The music scene is a lexical minefield; one misplaced syntactical structure here, a floating definite article there and it can all mean ruin in the eyes of a given genre's credibility-gatekeepers. Whether you're po-going around the stage in spray-on jeans or gazing wantonly at your shoes – names are an intrinsic part of an artist's aesthetic. Call yourself Test Icicles and you're halfway to fucked already…

Whilst such dictionary-plunder translated into brash sloganeering during Punk's gobby heyday, twee nouns throughout Britpop, and an excess of Z's wherever there's a sniff of da urban, the burgeoning sound of dubstep has claimed it's own alphabetic doctrine; the kicking K. Amongst the subterranean bass and clipped tech overtures, dubstep's royalty began to emerge – all proudly grasping their consonants with pride. Digital Mystikz, Kode 9 and, lest we forget, Skream.

I listen to loads of different genres. At the minute I'm really feeling Goldfrapp… They're sick!

Hard, angular and bestowed with the ability to subtly transform an innocent entity into something far more brusque, the use of K (alphabetic not narcotic) provides a neat encapsulation of dubstep's recent aural ascent – maturing from the more polite environs of Millennium Garage into a visceral strain of instrumental polemic that shares a genealogy with Grime but eschews the more glamour-obsessed aspects of the genre.

Emerging blinking from the bedroom, dubstep's formative years have seen cheap PC software enable anyone to become a producer – yet where this ensures a refreshing democracy, it also means there's a shitload of banal vinyl to wade through. Thankfully from time to time an artist comes along who ensures there's no need to finger the crates endlessly in search of that elusive gem – with their inherent brilliance writ large for all to see. In the case of dubstep this mantle has fallen firmly at the uber-talented feet of Skream – aka Olli Jones – whose virulent strain of bass punctured beats and piquant melodies has opened up the genre to a whole new audience. When even the BBC are giving you the crossover thumbs up ("if this weird new sound is ever to make its way overground, this is the man to take it there") then you can presume you're making an impact. When Villalobos starts playing you out, it's time to accept your fate…

Call yourself Test Icicles and you're halfway to fucked already…

With the kind of back-story that reads like a PR team's wet-dream, 2000 was year-dot of the Skream arc; aged 15 and in bother at school, Olli met Benga and Hatcha who, through their connections with Croydon's Big Apple record shop and club sets at Forward>>, together minted the dubstep game plan. Uniting the vicious predilection of dub, seedy menace of drum & bass and head-nodding gravitas of hip-hop, dubstep quickly gained a reputation as the underground noise of choice for those in the know – bringing a genuine thrill to even the most jaded of ears. Yet, as is always the case with such a closed-gate community, the smell of potential stagnation hung heavy in the air. Thank fuck then for Digital Mystikz.

Introducing a more melodious aspect to the sonorous silicon, Digital Mystikz laid the foundations that Skream then built on; bringing tunes in from the shadows and allowing the ear access to a lighter thread with which to balance the noir-couched backdrop. If that all sounds emotionally redundant, suffice to say the actual records are searing diktats on the power of vocal-less music – battering the senses in a way which is neither oppressive nor intimidating, yet somehow enveloping the listener in the kind of serotonin-etched experience that makes having ears worthwhile. Hyperbolic? Maybe. Bollocks? Not a chance.

I'll hopefully be doing a track with Warrior Queen later this year and my full length will be appearing in 2006: So be ready!

This all brings us neatly to the release of 'Midnight Request Line' on the superlative Tempa; undoubtedly the definitive dubstep release thus far, Skream's fifth 12" sent a shudder so fierce throughout the underground that it was only a matter of time before it breached the genre levies and flooded out. When Ricardo Villalobos started spinning it even Skream was shocked. "Yeah that's sick" Olli confesses "I was really surprised when I heard a techno DJ was playing one of my tracks." So would you consider returning the favour? "If I liked it…"

Having started dabbling in production at the ripe old age of 14, Skream's musical life was nearly cut short due to a technology-provoked apathy. "I was about 14 when I started dabbling with Music 2000 but got bored really quickly. Then my brother introduced me to FruityLoops 3 and it all started from there". From here on in things progressed quickly and the music matured at an alarming rate, so surely his set-up must have changed considerably over the years? "Well no, not at all really – there's been some updates on my software and a new keyboard, but other than that it's the same. I will be moving on to a Mac soon, but not just yet".

there are no rules to making music

As is the danger with any emerging genre, dubstep has to run the fine line between progression and stagnation – making sure not to become a bass-heavy exercise in sonic tail-chasing, whilst ensuring things move forwards in a manner which excites the punters but doesn't leave them alienated. The last thing we need is a dubstep Ocean Colour Scene. Thankfully through the likes of Skream, Digital Mystikz and Kode 9 this seems an increasingly unlikely proposition – with 'Midnight Request Line' juxtaposing upfront melodies with a basement of grimy (small G!) lowend-business, simultaneously managing to be both dank and inviting.

