Darkstep
Breaks · 1997 · 170 to 180 BPM · also known as Dark DnB, Darkside DnB
Darkstep is the darkest, fastest side of drum and bass: breaks fired in bursts, hostile basslines, apocalyptic imagery, right at the border with breakcore. Panacea embodied it from 1997 on the German side, and Technical Itch and Limewax hardened it further afterward. This is drum and bass built for caves, and it wears that image proudly. Where its cousins chase euphoria, darkstep chases dread.
7 reference tracks
- Panacea: Torture (1997)
- Dom & Roland: Trauma (1998)
- Bad Company UK: The Nine (1999)
- Konflict: Messiah (2000)
- Technical Itch: The Rukus (2003)
- Dylan: Fabrication (2003)
- Limewax: Everything (2006)
At a glance
- Tempo: 170 to 180 BPM
- First appeared: around 1997
- Machines: Akai S3000, Clavia Nord Lead, Steinberg Cubase
- The sound: Amen saturé rapide, Basses distordues, Ambiances horrifiques, Kicks doublés
- Labels: Position Chrome, Tech Itch Recordings, PRSPCT Recordings, Freak, Yellow Stripe
- Key artists: Panacea, Technical Itch, Limewax, Current Value, Donny
Producing Darkstep
Darkstep plays between 175 and 185 BPM, the highest tempo in drum and bass before breakcore, distinguished from its techstep parent by density: where techstep leaves silence, darkstep fills everything with Amen bursts and doubled kicks, the feel closer to a chase than a groove, no swing. A base two-step kick on 1 and the and of 3 gets doubled with a second hit a sixteenth later for a hammering effect, while a saturated Amen break at full tempo fires in two-bar bursts, thirty-second cuts and a beat of silence. The bass is a Reese pushed harder than techstep's, distorted in series and resampled, growling under a fast filter LFO, playing long root notes with descending fifth glissandi, sidechained hard so the hammering cuts through. On top, screaming resonant leads and horror-film samples drowned in reverb build the claustrophobic atmosphere.
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 Darkstep?
Darkstep is the darkest, fastest side of drum and bass: breaks fired in bursts, hostile basslines, apocalyptic imagery, right at the border with breakcore. Panacea embodied it from 1997 on the German side, and Technical Itch and Limewax hardened it further afterward. This is drum and bass built…
What tempo is Darkstep played at?
Between 170 and 180 BPM.
Who are the key Darkstep artists?
Panacea, Technical Itch, Limewax, Current Value, Donny.
