UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

, R&B, and

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

. It is defined by percussive, shuffled rhythms with syncopated hi-hats, cymbals, and snares, and may include either 4/4 house kick patterns or more irregular " 2-step" rhythms. Garage tracks also commonly feature 'chopped up' and time-stretched or pitch-shifted vocal samples complementing the underlying rhythmic structure at a tempo usually around 130 BPM. UK garage encompassed subgenres such as

speed garage Speed garage (occasionally known as plus-8) is a genre of electronic dance music, associated with the UK garage scene, of which it is regarded as one of its subgenres. Characteristics Speed garage features sped-up NY garage 4-to-the-floor rhyt ...

and 2-step, and was then largely subsumed into other styles of music and production in the mid-2000s, including

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

, and

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

. The decline of UK garage during the mid-2000s saw the birth of

UK funky UK funky (sometimes known as UKF or funky) is a genre of electronic dance music born in United Kingdom that is heavily influenced by Soca, soulful house, tribal house, UK garage, broken beat and grime. Typically, UK funky blends beats, bas ...

, which is closely related.

Origins

The evolution of house music in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1990s led to the term, as previously coined by the

Paradise Garage Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of dance and pop music, as well as LGBT and nightclub cultures. The club was founded by sole proprietor Michael Brody, and ...

DJs, being applied to a new form of music known as

. In the early '90s, American DJ

Todd Edwards Todd Edward Imperatrice (born December 9, 1972), known professionally as Todd Edwards, is an American garage house record producer, DJ and singer from Bloomfield, New Jersey. He began producing primarily for New York's Nervous Records in the 19 ...

, a pioneer of the speed garage sound, began remixing more soulful house records and incorporating more time-shifts and vocal samples than normal house records, whilst still living in the US. However, it was not until DJ EZ, the North London DJ, acquired one of Edwards' tracks and played it at a faster tempo in a nightclub in Greenwich, that the music genre really took off. In the late '90s, the term "UK garage" was settled upon by the scene. This style now frequently incorporated elements of other forms of music like

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Smi ...

, and R&B, all broadly filed under the description of

urban contemporary music Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

. The pronunciation of UK garage uses , rather than . Cole once stated, "London is a multicultural city... it's like a melting pot of young people, and that's reflected in the music of UK garage." Notable female singers who have had the genre incorporated into their songs include

Lisa Maffia Lisa Maffia (born 16 June 1979) is a British singer-songwriter, musician, rapper, actress, fashion designer, model and presenter, who originally came to the public's attention as the main female member of So Solid Crew. Whilst in So Solid Crew, ...

Ms. Dynamite Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley (born 26 April 1981), better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards. Early years She was born Niomi Arleen Mc ...

Kele Le Roc Kelly Biggs (born 5 October 1977 in East Ham, London), better known by her stage name Kele Le Roc, is a British R&B and UK garage singer. Career Biggs began singing at the age of three, and she attended Langdon Comprehensive School in East H ...

Shola Ama Shola Ama (born 8 March 1979) is a British singer from London, who scored her biggest hits with "You Might Need Somebody" (1997), a cover of Randy Crawford's 1981 hit, " You're the One I Love" and "Still Believe" (1999) which was one of the f ...

, Sweet Female Attitude,

Mis-Teeq Mis-Teeq were a British girl group, consisting of Alesha Dixon, Su-Elise Nash and Sabrina Washington. They had two top-ten albums and seven consecutive top-ten singles, with chart-topping success on the UK Singles Chart as well as across Eur ...

, and

Colour Girl Rebecca Skingley, better known as Colour Girl, is a British singer. She appeared on several house and garage records in the 1990s into the 2000s, and scored several hits on the UK Singles Chart, including a cover of " Can't Get Used to Losing Y ...

History

Relationship with jungle

In the United Kingdom, where

was very popular at the time, garage was played in a second room at jungle events. After jungle's peak in cultural significance, it had turned towards a harsher, more

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 industri ...

influenced sound, driving away dancers, predominantly women. Escaping the 170bpm jungle basslines, the garage rooms had a much more sensual and soulful sound at 130bpm. DJs started to speed up garage tracks to make them more suitable for the jungle audience in the UK. The media started to call this tempo-altered type of garage music "

4x4 Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

and 2-step's predecessor. DJs would usually play dub versions (arrangements without vocals) of garage tracks, because pitch-shifting vocals could sometimes render the music unrecognizable (although sped up and time-stretched vocals were an important part of the early jungle sound, and later played a key role in speed garage). The absence of vocals left space in the music for MCs, who started rhyming to the records.

