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What comes to mind when you see the word “dubstep?”
Maybe a video game ad filled to the brim with screechy bass wobbles and aggressive drums? The truth is, like with so many genres, dubstep first emerged as a hyper-regional underground scene before eventually hitting the global mainstream and even turning into something of a musical meme. In this article, let’s take a look at one of the most misunderstood and arguably sonically diverse genres in modern music, with a legacy that made countless people (including myself) fall in love with music production.
What is dubstep music?
Dubstep is an electronic dance music genre featuring sparse, syncopated drum rhythms and deep, pulsating basslines played at around 140 BPM (beats per minute).
It’s also something to be experienced: imagine a dark warehouse where crowds gather among towering sets of loudspeakers. DJs propel low-end sounds relentlessly and MCs improvise vocal rhymes in support. There’s a temporary lull in the music, and a palpable anticipation builds before the next groove drops in, pummeling the empty space with waves of sub-bass frequencies you can feel resonating through your chest. The audience erupts with a renewed energy and you hear chants of “rewind” and “pull up,” appealing to the DJ to start the tune all over again.
At its very best, dubstep is emotive, immersive, and communal. The essence of this movement and its music can be summed up by the lasting catchphrase of producer unit and record label DMZ: “Come meditate on bassweight.” The manner in which this bassweight gets delivered to the listener is completely up to the artist.
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History of dubstep music
When was dubstep created?
What would become a worldwide phenomenon by around 2010 had very humble beginnings almost a decade earlier—so let’s rewind. Dubstep’s origin point lies in England, particularly the unassuming South London neighborhood of Croydon. This is where a group of producers—some local, some from neighboring cities—began to gather and combine elements of UK garage, grime, dub reggae, and drum and bass in new ways.
This was partly in reaction to the increasingly polished and commercial direction of UK garage at the time in particular—many artists sought to strip the music back to its raw, more underground roots. This overlapped with a growing desire to push sonic boundaries and create a moodier, more atmospheric sound that reflected the urban environments they lived in.
In true music nerd fashion, these producers began gathering and showcasing their explorations to one another in small venues—it was always about the music, after all. Ideas were constantly bouncing around, and the sound developed more rapidly as it began to be showcased in local record shops like Big Apple Records, on pirate radio stations like Rinse FM, and at club nights like FWD>>. These gatherings began drawing interest from outside of London as well as other parts of Europe and beyond. By the mid-2000s, underground dubstep events were springing up in the United States, as part of larger European festivals, and on more prominent radio stations like the BBC’s Radio 1.
By the late 2000s, dubstep had grown from a niche sound into a global movement, laying the groundwork for a full mainstream crossover. Like a snake eating its own tail, its sound had gone from polished to experimental and back to commercial again with a more manic, maximalist, and melodic tilt that’s what many identify with the term dubstep today.
Why is it called dubstep music?
Dubstep got its name from existing musical genres and movements that pioneering producers were reacting to and drawing influence from. The “step” comes from the established 2-step, garage, and drum and bass aesthetics these artists were remixing into much more minimal, syncopated, and bass-heavy tracks. The “dub” comes from its foundation in dub reggae music, which itself was traditionally known for remixes focusing on the rhythm section (the drums and bass) along with a heavy and often psychedelic use of effects like reverb and delay.
Additionally, dub reggae’s intrinsic link to Jamaican sound system culture can be seen in the dubstep scene’s focus on live DJing, MCing, and exclusive acetate records known as dubplates.
Subgenres of dubstep
(Deep) dubstep
This is the original sound of the movement that began with a bunch of producers bouncing ideas around and innovating in reaction to the existing mainstream of UK dance music. Hardcore fans will simply refer to it as dubstep, but the sonic variety found across the 2000s and early 2010s is truly noteworthy.
Each artist put their own unique stamp on things, using dubstep’s relatively straightforward production framework as an easel upon which to paint and emphasize their own musical backgrounds. Let’s explore the wide stylistic range of the genre during this period with a list of influences that’s nowhere close to being exhaustive.