One possible explanation for this willingness to embrace a broader sound can be found after a quick root through his record collection; "I listen to loads of different genres. At the minute I'm really feeling Goldfrapp… They're sick!" In addition to a trend-bucking love of horse-headed glam-electro, Skream also professes a softspot for House (DJ Gregory etc.) and makes another frank confession "You might not believe it but I also listen to a lot of Disco/Funk – Gap Band, KneeDeep, Fatback Band: All the masters_". Whilst this certainly helps to signpost his melodious top-shelf, how did the Skream basement come to be such a lightless place? "When I was growing up I was always on stuff that was a little bit darker – Underground garage, Artwork, Zed Bias, El-B, Nude, Oris Ja. It taught me to do what I feel and realise that there are no rules to making music".

Describing the future of dubstep as "bigger subs 'n' bigger clubs", there remains a danger that coffee-table vigilantes will claim the genre and fuck it all up ala drum & bass

Until now the dubstep rulebook seems to have a triptych doctrine; avoid overt vocals and if you have to use them keep it subtle (lest it become just another avenue of the bewildering Grime universe), don't try and make an album (the scene is obsessed with dub-plates) and make no concessions to commercialisation. Guess what? Skream's having none of it. Quick to counter accusations of allergy in terms of vocals and full-fat LP's, Olli quashes two of the governing diktats outright. "I'll hopefully be doing a track with Warrior Queen later this year and my full length will be appearing in 2006: So be ready!" As to the third maxim, Skream is just as direct, proclaiming "I don't think dubstep will ever go commercial" – but whilst there's no doubt he believes this, given the hub-bub surrounding his releases it might just be that he'll unwittingly prove himself wrong.

Describing the future of dubstep as "bigger subs 'n' bigger clubs", there remains a danger that coffee-table vigilantes will claim the genre and fuck it all up ala drum & bass. Whilst this currently seems unlikely, does Skream feel there's been any animosity within the scene towards him since 'Midnight Request Line' piqued the attention of a wider audience? "Not to my knowledge and I would do anything to spread the sound and create links in other scenes." Would this include remix work? "Yeah. I love remixes, I could honestly do them all day long!" Quick to give those around him credit, Skream's top-tips for the future are Quest and Ironsoul ("both big producers to watch out for"), as well as forecasting that "whilst Britain is where it originates from, dubstep will cross many borders. Take my word". Does this signal the perennial obsession for British music to crack the American market? "No not at all. I think dubstep will likely end up breaking boundaries without actually trying to".

Closing with a discussion of what currently constitutes the cream of dubstep's canon (see list below), Skream is evidently in love with making music (he has a rumored 1,500 tracks nestled on various hard-drives) and seems poised to take the genre in a direction which will prevent it dying on it's underground-obsessed arse. So buckle up and skream if you wanna go faster…

Skream's Definitive Dubstep List:

Tempa's-16 (all of them)
NeverLand -Mala/DMZ
Midnight Request Line – Skream
Root – Loefa/DMZ
RED – Artwork
Skank – Benga vs. Skream
The Judgement – Benga vs. Skream

Skream's Current Top 10:

Ironsoul – Kalawanji
Skream vs. Hijak – BabylonTimewarp(rootremix)
Mala – Left Leg Out
Quest – HardFood
Coki – Shattered
Benga – Ms20
TDistance – Cyclops
Skream – Colourful
Skream vs. Distance – Wisemen
Mala – Antiwar

Skream's Boomkat Mix: Tracklisting

Skream – Blipstream
Skream – Deep Concentration
Skream – Lightning
Digital Mystikz – Ancient Memories (Skream Mix)
?????
Skream – 0800 Dub
Skream – Music To Make You Swagger
Skream – Dutch Flowers
Loefah – Root (Skream Mix)

Further Reading:

For a fantastically in-depth discussion of Skream's role within the dubstep scene see Martin Clark's brilliant Blackdown Blog

The leading dubstep label; Tempa

Want to discuss dubstep? Get here: Dubstep Forum

Brussells Dubstep Night Pics Courtesy of allnighters.net & Beursschouwburg

Origins and Early Dubstep

The term 'dubstep' was coined by Ammunition Promotions and first used on an XLR8R magazine cover that featured Horsepower Productions. It gained full acceptance with the Dubstep Allstars Vol 1 CD (Tempa) mixed by DJ Hatcha.

The key touch points of the early dubstep sound were Croydon's now defunct Big Apple shop and rejuvenated Big Apple records that pushed the sound. Producers and DJs in the Croydon area included El-B and Jay Da Flex from Ghost, Hatcha, Menta/Artwork, Skream and Benga from Big Apple records, and Horsepower. Zed Bias also contributed a great deal of productions to the early sound. Steve Gurley (ex of Foul Play) had also experimented with darker 2step.