Role of MCs

Since then, MCs have become one of the vital aspects of speed and UK garage parties and records. Early promoters of speed garage included the

Dreem Teem The Dreem Teem are a British DJ, music production and remixing trio consisting of DJ Spoony, Mikee B, and Timmi Magic. They formed in 1996 through pirate radio, and were instrumental in developing the UK garage sound. They presented radio show ...

and

Tuff Jam Tuff Jam are a British DJ, music production and remixing duo consisting of Karl 'Tuff Enuff' Brown and Matt 'Jam' Lamont. They began working together in 1993, and were instrumental in developing the UK garage sound. They presented a radio sho ...

, and

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...

stations such as

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

, Magic FM, Upfront FM, and Freek FM. During its initial phase, the speed garage scene was also known as "the Sunday Scene", as initially speed garage promoters could only hire venues on Sunday evenings (venue owners preferred to save Friday and Saturday nights for more popular musical styles). Labels whose outputs would become synonymous with the emerging speed garage sound included Confetti, Public Demand, 500 Rekords, Spread Love and VIP.

Speed garage

Speed garage Speed garage (occasionally known as plus-8) is a genre of electronic dance music, associated with the UK garage scene, of which it is regarded as one of its subgenres. Characteristics Speed garage features sped-up NY garage 4-to-the-floor rhyt ...

already incorporated many aspects of today's UK garage sound like sub-bass lines,

vocals, spin backs and reversed drums. What changed over time, until the so-called 2-step sound emerged, was the addition of further funky elements like

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...

styled vocals, more shuffled beats and a different drum pattern. The most radical change from speed garage to 2-step was the removal of the 2nd and 4th bass kick from each bar. 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 syncopating bass lines and the percussive use of other instruments such as pads and strings. Speed garage tracks were characterised by a sped-up house-style beat, complemented by the rolling snares and reverse-warped basslines that were popular with drum and bass producers of the time. Among those credited with honing the speed garage sound,

is often cited as a seminal influence on the UK garage sound. The producer from New Jersey introduced a new way of working with vocals. Instead of having full verses and choruses, he picked out vocal phrases and played them like an instrument, using sampling technology. Often, individual syllables were reversed or pitch-shifted. This type of vocal treatment is still a key characteristic of the UK garage style. Armand van Helden's speed garage remix of

Sneaker Pimps Sneaker Pimps are an English electronic music band, formed in Hartlepool in 1994. They are best known for their debut album, '' Becoming X'' (1996), and its singles " 6 Underground" and "Spin Spin Sugar". The band takes its name from an article ...

' "

Spin Spin Sugar "Spin Spin Sugar" is a song by English electronic band Sneaker Pimps, released in March 1997 as the fourth single from their debut studio album, ''Becoming X'' (1996). The album version is in true Sneaker Pimps style and format; there is a drivi ...

" in 1997 further popularized the genre which is sometimes credited with breaking speed garage into the mainstream. Another van Helden remix which also proved popular is his Drum 'n' Bass Mix of

CJ Bolland Christian Jay "C. J." Bolland (born 18 June 1971, Stockton-on-Tees, England) is an English-Belgian electronic music producer and remixer with British roots. Born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, Bolland's family moved to Antwerp in Flan ...

's "Sugar Is Sweeter". Huge club hits in 1997 came from speed garage duos

Double 99 Double 99, also known as R.I.P. Productions and 10° Below, were a UK garage duo which consisted of members Timothy Andrew Liken (Tim Deluxe) and Omar Adimora. They are best known for their sole UK chart hit single "RipGroove", which reached N ...