1. Garage
The earliest roots of dubstep overlap heavily with the aforementioned desire to reimagine popular UK garage and 2-step through a darker, more minimal lens. These exploratory productions by artists like Horsepower Productions, El-B, and Zed Bias (check out his Splice pack) often employed elements from drum and bass along with dissonant harmonies.
2. Dub
The rhythmic patterns, heavy basslines, and time-based effects present in dub reggae are part of dubstep’s very DNA, but some producers placed additional emphasis on this inherent connection. You can hear this influence in the early work of legendary producers in the scene like Skream along with Mala, Loefah, and Kode9.
3. Techno
Dub techno originated almost a decade prior to dubstep, and its influence can be heard in the likes of Dutch producer 2562’s seminal album Aerial, which perfectly marries the filtered, delay-drenched palette of dub techno with the syncopation and bassline focus of dubstep. Other techno-minded pioneers include Martyn, Peverelist, Scuba, and Headhunter.
4. Funk and jazz
Producers like Silkie, Quest, and Rustie put more emphasis on grand melodic statements, jazzy keyboard lines, and even 8-bit aesthetics. The epic, funked-out sound pioneered by Bristol producer Joker would come to be known as “the purple sound.”
5. Dark “dungeon” sound
Pushed by DJs like Youngsta in the later 2000s, this flavor of dubstep further eschewed melodic elements in favor of increasingly eerie and atmospheric sound design, growling basslines, and a cinematic tone often reminiscent of horror and sci-fi. Sleeper, Kryptic Minds, J:Kenzo, and LX One are just a few names worth checking out.
6. Post-dubstep
This is where things get even more interesting. The late 2000s saw artists experiment further with the structure of dubstep, bringing in even more outside influences and techniques that expanded the definition of what bass music could be. Pivotal records include Untrue by Burial, Crooks & Lovers by Mount Kimbie, and the early EPs from James Blake and Disclosure.
Tearout dubstep, brostep, and riddim
The more aggressive, high-energy side of dubstep emerged in the mid-to-late 2000s with a focus on hyper-distorted and modulated basslines, frantic rhythms, and an overall chaotic energy that gave echoes of punk or metal. The tearout sound of UK producers like Caspa, Emalkay, and Bar9 would soon expand overseas and influence the likes of Excision, 12th Planet, and Skrillex.
Through its development, this music came to be known (somewhat pejoratively) by many as brostep for just how intensely it emphasizes loudness, mayhem, and the tension-and-release concept of the “bass drop” over the minimalism of earlier dubstep. Other aggressive variants like triplet-heavy riddim draw from the explosive nature of brostep as well as motifs from earlier dubstep (see: Jakes). Who doesn’t enjoy a nice wub-wub every now and then?
Melodic dubstep
This style employs the mid-range bass wobbles and powerful drops of tearout / brostep, but with greater restraint in order to make room for uplifting melodies, emotional chord progressions, and more prominent vocal lines. Compared to previous styles we’ve covered, melodic dubstep draws much more from the aesthetics of genres like progressive house, trance, and pop.
Early influences include the likes of Sub Focus and Nero, later culminating in anthems from artists like Illenium, Seven Lions, and Adventure Club throughout the mid-to-late 2010s.
Conclusion
While dubstep has gone through a multitude of evolutions and exerted a cultural impact everywhere from hyper-local underground scenes to the globalized mainstream, it’s important to remember the roots. What personally attracted me to this music—first as a listener and later as a producer—was its focus on creating an immersive and all-encompassing sonic experience, especially when played through a sound system. It’s an approach that can be traced all the way back to dub reggae and the Jamaican sound systems of over 70 years ago, and is one which we’ve seen repeatedly reimagined and strengthened through technology and the richness of human experience.
Explore the sonic building blocks of dubstep with Create:
May 1, 2025
