2-step garage

One of the primary characteristics of the 2-step sound - the term being coined to describe "a general rubric for all kinds of jittery, irregular rhythms that don't conform to garage's traditional 4-to-the-floor pulse"¹ - is that the rhythm lacks the kick drum pattern found in many other styles of electronic music with a regular four-to-the-floor beat. A typical 2-step drum pattern features a kick on the first and third beat, often with shuffle applied to other elements of the percussion, creating a "lurching, falter-funk feel"¹, and resulting in a beat distinctly different from that present in other house or techno. Although tracks with only two kick drum beats to a bar are perceived as being slower than the traditional four-to-the-floor beat, the listener's interest is maintained by the introduction of syncopated basslines and the percussive use of other instruments such as pads and strings. Influence from hip hop² and drum and bass, particularly the hardstep³ and techstep¹ subgenres have also been noted by critics.

Vocals in 2-step garage are usually female, and similar to the style prevalent in house music or contemporary R&B.²⁴ Some 2-step producers also process and cut up elements of an acapella vocal and use it as an element of the track.¹ Much like other genres derived from UK garage, MCs are often featured, particularly in a live context, with a vocal style reminiscent of oldschool jungle¹

History

2-step rose to prominence as a genre on jungle- and garage-based pirate radio stations in London as an evolution of, and perhaps reaction to developments in contemporary genres such as speed garage, with early 2-step shows often airing at "mellow moments in the weekend" such as Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon. DJs would mix UK garage productions with those of American house and NY garage producers such as Masters at Work and Todd Edwards, pitching up the imports to around 130bpm to aid beatmatching. DJs favoured the instrumental (or 'dub') versions of these tracks, because it was possible to play these versions faster without the vocal element of the track sounding odd. Soon, UK producers began to emulate the sound of these pitched-up, imported records in their own tracks.¹

As the popularity of the sound spread, nights dedicated to it began to crop up, especially in London. Label owner and dubstep musician Steve Goodman commented on the Hyperdub website on the debut of Forward>>, a highly influential nightclub in 2-step and later derivatives of the "UK hardcore continuum" - a phrase coined by Goodman to sum up the constant evolution in the hardcore/jungle/garage sound⁵;

Much like drum and bass before it, 2-step started to garner crossover appeal, with a collaboration between 2-step producers Artful Dodger and R&B vocalist Craig David reaching #2 in the UK singles chart in 2000.

From 2000 onwards, 2-step as a genre experienced a decline in popularity³, but the more experimental releases in the genre from artists such as Horsepower Productions, Zed Bias, Wookie, and Steve Gurley stripped away much of the R&B influence of the genre. This style, for which a number of names including 'dark 2-step' and 'nu dark swing' were coined⁷ became a major influence on later styles of UK garage influenced music, such as grime, as well as becoming a direct precursor to dubstep.⁸⁹⁷¹⁰¹¹¹²

Contents

Characteristics

History

See also

References