Dubstep
Bass · 2005 · 138 to 142 BPM · also known as Dub Step
Croydon, 2002 to 2006: 2-step emptied of its vocals and slowed in spirit, hollowed out with physically felt sub-bass and dub-style space. Running at 140 beats per minute with sparse kicks, it plays like a meditation for the sound system. DMZ and FWD>> served as its churches, Rinse FM its radio station. Before its later, noisier American mutation, dubstep was a dark, contemplative music, and this entry documents that original strain.
15 reference tracks
- Skream: Midnight Request Line (2005)
- Loefah: Mud (2005)
- Digital Mystikz: Anti War Dub (2006)
- Kode9: 9 Samurai (2006)
- Benga and Coki: Night (2008)
- Commodo: Kibosh (2019)
- Skrillex, Fred again.. & Flowdan: Rumble (2023)
- Caspa: Dundada (2024)
- Nero (5) X Taiki Nulight*: Innocence 2025 (2025)
- Skrillex: Kill EVERYBODY
- Skrillex: Bangarang (feat. Sirah)
- Skrillex: First of the Year (Equinox)
- Skrillex: Right In
- Skrillex: Make It Bun Dem
- Burial: Ghost Hardware
At a glance
- Tempo: 138 to 142 BPM
- First appeared: around 2005
- Machines: Native Instruments Massive, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, Sound system
- The sound: Basses sub sinusoïdales physiques, Halfstep à 140, Espace et réverbération dub, LFO lents sur la basse
- Labels: Hyperdub, Tempa, DMZ, White Peach, Big Apple, Deep Medi
- Key artists: Digital Mystikz (Mala & Coki), Skream, Benga, Loefah, Kode9, Burial (électron libre)
Producing Dubstep
The tempo is 140 BPM without question, but the feel is halfstep: the snare lands only on beat 3, giving the sensation of a track at 70 BPM, a slowness its 2-step parent never had. Keep the swing light, 52 to 56 percent, and leave whole bars nearly empty, a two-bar loop is enough, with the bass and dub space carrying the variation. Place the kick on beat 1, sometimes a second on the off-beat of 2, and a huge snare on beat 3 only, layered with a clap under a long reverb, with sparse dub percussion run through a dotted-eighth delay.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Dubstep?
Croydon, 2002 to 2006: 2-step emptied of its vocals and slowed in spirit, hollowed out with physically felt sub-bass and dub-style space. Running at 140 beats per minute with sparse kicks, it plays like a meditation for the sound system. DMZ and FWD>> served as its churches, Rinse FM its radio…
What tempo is Dubstep played at?
Between 138 and 142 BPM.
Who are the key Dubstep artists?
Digital Mystikz (Mala & Coki), Skream, Benga, Loefah, Kode9, Burial (électron libre).
