A Brief History of Early Dubstep
Dubstep has taken the world by storm, with some of the biggest names in electronic music playing to crowds of thousands strong. But the scene has its humble beginnings in tiny South London clubs with heavy sound systems. Photographer Georgina Cook, behind Drumz of the South, talks us through the history of the early scene.
Text by Georgina Cook | 24.11.2022
The term Dubstep was reportedly coined by Tempa and Ammunition Recording’s Neil Joliffe in conversation with colleagues Sarah “Soulja” Lockhart, Oris Jay and writer/artist Martin Clark, in which they identified 2-step and dub as central to the sound. In 2002, Martin penned an article about this new sound for Californian magazine XLR8R, who published it with a cover photo of Horsepower Productions and the word “Dubstep” in a large typeface. Dubstep had arrived.
A key place to dubstep’s history is South London’s borough of Croydon; specifically, Big Apple Records, a small underground dance music shop with a banana skin logo. Eventually associated with darker garage & 2-Step; Big Apple and staff member DJ Hatcha, soon became a hub for underground music lovers. Meanwhile producers like Artwork and Horsepower Productions were developing the dark garage & 2-step sound into something even more experimental and dubby. In many ways, the first few releases of Big Apple’s label which debuted with Artwork’s Red in 2002, act as a sonic history of the evolution from dark garage to dubstep.
Horsepower’s use of flutes, percussion and bird-calls often sampled from cult movies was seminal to this and resulted in a style that, as heard in Hatcha’s Dubstep Allstars Vol. 1 came to define dubstep’s earliest years.
The cocktail of role models and underground sounds found at Big Apple, coupled with access to software like Music2000 and FruityLoops, was potent to South London’s young regulars. Among them were names now considered as pioneers of dubstep including: Plastician (then “Plasticman”), Skream & Benga, N-Type and Walsh, Chef, Distance, Cyrus, Mala & Coki (aka Digital Mystikz), Loefah & Sgt.Pokes, and Kromestar.
Another vital ingredient to the early dubstep sound and culture, was the dubplate - an acetate disc on which the freshest tunes were pressed and given to a producer’s most trusted DJ[s]. The community’s mastering engineer of choice was Jason Goz of Transition Mastering who, dedicated to refining low end frequencies, left his mark on both the sound and the acetates with his sticker “I get my s**t mastered at Transition.”
The first regular night to house the burgeoning dubstep sound was the weekly Forward>>, started in 2001 by Tempa and Rinse FM’s visionary Sarah Lockhart. Originally at Velvet Rooms, FWD>> residents included Hatcha & Crazy D, Youngsta, Plastician and Kode9. Upon it’s move to Plastic People in 2005, a smokey 200 capacity basement with a weighty sound-system and pitch black dance-floor, FWD>> became an important weekly meet-up for both the dubstep and grime communities, many of whom would cut dubs just in time for the night.
By 2005, dubstep was being transmitted across London’s airwaves on Geeneus and Slimzee’s pirate station Rinse FM. Tuning in was the legendary John Peel, who via his own show on BBC Radio 1, introduced the sound to an even wider audience. Dubstep was one of the first music genres to benefit from emerging Web 2.0 applications. Myspace, Dubstep Forum, the Hyperdub web-zine and blogs like Blackdown, Gutterbreakz and Drumz Of The South all contributed to dubstep’s growth, at a pace unknown to previous underground scenes. Meanwhile, back on the ground, labels and nights like Hotflush, Skull Disco, and Rephlex were opening up the genre even further.
It was thanks to Rob Ellis aka DJ Pinch that Bristol, a historically musical city, became dubstep’s next home. Reportedly, it was upon hearing Kode9 on a road-trip to FWD>> that inspired him to start Subloaded (with DJ Blazey), the UK’s first regular all-nighter focused on bass pressure. Subloaded and Pinch’s Tectonic record label contributed heavily to the emergence of a galaxy of Bristol based artists including Vex’d, Appleblim, Addison Groove, Peverelist, Joker, Gemmy and Jakes.