Horsepower released records on the Tempa label, alongside Big Apple one of the first distinctly dubstep labels. Tempa was run by Ammunition Promotions, the other key touch point for the early development of dubstep. Since 2001, Ammunition have been responsible for a raft of labels like Tempa, Soulja, Road, Vehicle, Shelflife, Texture, Stealth People, Bingo and more – though to date only Soulja, Bingo, Road and Tempa remain active.

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Forward

Ammunition also run club Forward>>, originally held at the Velvet Rooms in London's Soho and now running twice a month out of Plastic People in Shoreditch, east London. This club was critical in the development of dubstep, providing the first venue devoted to the sound and an environment in which producers could premier new music. Forward>> also run a radio show on key east London pirate station Rinse FM, hosted by producer/DJ Kode 9, owner of the pioneering Hyperdub label.

Also part of Forward>> from the start were other strains of garage hybrids. One style of early grime, then called '8bar', was played here by DJs like Slimzee (then of Pay As U Go, now part of Rinse FM). These flavours allowed producers like Croydon's Plasticman and Manchester's Mark One to come through with their own takes on the grime sound. The summer of 2005 has seen Forward>> bring grime DJs to the fore of the line up with Roll Deep, Jammer, Geeneus, Newham Generals performing with their respective MCs.

Forward>> also attracted the attention of Rinse FM DJs, who around 2003 opened up their schedule to dubstep DJs during a time where the traditional garage scene had turned their back on the sound. Rinse FM became a vital lifeline for the sound, strengthening the connection between dubstep and its urban London surroundings, while also allowing the scene to incubate new ideas.

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Dubstep Today

Throughout 2003 on Rinse FM and through his sets at Forward>>, DJ Hatcha began pioneering a new direction for dubstep, one that was to finally establish the scene as a distinct and new sound. Playing sets cut to 10" one-off reggae-style dubplates, he drew exclusively from a rich pool of new South London producers – first Benga and Skream, then also Digital Mystikz and Loefah – to pioneer a dark, clipped and minimal new direction in dubstep. The addition of Digital Mystikz to Hatcha sets brought with them an expanded palate of sounds and influences, most prominently reggae and dub, but also strange mystical melodies.

The south London collective Digital Mystikz (Mala and Coki) and Loefah soon came into their own, bringing sound system thinking, dub values, and appreciation of jungle bass weight to the dubstep scene – and with it a new lease on life. After 12"s on Big Apple, they began their own DMZ label, which has released eight 12"s to date. They also began their night DMZ, held every two months in Brixton, a part of London steeped in reggae history. Showcasing the best in new dubstep talent (such as Skream, N-Type, Scuba, Kode 9, D1, Random Trio, Chef, Joe Nice, Pinch, DJ Youngsta, Distinction, Vex'd and Blackdown ) and backed by a massive, sub-bass boosted sound system, the night is currently the benchmark dubstep night worldwide. Only Subloaded, Bristol's dubstep night promoted by DJ Pinch and the Context crew, can compare to DMZ's sound system in weight.

Another key turning point for the scene were the two misnamed 'Grime' compilations put together by Rephlex (assisted by Ammunition). Featuring Plasticman, Mark One and Slaughter Mob on the first volume, and Kode 9, Loefah and Digital Mystikz on the second, it introduced the different flavours to the global electronica audience, the repercussions of which can be seen in current productions and club nights.

2006 saw a massive expansion of interest in the sound. Building on the success of Skream's 2005 grimey anthem 'Midnight Request Line,' the hype around the DMZ night and support from online forums and bloggers, the scene exploded after Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs gathered the cream of the scene together for one show, entitled 'Dubstep Warz.' The effect was to create a massive new audience for the scene, both in the UK and worldwide, after years of underground hard graft.

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Breakstep

There is a breakbeat influenced side of garage – originally called breakbeat garage, now more often referred to as 'breakstep.' This sound is not to be confused with dubstep itself, although there is some cross-over between artists.

Breakstep evolved from the 2 step garage sound. Moving away from the more soulful elements of garage, it incorporated downtempo drum & bass style basslines, trading the shuffle of 2 step for a more straight forward breakbeat drum pattern. The breakthrough for this style came in 1999 from DJ Deekline's 'I Don't Smoke' selling 15,000 units on Rat Records until eventually being licenced to EastWest in 2000 and climbing the top 40 UK chart to no.11. Following this came DJ Zinc's '138 Trek,' an experiment with drum & bass production at garage tempo (138 bpm). This instigated a dialog between breaks and garage producers, with Forward>> playing host to Zed Bias and Oris Jay (aka Darqwan). They were mirrored in breaks by producers like DJ Quest, Osmosis and Ed209. Current descendents of these artists include Toasty Boy, Mark One, Search & Destroy, Quiet Storm, DJ Distance, Reza, Slaughter Mob, Blackmass Plastics and Warlock.