, 187 Lockdown and Industry Standard. The former two both scored UK top 20 hits in 1997 and 1998; Double 99's " RipGroove" reached #14 in its second release and 187 Lockdown's " Gunman" and "

Kung-Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

" reached #16 and #9, respectively. Industry Standard scored a top 40 hit with "Vol. 1 (What You Want What You Need)" peaking at #34 in January 1998, and the 1997

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six albu ...

release of Somore featuring Damon Trueitt's "I Refuse (What You Want)" reached #21 also in January 1998, containing mixes by Industry Standard, Ramsey & Fen, R.I.P. Productions and

Serious Danger Serious Danger (born Richard Philips) is an English speed garage musician and record producer. First becoming prominent in 1997, he was quite popular in the London area. Signed to Fresh Records, his best-known releases are "Deeper" (1997) and "Hi ...

. The Fabulous Baker Boys scored a #34 hit in 1997 with "Oh Boy" which samples

Jonny L Jonny L, real name Jon Lisners, (born November 1970) is a British drum and bass producer. He has also released music under the alias of Mr. L and was one half of the UK garage duo True Steppers. Biography Early career (1992–1995) Lisners ...

's 1992 rave track "Hurt You So".

Two-step (1997–1999)

Arguably one of the earliest examples of a 2-step track is the 1997 Kelly G remix of " Never Gonna Let You Go" by

Tina Moore Tina Moore (born October 17, 1970, in Racine, Wisconsin) is an American R&B musician. She scored two Top 20 hit singles in the UK in 1997 with " Never Gonna Let You Go" (#7) and " Nobody Better" (#20). Both singles were UK garage remix A rem ...

, which peaked at #7 on the UK chart. Roy Davis Jr. was also influential in the UK garage scene, with the huge club hit "

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

" featuring Peven Everett, released in 1997 on

and reaching #22 on the UK chart.

Lovestation Lovestation are a British electronic dance music group formed by Vicky Aspinall in 1989, who subsequently worked with co-producer David Morgan. Gospel singer-songwriter Lisa Hunt has also appeared on several Lovestation records. Active througho ...

released their version of " Teardrops" which reached #14 in 1998. Doolally, the former name of Shanks & Bigfoot, scored a #20 hit in 1998 with " Straight from the Heart". A re-release of this song the following year fared even better, peaking at #9, due to the success of their #1 single " Sweet Like Chocolate". Jess Jackson was responsible for many garage records but one which stood out was "Hobson's Choice". The B-side of this record changed the UK garage scene from funky and soulful to dark and bassy. Another example of the evolution in 2-step was the release of "Troublesome" in 1999 by Shy Cookie and DJ Luck, in which non-sampled 2-step beats were merged with a full

vocal (performed by ragga artist Troublesome). The UK's counterpart to Todd Edwards was

MJ Cole Matthew James Firth Coleman, better known by his stage name MJ Cole, is an English garage DJ, record producer and remixer. Career Born in London, England, in his youth, Cole was classically trained on the oboe and piano, and won scholarships ...

, a classically trained oboe and piano player, who had a string of chart and underground hits in the late 1990s and early 2000s, most notably with " Sincere" and " Crazy Love". MJ Cole has also won a BBC "Young Musician of the Year" award.

American influences

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

, a popular

producer in America, was the major innovator behind contemporary R&B at the time, from which UK rave culture borrowed heavily. The use of rhythmic patterns as melodic hooks is shared by both contemporary R&B and jungle, making it very appealing to the significantly ex-junglist UK garage scene. This style of Timbaland's R&B possesses a breakbeat aesthetic: breakup of the flow of four-to-the-floor rhythm, hesitations into the groove, and teasing and tantalizing gaps. As much as these R&B influences can be heard in early UK garage, the genre offered more complex drum beats, with heavy syncopation (swing) and a more energetic feel due to a higher tempo (normally between 130 and 138 BPM). However, in tracks like " Twentyfourseven" by Artful Dodger, a slower and simpler R&B infused drum pattern can be heard. This was to allow for these tracks to be aimed at a more commercial scene rather than for the dance floor. Garage producers then proceeded to churn out UK versions of US contemporary R&B hits, notably with Brandy and Monica's " The Boy Is Mine". The

Architechs Architechs is an English electronic music act which currently consists of Paul Akabah (Tre Lowe). Former members are Ashley Akabah and producer Kevin Williams (K-Warren). Architechs gained international attention in 1998 after producing a UK ga ...

sped up the vocals through time-stretching and added sound effects to increase the competitive nature. "B&M Remix" eventually sold twenty thousand copies as a bootleg. Also borrowed from US contemporary R&B is the use of "vocal science", the technique of digitally altering vocal samples with devices such as the

Autotune Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances. Auto-T ...

r. What results is a mix between natural voice and technology.

