UK Garage
Bass · 1997 · 128 to 138 BPM · also known as UKG, Garage
UK garage took shape in London in the mid-1990s: New York garage sped up and run through the filter of pirate radio, with swollen basslines, chopped and pitched vocals and a tight, rolling swing. It became Britain's first great mutation of house music, a whole culture built around clubs, MCs and dress codes rather than just a sound. From its restless, shape-shifting coastline came 2-step, grime, dubstep and much of what is now called bass music. The genre bridges American club sensibility and British street culture, taking a smooth import and roughing it up until it sounded unmistakably local.
11 reference tracks
- Double 99: Ripgroove (1997)
- Tuff Jam: Need Good Love (1997)
- Dreem Teem: The Theme (1997)
- MJ Cole: Sincere (1998)
- Artful Dodger: Re-Rewind (1999)
- Ramsey and Fen: Love Bug (1999)
- Craig David, M N E K*: Who You Are (2021)
- Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal: B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All) (2022)
- Smokey Bubblin 'B*: Poison (2022)
- Sammy Virji: If U Need It (2023)
- Overmono & The Streets: Turn The Page (2024)
At a glance
- Tempo: 128 to 138 BPM
- First appeared: around 1997
- Machines: Akai S2000, Korg M1, Orgue
- The sound: Voix pitchées découpées, Basses sub rondes, Swing et shuffle poussés, Orgue M1
- Labels: Locked On, Instinct Records, Public Demand, Nice'n'Ripe, Shall Not Fade, Ice Cream
- Key artists: Todd Edwards (parrain US), MJ Cole, Tuff Jam, Artful Dodger, DJ EZ (ambassadeur)
Producing UK Garage
UK garage sits at 128 to 135 BPM, with 130 the classic starting point, and swing is the whole story: apply a groove of 58 to 62 percent to the hats and percussion, much less to the kick, so sixteenths pull back while eighths stay nearly straight. Build a short, dry four-on-the-floor kick, a clap or snare on 2 and 4 layered with a pitched-up 909 snare, swung closed hats with uneven velocities and an open hat on every offbeat, plus shakers, leaving some percussion unquantized so the loop breathes. The bass is a round sub, sine or triangle, played in short syncopated notes, root, fifth, octave, flat seventh, answering the kick rather than doubling it, lightly sidechained. The Korg M1 organ, chopped R&B vocals, string stabs and pirate-radio sirens complete a short, midrange-heavy sound.
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 UK Garage?
UK garage took shape in London in the mid-1990s: New York garage sped up and run through the filter of pirate radio, with swollen basslines, chopped and pitched vocals and a tight, rolling swing. It became Britain's first great mutation of house music, a whole culture built around clubs, MCs and…
What tempo is UK Garage played at?
Between 128 and 138 BPM.
Who are the key UK Garage artists?
Todd Edwards (parrain US), MJ Cole, Tuff Jam, Artful Dodger, DJ EZ (ambassadeur).
