Music

Composer Thomas Bergersen says it's okay to like pop and dubstep, calls its detractors elitist and egotistical

by Tyler Munro

We’re not sure what prompted it, but composer Thomas Bergersen has written a lengthy post on his Facebook page in defence of dubstep, pop music and against the notion that liking either makes you less cultured.

“People identify themselves through music, and express themselves through their taste in music. Sometimes people get so caught up in the attributions of genres that they forget what music is about in the first place,” he writes. “They limit themselves to certain styles because their mind is not free. Music can and should be enjoyed across all genres, regardless of social value, political statement, mainstream success, stigma and so on, because great talent is to be found in every aspect of art, from the popular to the most obscure and unknown.”

He says people’s perceptions of dubstep are skewed because of misconceptions, ignorange and bitterness.

“Bitterness from the UK and surrounding cultures because the US dubstep variant, Brostep, by proxy of the masterful producer Skrillex became an overnight phenomenon that completely overshadowed a decade or so of dubstep history from the country and followers of origin,” he continues. “Ignorance, because people do not understand the considerable talent and work that goes into high quality music of any genre, and finally misconceptions because people think dubstep is written exclusively by teenagers with laptops, no musical education or comprehension of simple musical concepts and theory.”

He goes onto say that acts like Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry are popular for a reason and says to admit that social stigma, ego and views on manufactured talent packages keep listeners from enjoying songs outside of their comfort zone.

“As someone who has written music for orchestras, choirs, metal bands, trance, country, bubblegum pop, hollywood movies and tv jingles I can assure you that neither musical genre is more sophisticated, intelligent or difficult to do than another,” he says.

It’s lengthy, as evidenced by the sheer size of some of these excerpts, but it’s a solid read. Bergersen’s made a career walking a tight-rope between perceived high class and popular culture: he’s best known for his work composing songs for movie trailers.