1999–2000: Role of pirate radio, UK chart success

With the continued support of

stations such as

Rinse FM Rinse FM is a London-based community radio station, licensed for "young people living and/or working within the central, east and south London areas". It plays garage, grime, dubstep, house, jungle, UK funky and other dance music genres pop ...

, Ice FM, Deja Vu, and

Flex FM Flex FM is a London-based community radio station, which originally started life as a pirate radio station. Flex broadcasts house, drum and bass, dubstep, UK garage, old skool hardcore, reggae and soul to London and surrounding areas on 101.4F ...

, the soaring popularity of UK garage saw 1999 take the genre into the mainstream, breaking into the

music charts A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

. Production duos

Shanks & Bigfoot Shanks & Bigfoot were a British duo of UK garage producers Steven Meade and Danny Langsman, known principally for their single " Sweet like Chocolate", which topped the UK Singles Chart in 1999. They were originally known as Doolally, recording ...

and

Artful Dodger Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist''. The Dodger is a pickpocket, so called for his skill and cunning in that occupation. He is the leader of the gang of child criminal ...

were very successful with the tracks " Sweet Like Chocolate" (the first UK garage track to hit number one in the UK) and " Re-Rewind", respectively. After the platinum-selling success of "Sweet Like Chocolate", the floodgates had opened. Although "Re-Rewind" was denied a #1 position by

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

and his song "

The Millennium Prayer "The Millennium Prayer" is a song recorded by English singer Cliff Richard, in which the words of the Lord's Prayer are set to the tune of " Auld Lang Syne". It was released in November 1999 as a charity single in the lead-up to the new millenni ...

", it was also a platinum seller, one of the garage scene's first and last. They became anthems for the 2-step scene, and got onto BBC's ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. Other huge hits in 1999 include the #1 house/garage anthem " You Don't Know Me" by Armand van Helden. Although not UK garage,

Mr. Oizo Quentin Dupieux (, born 14 April 1974), also known by his musical stage name Mr. Oizo (), is a French filmmaker, electronic musician, and DJ. Dupieux is credited with his legal name for his films, while the name "Mr. Oizo" is used for his musica ...

's #1 single "

Flat Beat "Flat Beat" is an instrumental by French musician Mr. Oizo. It was released on 22 March 1999 through F Communications and was included as a bonus track on his debut studio album, ''Analog Worms Attack''. An accompanying music video was released o ...

" received extensive airplay on pirate radio stations upon release, becoming a staple for house, breakbeat and UK garage DJs; thus leading to numerous UK garage/2-step remixes/bootlegs of the track. Da Click (Pied Piper, MC Creed, PSG, Unknown MC and singer Valerie M) had a #14 hit with " Good Rhymes". Garage trio the

had a #15 hit with "

Buddy X 99 "Buddy X" is a song by Swedish musician Neneh Cherry, released as the third and final single from her second album, '' Homebrew'' (1992). It was a top 40 hit in both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in 1993, peaking at numbers 23 and 35, ...

", a garage remix of Neneh Cherry's 1992 song "Buddy X".

DJ Luck & MC Neat DJ Luck & MC Neat are a British musical duo, composed of Joel Samuels (a.k.a. DJ Luck) and Michael Rose (a.k.a. MC Neat) mainly performing a combination of house music and UK garage. They had three consecutive top 10 hits in the United Kingd ...

also had a chart hit with " A Little Bit of Luck" in late 1999 into early 2000. Many more UK garage acts followed into the new millennium by releasing commercially successful singles, thus making UK garage and 2-step a stable fixture on the UK charts for the next couple of years. Debut singles of various UK garage artists were hitting the number one spot on the UK charts.

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ''Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, after which he has re ...

's debut solo single "

Fill Me In "Fill Me In" is the debut solo single of British singer Craig David. It was released on 3 April 2000 as the lead single from his debut studio album, ''Born to Do It'' (2000). The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 9 April 200 ...

