For decades, the vampiric music industry fed on the youthful energy and relative naivety of teenagers and young adults. Before SoundCloud and Spotify and iTunes and Limewire, corporate record labels and radio stations had dictatorial authority over the sounds that reached the ears of their most enthusiastic consumers. They built a pop-culture vacuum that relied on young people’s sole exposure to mediocrity. When the punk movement emerged from a young generation, industry masterminds diverted potential fans of the anti-establishment, DIY scene with pop-punk. The method was tried and true: it’d be done with hip-hop, as it had been done with rock n’ roll. They’d execute the strategy once again when dubstep appeared on the mainstream radar. But the commercialization signified the end of the authoritarian reign. Dubstep didn’t die when it was exploited for profit – it was invigorated, if indirectly. Say what you will about today’s newest generation of electronic music fans, but they are the ones who prove that even teenagers recognize good music when they hear it. And if they don’t hear it, they make it themselves.
Aweminus was 16 years old when he won a remix competition for Getter’s track “Fallout”, earning his first formal release on Firepower Records. The LA-based artist has come far since 2013. He’s headlined events across America and far beyond, released on numerous independent labels – including fan favorite Savage Society, and dabbled in a wide spectrum of BPMs and styles. As Aweminus’s fan base grows, he doesn’t submit to complacency. The young producer continues to push himself as a musician. He’s on an audible journey of musical self-discovery, and his passionate fans are along for the ride.
Not too long ago, “underground success” excluded international tours, support from major artists and promoters, and a following tens of thousands strong. It is artists like Aweminus who subvert the corporate music machine by earning their popularity instead of buying it, or sacrificing their artistry for it. Aweminus’s style is a derivative of the same angry, aggressive dubstep that inspired the genre’s commercialization. It is often violent, loud, and always infectious. And, as anybody who’s experienced a set from the artist knows firsthand, it is incredibly powerful. Aweminus’s production and performance packs an authentic energy that cannot be recycled or repackaged. It is a guttural, celebratory release of the frustration and raw passion that is familiar to all of us. Such is the true essence of dubstep, and quality music as a whole.
With an infinite selection of music at our fingertips, today’s music fans are turning away from the “sponsored content” that once held us captive. When young enthusiasts grow disillusioned by the for-profit production that characterizes the “brostep” phenomenon and EDM culture, they don’t discount dubstep altogether. There’s no need. Instead, they dive deeper. There is a primal need for release fulfilled by Aweminus’s tracks, and his constant creativity and artistic progression sates the natural desire to hear something new. It is Aweminus, his peers, his fans who not only keep dubstep alive and thriving, but are revolutionizing the way all of us experience and consume music. So next time a jaded old scenester starts to wag his fingers at “those damn kids these” days, it is worth remembering that those damn kids really deserve some thanks.
Follow Aweminus on Facebook and SoundCloud. Check out his agency page for upcoming tour dates, booking information, and more. Plus, grab a free download of Aweminus & KPD - "What" (an unburied Sub.mission Freebie Friday feature originally posted here in 2015) right here, right now.
Amye Koziel