drum and bass. Skanking to dubstep will be a little slower than drum and bass since DNB is a much more faster music than dubstep. However, the moves and the gestures remain the same.

Next on the list is how to look like you mean business when you are skanking. The following is a pictorial guide on how to look the part of a serious skanker/ raver in underground raves.

Flat bottomed caps and glasses: The flat bottomed caps will give you a bit of a street cred and the shades will give your eyes a rest from all the strobes flashing around, so keep them handy.

Bandanna on the face: This is not an essential part of the look and I've only seen hardcore ravers sporting this but then again, it will give you a bit of a street cred at raves.

Clothing of indie brands: It might sound hipster but then again you might as well look the part when you go to a rave. I'd say that you go to a few raves and understand the scene before sporting indie brands. Clothing of dubstep or drum and bass labels or indie brands like Obey, Mishka, Rebel8 etc. is the way to go.

Guy wearing a Renegade Hardware t shirt.

Mishka snapback cap.

And finally, the optional get up, the onesies. I don't know how people dance while wearing onesies. It should be pretty self explanatory so get creative and crazy.

While doing a search on Youtube to see as what constitutes as proper skanking, I came across a video of these two crazy guys. Have a look, it's hilarious!

*Edit: This just in!

At the time of writing this blog, I couldn't find a video that showed exactly how to skank. What I've done in this post is that I've tried to break down the elements of skanking with visual references. That being said, MC Shot has released a brilliant video featuring neuro badman Maztek's tune showing how to skank and look the part of a proper skanker! Check it out!

Now that you know all there is to about skanking, all you need to do is listen to some banging tunes and get skanking in your room or wherever. I've made a small list of some of my favourite heavy dubstep and drum and bass tunes, so I hope you like them. So, to end with what I started: SHUT UP AND SKANK!

Delta Heavy - Hold Me