", a mix of R&B and 2-step, with single formats containing various garage remixes of the track, hit #1 in April 2000. A month later,

Oxide & Neutrino Oxide & Neutrino are an English DJ and MC garage duo from London, consisting of Oxide (Alex Rivers) and Neutrino (Mark Oseitutu). Musical career Their first single " Bound 4 da Reload (Casualty)" entered at the top of the UK Singles Chart in A ...

's " Bound 4 Da Reload (Casualty)" reached the top of the charts. Other top 10 hits in 2000 include Artful Dodger's " Movin' Too Fast" (#2), " Woman Trouble" (#6) and " Please Don't Turn Me On" (#4), Sweet Female Attitude's "

Flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

" (#2),

True Steppers True Steppers were a British UK garage production duo, consisting of Jonny Lisners and Andy Lysandrou. They had success with Dane Bowers on " Buggin", which peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart in April 2000. Their biggest selling rec ...

' "

Buggin "Buggin" is a song by UK garage duo True Steppers featuring singer Dane Bowers of Another Level. It was released as a single on 17 April 2000 and was a top-10 hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at 6 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 2 on the U ...

" (#6) and "

Out of Your Mind "Out of Your Mind" is a song by UK garage duo True Steppers. It features Dane Bowers and Victoria Beckham, in her first appearance as a solo artist away from Spice Girls. The single was released on 14 August 2000 and reached number two on the ...

" (#2),

B-15 Project B-15 Project are a UK garage duo, originally consisting of members Angus Campbell and Ian Wallman. They are best known for the hit song " Girls Like Us" which peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart in June 2000. DJ/producer Danny Wynn worked ...

's " Girls Like Us" (#7), DJ Luck & MC Neat's " Masterblaster 2000" (#5) and " Ain't No Stoppin' Us" (#8),

's " Crazy Love" (#10), Wookie's "

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

" (#10), Lonyo's " Summer of Love" (#8),

' "

Body Groove "Body Groove" is the debut single of English UK garage group Architechs, featuring vocals from Nana. Released on 25 September 2000, the song was a success, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart and becoming a moderate hit in Belgium, I ...

" (#3), and Oxide & Neutrino's " No Good 4 Me" (#6). Another huge hit in 2000 was the

Timo Maas Timo Maas (born July 27, 1969, Bückeburg, West Germany) is a German DJ/ producer and remixer whose career in electronic music spans well over 30 years. His remix of Azzido Da Bass's single " Dooms Night" helped launch his career in 2000. In ...

remix of the song "

Dooms Night "Dooms Night" is the debut single by German DJ and producer Azzido Da Bass, first released in 1999 in Germany. In the UK, the song missed the top 40 until a remix of the song by Timo Maas was released on 9 October 2000; it was this version wh ...

" (#8) by German producer

Azzido Da Bass Azzido Da Bass (born Ingo Martens, 29 August 1971) is a German DJ and record producer based in Hamburg, Germany. Early life Over the years, Martens was influenced by a wide range of music genres: as a youth, he first became interested in hip ho ...

, which was heavily associated with UK garage at the time, having become a major club hit and appearing on several UK garage compilations. It was also remixed by garage duo Stanton Warriors, titled "Dooms Night (Revisited)".

2001 hits

2001 gave

DJ Pied Piper and the Masters of Ceremonies DJ Pied Piper and the Masters of Ceremonies were a UK garage collaboration between producer and DJ Pied Piper and the emcees MC DT (responsible for the line "we're loving it, loving it, loving it"), Melody, Sharky P and the Unknown MC (Kamanc ...

their one and only number one hit record with "

Do You Really Like It? "Do You Really Like It?" is a song by UK garage music group DJ Pied Piper and the Masters of Ceremonies. The single went to number one on the UK Singles Chart in June 2001. The song has sold over 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom according to ...

". Two months later in August 2001, South London collective So Solid Crew hit the top spot with their second single " 21 Seconds". The end of 2001 saw yet another 2-step anthem reach the top of the UK charts for

Daniel Bedingfield Daniel John Bedingfield (born 3 December 1979) is a New Zealand-British singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the eldest brother of fellow singers Natasha Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle. He was a judge on '' The X Factor New Z ...

