Hardstep is a subgenre of

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

which emerged in 1994. It is characterised by a gritty production style that consists of an inner-city feel. The breaks are less choppy than

oldschool jungle Jungle is a genre of dance music that developed out of the UK rave scene and sound system culture in the 1990s. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopated percussive loops, samples, an ...

, and have faster and harder simple electronic melodies. One characteristic is an accentuated, yet sparse percussive beat. The genre found favour with

junglist Junglist is a slang term which first referred to a person living in an area of West Kingston, Jamaica, called Jungle. It was later used as a term to refer to someone who is a dedicated listener of jungle and/or drum & bass music. Tracks from this ...

s, and though it has been overtaken in popularity by

techstep Techstep is a dark subgenre of drum and bass that was created in the mid-1990s. Style It is characterized by a dark, sci-fi mood, near-exclusive use of synthesised or sampled sound sources, 2-step kicks and snares and influences from industrial ...

, the fans of the style still remain. Early Hardstep artists include

DJ Hype Kevin Ford (born 1968), better known as DJ Hype, is a British jungle and drum and bass producer and DJ. Biography Hype first became involved in music as a teenager in 1982, assisting PJ and Smiley with their sound system Heatwave in East ...

and

DJ Zinc Benjamin Pettit (born 12 March 1972), better known as DJ Zinc, is a British DJ and record producer. Zinc first became known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop/jungle fusion, notably one of the pioneering jump-up anthems of its time. ...

References

Drum and bass subgenres English styles of music {{DnB-stub