Drumstep
Breaks · 2010 · 140 to 160 BPM · also known as Drum Step, Halftime
The 2010s hybrid: the tempo of drum and bass with half time drops inherited from American dubstep. Built for EDM festival stages and video games, where the doubled speed hits hard. More a production convention than a scene, it documents the moment drum and bass and brostep traded weapons and briefly shared the same festival main stage across an entire touring season.
10 reference tracks
- Pendulum: The Vulture (2010)
- Camo and Krooked: All Fall Down (2011)
- Modestep: Sunlight (2011)
- Knife Party: Bonfire (2012)
- Delta Heavy: Get By (2012)
- Braken: To the Stars
- Knife Party: Internet Friends
- Tristam: My Friend
- Tristam & Braken: Flight
- Noisia: Diplodocus (Kill The Noise Remix)
At a glance
- Tempo: 140 to 160 BPM
- First appeared: around 2010
- Machines: Ableton Live, Native Instruments Massive, Xfer Serum
- The sound: Drops half-time, Basses brostep à 87/174, Supersaw de festival, Production EDM
- Labels: Monstercat, RAM Records, Firepower, Disciple, Earstorm
- Key artists: Knife Party (frange), Pendulum (frange), Camo & Krooked (frange), Tristam & Braken
Producing Drumstep
The grid runs at 174 BPM, but the drop sits in half time, the snare falling only on beat three, an 87 BPM dubstep feel. Intros and build ups stay in drum and bass two step, the drop switches to half time, and some tracks return to full drum and bass for a second drop, that switch between speeds being the whole point of the genre. Two step sections: kick on one and the and of three, snare on two and four, sixteenth note hats. The half time drop strips back to a kick on one and a snare on three, but that snare is huge and stacked: a 909 snare, a clap, a break sample and white noise with a short reverb. Hats keep running in sixteenths through the drop, and the bass wavetable wobbles on shifting LFO rates.
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 Drumstep?
The 2010s hybrid: the tempo of drum and bass with half time drops inherited from American dubstep. Built for EDM festival stages and video games, where the doubled speed hits hard. More a production convention than a scene, it documents the moment drum and bass and brostep traded weapons and…
What tempo is Drumstep played at?
Between 140 and 160 BPM.
Who are the key Drumstep artists?
Knife Party (frange), Pendulum (frange), Camo & Krooked (frange), Tristam & Braken.
