Dubstep

Skrillex got famous for creating an album that tries to sonically represent the sound of two fax machines fucking.

—Cracked, 4 Artists Who Should Probably Just Take a Break For a While

Dubstep began in South London in the early 2000s, and has risen to become the most popular form of Electronic Music in years. It's difficult to describe exactly, but the main characteristics include a moderate tempo (typically around 140 bpm), hard hitting drums, and a heavy emphasis on bass, often (but certainly not always) with a distinctive "wobble" sound. Rhythmically, dubstep is in Common Time by definition, it usually has a snare hit on the third beat of the bar, and both drums and bass tend to make heavy use of triplets. A good rule of thumb: if you find yourself wanting to nod your head, it's probably dubstep. If you want to dance, it's most likely something else.

Originally minimalistic, dark, and atmospheric, dubstep evolved over the course of the last decade. Beats became heavier, bass more abrasive, and as the sound gained mainstream popularity, more attention was paid to big drops and "filthy" wobbles (usually preceded by a 30-60 second long intro) than atmosphere. This new form of the style became known (somewhat derogatorily) as "brostep"; that is, dubstep that "bros" could enjoy. Contrast "Midnight Request Line" by Skream, one of dubstep's first crossover hits, with the Flux Pavilion remix of "Cracks" by Freestylers, a popular song from about 2010. This division in sound has led to massive amounts of Fan Dumb and Broken Base in the dubstep community, and it will most likely only get worse, as dubstep is gaining mainstream popularity faster than ever. However, it remains one of the most exciting and diverse music scenes in the world today.

Notable artists and bands in the Dubstep genre include:

16bit
Antiserum
Appleblim
Artwork
Benga
Blackleg
Boxcutter
Burial
Caspa
Chase & Status
Coki
Cookie Monsta
Culprate
Darkstar
Datsik
DJ Alex S.
Downlink
Doctor P
Digital Mystikz
Distance
DZ
Flux Pavilion
Excision
Jack Sparrow / Author
James Blake
Joker
J:Kenzo
Kode9
Kromestar
Kuedo
LD
Lindsey Stirling
Liquid Stranger
Loefah
Magnetic Man (a Supergroup comprising Artwork, Benga and Skream)
Mala
Mount Kimbie
Noisia (styled as NOISIΛ. Although the majority of their early music was Drum and Bass, they have been known to do some cross over dubsteppy material.)
Peverelist
Quantum Soul
Ruckspin / Author
Rusko
SBTRKT
- They're probably better described as being post-dubstep (usually defined as being somewhat dubstep in sound, but with R&B sensibilities).
Scuba
Shackleton
Skream
Skrillex
V.I.V.E.K.
Vex'd
Zomby