A History of Dubstep Dance Music
The Characteristics and Origins of the Newest Electronic Music Genre
First established in the early 2000s, dubstep has rapidly become a popular part of the dance music scene in the UK thanks to its modern sound.
In London in the early 2000s, a new genre of dance music emerged from an amalgamation of the east London garage and grime scene that produced talent such as Dizzee Rascal.
The name ‘dubstep’ was first coined by Ammunition Productions in their effort to describe the beats that were being produced and in a 2002 XLR8R cover story the use of this name contributed to its being established as an official term within the industry (from Chris Mugan, “Straight Outta Croydon,” The Independent 14th July 2006).
Beginnings
Despite its formation at the turn of the century, dubstep did not really become popular or well known until 2006, partly as a result of the efforts of Radio 1 DJ Mary-Anne Hobbs. As well as championing the music on her show, Hobbs plays live sets at venues up and down the country and is responsible for introducing the genre to many electronica fans outside of the underground London scene. With the release of the album ‘Warrior Dubz’ compiled by Hobbs and on sale from October 2006 and the debut CD ‘Skream!’ from youthful producer Oliver Jones (aka Skream), dubstep began to be heard at high profile clubs and moved rapidly into the overground scene.
Since the beginning of 2008, dubstep DJs played their way into the popular London club scene from their Croydon origins, featuring regularly at big nights such as Room 2 of superclub Fabric on Drum and Bass nights.
Characteristics and Sound
This is a thoroughly modern form of music, from the internet chat forums and blogs that helped establish and spread its pioneering mixes, to the buzzy, computerised tone of its sound.
Dubstep is characterized by its heavy emphasis on bass frequencies, minimalist rhythms and dark notes. Listening to dubstep as its meant to be heard, surrounded by towering subs that vibrate through the club, can give the impression of being underwater thanks to the permanently suppressed bass.
Unlike more traditional forms of dance music such as techno, there is no traditional track structure, just a permanent sense of progression that is mirrored by the constant evolution of the genre itself. It was so new when it first started being played dubstep has already scene vast changes to the original sounds and rhythms, making it a fascinating type of dance music to follow. Watching a dubstep DJ holds the added anticipation of where it will be taken next, so constant and typical is its growth and development.
Like techno, dubstep is mostly instrumental and uses simplistic samples as a basis for a track but, although it has been known as ‘Croydon Techno’ thanks to its origins in the parties and DJs of the Croydon scene, but it bears little similarity to this better known element of dance music. It is darker, using minor keys and jarring chords in conjunction with dissonant rhythms that are often syncopated and shuffled, using triplets to establish skip-and-repeat progressions. Dubstep also uses the bass drop recognisable in drum and bass yet retains a curiously minimal sound.
The Scene
Dubstep, however, is about more than just the pattern and rhythm of its beats. By merging grime and the indie dance scene into a new, exciting form of electronica for the more serious fans of the genre, dubstep has becomes synonymous with a popular youthful movement in east and south London as well as other cities across the UK. Skream says of this ‘scene’: “You don’t get any trouble and there’s no attitude at all. Even if regulars don’t know each other, they still say hello, because they know everyone’s going to be on their wavelength.’
Fuelled by the community spirit that kept it at the centre of internet forum discussions and bought it into the high profile club scene, dubstep has become an exciting answer for those searching for something new and original in dance music.
Sources
de Wilde, Gervase. "Put a bit of dub in your step: a new form of dance music from Croydon is ready to conquer the world", The Daily Telegraph, 14th October 2006.
Mugan, Chris. “Straight outta Croydon.” The Independent. 14th July 2006.