One of the most respected lyricists associated with dubstep was Stephen Gordon, whose “The Spaceape” avatar, fused toasting with poetry and influences ranging from Prince to Matt Johnson via vocals reminiscent of a prophetic Jamaican elder. Kode9’s 2004 “Sine of the Dub,” features a sparse, pulsating bass-line over which Gordon unfurls a version of Prince’s “Sign Of The Times” peppered with Jamaican patois. Further collaborations can be heard on Hyperdub Records’ “Memories of The Future” and “Black Sun” LPs. With dubstep’s sibling sound Grime relying heavily on MC’s, the role of the MC in early dubstep was much lighter. Largely two-fold, it involved communicating who (and sometimes what) was playing at an event and powering-up the audience with energetic flows and expressions which often described the sounds and movements of the DJ and dance-floor. Frequently, the rewinds (the practice of starting a record, spinning it back then re-starting it), were initiated or encouraged by the MC with calls like “Who Wants A Rewind?” and “PULL-UP!” At nights like DMZ, it wasn’t uncommon for a single tune to be rewound 5-6 times, due to the crowd’s anticipation of its “drop,” coupled with the hype of the MC.
Hyperdub quickly became known for its genre defying artist roster and the conceptual approach and narratives of its owner Kode9. Representing producers like The Bug, Darkstar, Ikonika, Cooly G, Martyn, L.V and Scratcha DVA, the label is also responsible for introducing the world to Burial. With his self-titled debut album released to wide acclaim, it was Burial’s 2007 album “Untrue” that really shook things up. A cinematic, down-tempo love-letter to rave, “Untrue” (like much Burial music), is characterised by irregular beats, video game samples, crackle sounds and androgynous vocals. Earning a Mercury Prize nomination in 2007, Burial came to influence an entire generation of artists, many of whom are associated with the terms “post-dubstep” and “future garage” as well as wider contemporary music.
In 2004, having already published tracks with Big Apple; Digital Mystikz and Loefah started the DMZ record label for their highly distinctive sounds. Recognising London’s need for a regular all-night dubstep dance, On March 5th 2005, DMZ hired a 300 capacity room with two speakers in the basement of St Matthew’s church in Brixton. So began the 11pm-7am bi-monthly DMZ event; its colourful, minimalist flyers and strap-line “Come Meditate on bass weight,” setting the tone for its vibey and immersive atmosphere.
In January of 2006, broadcaster Mary Anne Hobbs invited seven key UK Dubstep DJs and producers to record what is now a legendary radio show. A deep-dive into it’s sound, “Dubstep Warz” acts as an index to the nuanced styles and influences (which include Roots Reggae, House and Metal), embodied by the scene’s artists. In a props to the wider community, Mary-Anne also included sound-bites of key figures from around the world, including Joe Nice and DQ of New York’s beloved Dubwar night.
The evidence of the growth of the scene and impact of Dubstep Warz was seen at DMZ just two months later. On DMZ’s first ‘birtday’ in March 2006, the queue was so long that the night was forced upstairs to the church’s 1000 capacity room mid-way through Joe Nice’s set. Dubstep had blown.
Now often associated with the heavier, faster and metallic styles of artists like Rusko, Skrillex and it’s pejorative “Bro-step,” the influence of dubstep can be heard widely throughout dance music and pop culture. Today, it is labels like Deep Medi, Sentry, Wheel & Deal and Chestplate that provide a home for sounds and vibes that echo dubstep’s early days; with labels like Hyperdub, Keysound and Swamp 81 continuing to innovate and defy genre boundaries.
Georgina Cook documented the early Dubstep scene in South London. Her work from the time is chronicled in her recently published book:
Drumz of the South: The Dubstep Years (2004-2007).
Follow her on instagram @drumzofthesouth