Techstep is a dark 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 ...

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 Two-step or two step may refer to: Dance *Two-step (dance move), a dance move used in a wide range of dancing genres *Country-western two-step, also known as the Texas Two-step * Nightclub Two Step, also known as the California Two-step *2-step ( ...

kicks and snares and influences from

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

music, what some writers have described as a "clinical" sound. Although described as having a "techy" feel, techstep's relationship with techno should not be overstated. It shares the technique of creating a high-energy collage from abstract, synthetic noises, including samples, bleeps and squelches: it rarely uses instruments that have not been processed by effects. Similarly, quantized drum-machine kit and percussion sounds are favored over naturalistic human breakbeats. However, it usually adheres to drum and bass norms in other regards, especially in terms of musical structure, with the emphasis on the "drop". Techstep saw jungle music's obsession with bass change, from aiming for low and deep to exploring timbre, artists aiming to outdo each other with ever more distorted and "twisted" bass sounds.

History

Techstep developed from jungle music and

hardstep Hardstep is a subgenre of drum and bass 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, and have faster and harder simple electronic m ...

around 1995. The name of the genre was coined by Ed Rush and Trace, who were both instrumental in shaping the sound of techstep. In this case, "tech" did not refer to the smoother style of Detroit techno, but to the raver, more caustic hardcore sounds that were popular in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in the earlier part of the decade, often known as

Belgian techno Belgian hardcore techno (also referred to as Belgian techno or rave techno) is an early style of hardcore techno that emerged from new beat as EBM and techno influences became more prevalent in this genre. It flourished in Belgium and influence ...

. Techstep was a reaction to more virtuosic and more pop musical elements in jungle and drum 'n' bass, which were seen as an adulteration of "true" or "original" jungle. Instead the genre was infused with a simpler, colder sound that stripped away most R&B elements, and replaced them with a more hardcore sound, and ideological influences like youth

anti-capitalism Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economic system, such as s ...

movements, and

dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

n films like ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...

'' and ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferre ...

''.
One of the first incarnations of the techstep sound is DJ Trace's remix of T-Power's "Mutant Jazz" which appeared on S.O.U.R. Recordings in 1995. This remix, co-produced by Ed Rush and Nico, features the trademark stepping beats and distorted Reese bassline which would become symbolic of the techstep genre. The ''Torque'' compilation (No U Turn), the ''Techsteppin compilation (Emotif), ''Breakage'' LP (Penny Black 1997), and ''Platinum Breakz 1, 2'', and ''MDZ 01'' (Metalheadz) feature some selections of techstep tracks. Some of the original techstep producers eventually developed the

neurofunk Neurofunk (also known informally as neuro) is a dark subgenre of drum and bass which emerged between 1997 and 1998 in London, England as a progression of techstep. It was further developed by juxtaposing elements of darker, heavier, and harder ...

style. These include early pioneers Ed Rush & Optical,

Teebee Torgeir Byrknes, better known by his stage name Teebee, is a Norwegian DJ and producer of drum and bass. He also runs the record label Subtitles Recordings. Teebee began DJing in 1990 and released his first record in 1996. He won the Knowledge M ...

Dom & Roland Dom & Roland is the alias of British drum and bass producer Dominic Angas. The addition of "Roland" in the artist name refers to his Roland sampler. In 1996 he was signed to Moving Shadow recordings, releasing three albums and numerous singles o ...

and Doc Scott. Moving Shadow and Metalheadz were important labels in the development of the style.

References

{{Drum and bass-footer Drum and bass subgenres English styles of music

Style

History

See also

References