, with his debut single " Gotta Get Thru This". Other top 10 hits in 2001 include the Sunship mixes of

's "

Why Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in v ...

" (#8), " All I Want" (#2) and " One Night Stand" (#5),

's " TwentyFourSeven" (#6),

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

's " Thinking It Over" (#5),

's "

Up Middle Finger "Up Middle Finger" is a song by UK garage duo Oxide & Neutrino, released as the third single from the debut album '' Execute''. It reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 7. It was the duo's third consecutive top 10 hit, and ...

" (#7), and So Solid Crew's " They Don't Know" (#3).

2002: 2-step and grime

2002 saw an evolution as 2-step moved away from its funky and soul-oriented sound into a darker direction called "

", now a genre in its own right. During this period, traditional UK garage was pushed back underground amongst the bad publicity emanating from the tougher side of the genre, and publicised violence surrounding members of the So Solid Crew. Nonetheless, several UK garage songs did appear on the charts from 2002 to 2004, including

Heartless Crew The Heartless Crew are a UK garage crew from North London. The group has been credited for paving the way for grime music, alongside So Solid Crew and Pay As U Go. Its original members are MCs Bushkin and Mighty Moe and DJ Fonti. Career B ...

's "The Heartless Theme" (#21),

Distant Soundz Distant Soundz is one of the pseudonyms of British electronic dance musician, Mark Shrimpton. Shrimpton has released various singles on vinyl and CD under the name. Notable singles In early 2002, Distant Soundz recorded and released a garage ...

' version of " Time After Time" (#20), So Solid Crew's "Ride wid Us" (#19) and " Haters" (#8), Ladies First's version of " I Can't Wait" (#19), Pay As U Go's " Champagne Dance" (#13), Mr Reds vs

DJ Skribble Scott Ialacci, professionally known as DJ Skribble (born October 10, 1968) is an American DJ, producer, remixer, radio personality and actor. In the early 1990s, he teamed up with Kamron, ATA, Firstborn and Tommy Never in Young Black Teenagers ...

's " Everybody Come On (Can U Feel It)" (#13),

's "

B with Me "B with Me" is a song by British girl group Mis-Teeq. It was written by band members Alesha Dixon, Su-Elise Nash, and Sabrina Washington along with Mushtaq for their debut album, ''Lickin' on Both Sides'' (2001). Rather than the album version, ...

" (#5),

Jaimeson Jaimeson (né Jamie WilliamsJaimeson biography
, Sing3 ...

's "

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

" (#4) and 3 of a Kind's "

Baby Cakes "Baby Cakes" is the only single released by British garage trio 3 of a Kind. It debuted atop the UK Singles Chart on 15 August 2004, becoming the band's only chart hit. ''Mixmag'' included "Baby Cakes" on their "40 of the best UK garage track ...

" which was a number one hit in August 2004. Notable early grime artists around 2001–03 include

Ruff Sqwad Ruff may refer to: Places * Ruff, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community * Ruff, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community Other uses *Ruff (bird) (''Calidris pugnax'' or ''Philomachus pugnax''), a bird in the wader fa ...

More Fire Crew More Fire Crew is an East London-based English grime crew from Waltham Forest, whose 2002 single " Oi!" with Platinum 45 was widely recognised as the first grime song to reach the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number eight. Background While enr ...

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. D ...

(who released his debut album ''

Boy in da Corner ''Boy in da Corner'' is the debut studio album by English rapper and producer Dizzee Rascal. It was first released on 21 July 2003 by XL Recordings in the United Kingdom before being released the following year in the United States. A widesprea ...

'' in 2003),

Roll Deep Roll Deep (formerly Roll Deep Entourage) are a British grime crew. They were founded in 2001 by Wiley shortly before the disbandment of UK garage crew Pay As U Go Cartel. The group have had two UK No. 1 singles, "Good Times" and " Green Lig ...

, and

Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations * Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People * Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer * Wiley Mil ...

