Music entertains. Music comforts. But what happens when music pledges? That is when you divert from the mainstream music scene to the out-of-the-box and make a move. Social movements take root among the mass and travel into actions coming from the people in different forms, depending on their expressive means. Creativity, we call it. A sonic reproduction of such a form, which covers creative expressions of art, societal issues, and freedom from the rules is what we call underground music. As opposed to conventional music, this form of music defies all regulations and formulaic assertions. Thus, it becomes the voice of thousands claiming retribution.
A massive species in itself, underground music comprises numerous genres of which following are a few:
- Rock
- Metal
- Hip Hop
- House
- Experimental Music
History of Underground Music
Underground music didn’t start as a voluntary enforcement of a separate culture of music. It established distinction over the years. It could be traced back to the sixties. This cult developed a strong hold with musicians and bands like The Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Henry Flynt, Captain Beefheart, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Nihilist Spasm Bands and many more. The psychedelic churned up with the hype in that time. Scraps of emotion and experience, scavenged or borrowed, blended with rhythm and gave birth to an exception. They believed in the authenticity and purity of music more than commercial appeal. It then paved its way with the punk rock era of 1970s, the 1990s era of grunge rock, then there was hip-hop and slowly newer genres were included as well. Underground music slowly evolved through the ages and generations into a massive movement defying convention and promoting aesthetics.
Dubai Underground
Dubai went underground with its music quite a long time back. Mostly comprising rock and metal and a few of alternative Dubai scratched the surface of underground music with style and elegance. Yassin Alsalman from Dubai, also known as The Narcicyst, has been associated with this genre frequently. Underground music in Dubai has mostly been given stature by expatriates. But the natives were only a step behind. They followed suit with Absolace, Malika, Dahab, Kamal Musallam turning the heat up.
The Dubai Underground Music Movement
The Dubai Underground Music Movement (D.U.M.M.) was given shape in 2010 by Mathew Charles. It started out first as a page on a social networking site. The main objective was to bring in like-minded enthusiasts of underground electronic music together to indulge in hearty conversations regarding such enthusiasm and sharing such music over the internet. It gained recognition quickly and was then promoted to the concept of a gathering. The parties started in October the same year that the group was founded under the banner Get D.U.M.M. They arranged parties and played underground music for everybody to let their hair down and share their similar interests. D.U.M.M. didn’t discourage the commercial music lover, instead they welcomed anybody who had an inclination towards underground as well as a sweet tooth for commercial. Post an overwhelming recognition, they set sail with reputed artists like Rich Showell, Julian Jinx, and many more. The desert has been alive with plenty of their underground music meets since.
New Tech and Underground Music
Pre-internet revolution, the underground music retained its shadowy aura the best. Earlier, people had to go to the ‘underground’ for the music. It gained its identity with the fact that people other than the underground music enthusiasts were averted to it. And the ones passionate about it went against all odds to travel to locations playing such music just to feed their music hunger. Records of such were not always available to the people and the only access was to breathe it in live.
But with the digital technology on the uphill climb, this culture began to lose that vague sophistication. With music available everywhere, the underground has travelled to the computer screens from the live stage. But the concept will never lose its charm among the people who follow it religiously. Despite such obstructions, the underground lives on among the thousands who elude the mainstream with a third dimension of concealing philosophy.
Paul Spaccavento is a dynamic engaging saxophonist originally from Sydney, Australia.
