Dubstep
Dubstep
The name “dubstep” was first coined to apply to bass-driven electronic music in 2002 in a town called Croydon (South London), England. The actual roots of dubstep are a bit tough to pinpoint because it is a merge of dozens of types of electronic music, and even after it began to achieve popularity it has continued to evolve and grow. Still, here we bring you this article to offer a general history of events that went into the formation & growth of a new genre.
EARLY FORMATIONS (PRE-1999)
Dubstep is thought to have evolved out of “Jamaican dub music” and other soundsystem cultures. The Jamaican soundsystems emphasized disco-type sounds with reproduced bass frequencies underlying. This eventually gave rise to the dub variety of reggae music that had features like sub-bass (bass where the frequency is less than 90Hz, a.k.a. really really deep), 2-step drums and distortion effects. All of this development eventually churned out the more modern British sounds of “jungle,” “garage” and now “dubstep.” It is important to note that many of these features existed individually prior to dubstep, but were only brought together under one roof in the early 2000s.
Here is a sample of sub-bass being used in 1992, “Some Justice” by Urban Shakedown:
THE ORIGINS OF DUBSTEP (1999-2002)
Ammunition Promotions, who run the club “Forward>>” are thought to be the first to use the term “dubstep” to describe this style of music. The club, located in Soho London, was instrumental in the formation of dubstep music because it was really the first venue that was dedicated to playing the genre. Additionally, Forward>> ran a radio show on “Rinse FM” that was hosted by Kode9 to premier new music. The electronic style gained traction as the term “dubstep” was used to refer to the genre in a 2002 XLR8R cover story. Finally, under the Tempa record label (managed by Ammunition Promotions) we saw “Dubstep Allstars Vol 1 CD” released by DJ Hatcha that solidified the movement
The name “dubstep” was first coined to apply to bass-driven electronic music in 2002 in a town called Croydon (South London), England. The actual roots of dubstep are a bit tough to pinpoint because it is a merge of dozens of types of electronic music, and even after it began to achieve popularity it has continued to evolve and grow. Still, here we bring you this article to offer a general history of events that went into the formation & growth of a new genre.
EARLY FORMATIONS (PRE-1999)
Dubstep is thought to have evolved out of “Jamaican dub music” and other soundsystem cultures. The Jamaican soundsystems emphasized disco-type sounds with reproduced bass frequencies underlying. This eventually gave rise to the dub variety of reggae music that had features like sub-bass (bass where the frequency is less than 90Hz, a.k.a. really really deep), 2-step drums and distortion effects. All of this development eventually churned out the more modern British sounds of “jungle,” “garage” and now “dubstep.” It is important to note that many of these features existed individually prior to dubstep, but were only brought together under one roof in the early 2000s.
Here is a sample of sub-bass being used in 1992, “Some Justice” by Urban Shakedown:
THE ORIGINS OF DUBSTEP (1999-2002)
Ammunition Promotions, who run the club “Forward>>” are thought to be the first to use the term “dubstep” to describe this style of music. The club, located in Soho London, was instrumental in the formation of dubstep music because it was really the first venue that was dedicated to playing the genre. Additionally, Forward>> ran a radio show on “Rinse FM” that was hosted by Kode9 to premier new music. The electronic style gained traction as the term “dubstep” was used to refer to the genre in a 2002 XLR8R cover story. Finally, under the Tempa record label (managed by Ammunition Promotions) we saw “Dubstep Allstars Vol 1 CD” released by DJ Hatcha that solidified the movement