. During this time, there was also a strong division of class in UK garage. In the heyday of garage, the late 1990s, it was a highly aspirational genre. When people went to the club to hear garage, they dressed stylish and smart. Clubs such as Twice as Nice enforced a dress code of no tennis shoes, jeans, or baseball caps. Having a formal dress code changed the importance placed on nice clothes from a style to excluding people. The dress codes were meant to "encourage people to make an effort", but also to "keep trouble out." In time, the club installed a metal detector, because "gangstas like to dress expensive," but theoretically could still carry a gun. Eventually, when groups like So Solid Crew attracted more urban, lower-class audiences to raves because of their lyrics over the garage tracks, garage began to transition to grime because previous audiences were less likely to listen, so radios and clubs stopped giving garage opportunities.

2007: Garage revival

In 2007, several DJs helped promote and revive UK garage's popularity, with producers creating new UK garage, also known as "new skool" UK garage or "

". The end of 2007 saw "new skool" UK garage push to the mainstream again with notable tracks such as T2's " Heartbroken" and H "Two" O's " What's It Gonna Be" both reaching the mainstream charts. The revival was galvanised by DJ EZ releasing '' Pure Garage Rewind: Back to the Old Skool'', which contained three CDs of "old skool" UK garage and a fourth CD with fresh "new skool" UK garage.

2010s resurgence

Early 2011 saw the start of a gradual resurgence of 2-step garage. Producers such as Wookie,

Zed Bias Dave Jones, better known as Zed Bias, is an English electronic musician based in Manchester, who operates within the UK garage/2-step, broken beat and UK funky genres, as a producer and as a DJ. He has also released material under various p ...

and Mark Hill (formerly one half of

) made a return to the scene, by producing tracks with more of a 2-step feel. Electronic music duos

Disclosure Disclosure may refer to: Arts and media * ''Disclosure'' (The Gathering album), 2012 *Disclosure (band), a UK-based garage/electronic duo * ''Disclosure'' (novel), 1994 novel written by Michael Crichton ** ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American ...

and

AlunaGeorge AlunaGeorge are an English electronic music duo from London, consisting of singer-songwriter Aluna Francis and producer George Reid. Career 2009: Formation The duo first met in June 2009, when Reid remixed Francis' band My Toys Like Me's trac ...

, both successful throughout 2012 and 2013, often use elements of UK garage in their music, and arguably, some of their biggest hits including " You & Me" and "We Are Chosen" respectively, are entirely 2-step with an updated cleaner sound. Shortly following this, "original" style garage had made a return in a big way, with producers such as Moony, DJD and Tuff Culture paving the way. One of the genre's pioneering labels, Ice Cream Records, responsible for anthems such as " RipGroove",

' "Out of Your Mind",

's " My Love" and more, opened up their permanent roster for the first time to include DJs outside of the legendary trio that launched the label.

AJ Tracey Ché Wolton Grant (born 4 March 1994), known professionally as AJ Tracey, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is from Ladbroke Grove, West London. Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by ''The Guardian'' i ...

's song "

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given ...

" initially debuted at number 48 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in February 2019, then eventually peaked at number three in October 2019 following its release as a single. In September 2019, the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

certified the song as platinum for exceeding chart sales of 600,000. It was one of the best-selling songs of 2019. Other hits in the 2010s include

Toddla T Thomas Mackenzie Bell (born 22 February 1985), better known by the stage name of Toddla T, is an English DJ, record producer, remixer and songwriter from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Biography Bell was raised in Sheffield where he attended Ki ...

's "

Take It Back "Take It Back" is a song by the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released as the seventh track on their 1994 album ''The Division Bell''. It was also released as a single on 16 May 1994, the first from the album, and Pink Floyd's first for seven ...

All About She All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

's " Higher (Free)",

Naughty Boy Shahid Khan ( ur, شاهد خان; born 1 January 1981), better known by his stage name Naughty Boy, is a British DJ, record producer, songwriter and musician. In 2012, Khan signed a three–year publishing deal with Sony ATV, as well as a rec ...

's " La La La",

Shift K3Y Lewis Shay Jankel (born 27 May 1993), better known by his stage name Shift K3Y (pronounced "shift key"), is a British DJ, record producer, singer and songwriter, from London. He is best known for his 2014 singles "Touch", which peaked at number ...

's "

Touch In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch ( haptic perception), as well as temperature ( thermoception), body position (proprioception), and pain. It ...

Chase & Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in J ...

' " Blk & Blu",

M.O M.O are an English girl group consisting of members Annie Ashcroft and Chanal Benjilali, and previously Frankee Connolly until her departure in June 2017 and Nadine Samuels until her departure in 2020. The group was formed in 2012 by the membe ...

's "

Dance On My Own "Dance On My Own" is a song by English recording trio M.O. It was released as a digital download on 22 August 2014 in the United Kingdom as the band's fifth single. Sampling the 2000s garage hit single "Flowers" by female duo Sweet Female Attit ...

", Disclosure's " Omen" and

's "

When the Bassline Drops "When the Bassline Drops" is a song by British singer Craig David and British rapper Big Narstie. It was David's first single in six years, it was released on 27 November 2015 by Insanity and Speakerbox Media as the lead single from his sixth studi ...

" and " One More Time".

2020s

The 2020s saw new releases such as "

West Ten "West Ten" is a song by English rapper AJ Tracey and English singer Mabel. It was released as a digital download on 2 July 2020 as the second single off the former's second studio album '' Flu Game'' (2021). The song was written by Tracey, Fred, ...

" by

and Mabel, "

Don't Play "Don't Play" is a song by English singer-songwriter Anne-Marie, British YouTuber and rapper KSI, and English DJ and record producer Digital Farm Animals. The song was written by the three artists alongside Mojam, Andrew Murray, S-X, Richard ...

" by Anne-Marie,

KSI Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ" Olatunji (born 19 June 1993), known professionally as KSI, is an English YouTuber and rapper. He is a co-founder and member of the British YouTube group known as the Sidemen. He is the CEO of Misfits Boxing and ...

and

Digital Farm Animals Nick Gale, better known as Digital Farm Animals, is a British songwriter, music producer and DJ known for wearing an electronic pig helmet. He has featured on and co-written numerous tracks that have reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, ...

, "

Just for Me "Just for Me" (stylised in sentence case) is a song by English singer PinkPantheress. It was produced by Mura Masa and released on 13 August 2021 through Parlophone and Elektra as the fourth single from her debut mixtape ''To Hell with It''. ...

" and "

Pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...

" (which interpolates Sweet Female Attitude's "

") by

PinkPantheress PinkPantheress (born 2001) is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. PinkPantheress's songs, which are frequently short in length and include samples of music from the 1990s and 2000s, span a number of genres, including bedroom p ...

, "Grown Flex" by

Chip Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...

and

Bugzy Malone Aaron Davies (born 20 December 1990), better known by his stage name Bugzy Malone, is a British rapper and actor from Manchester, England. Malone has been described as one of the key artists instigating a "grime revival" moving the UK urban sc ...

, and "House & Garage" by Morrisson and

Aitch H, or h, is the eighth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''aitch'' (pronounced , plural ''aitches''), or regio ...

, all of which charted in the UK.

Kurupt FM Ricardo Emmanuel Brown (born November 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer who aided gangsta rap's rise via 1990s verses helping set lasting trends. He is one half of the rap duo Tha Dogg P ...

released their debut album '' The Greatest Hits (Part 1)'' which charted at No. 8 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. The album includes appearances by

(who features on lead single "Summertime"), Mist,

Jaykae Janum Khan, better known by his stage name Jaykae, is a British rapper and actor from Small Heath, Birmingham. Music career Jaykae's start with music began when he started listening to other grime artists from London. In 2017 he released a ...

D Double E Darren Dixon (born 19 January 1980), known professionally as D Double E, is a British grime MC, DJ and record producer from Forest Gate, East London. He performs both as a solo artist and as a member of the grime duo Newham Generals. Career D ...

, MC Creed, Big Narstie and

General Levy Paul Scott Levy (born 28 April 1971), also known as General Levy, is an English ragga deejay, regularly employed on studio tracks by drum and bass DJs. He is best known for the track "Incredible" which he recorded with M-Beat. A remixed versio ...

Genres evolved from garage

Dubstep

The dark garage sound that was being produced by the likes of Wookie,

, Shy Cookie,

El-B Lewis Beadle, professionally known as El-B, is an English record producer, songwriter and DJ. He was an original member of the UK Garage duo Groove Chronicles, and is commonly seen as one of the pioneers of the dubstep Dubstep is a genre o ...

and Artwork (of DND) in the late 1990s would set the groundwork for both

and

. Developing in parallel to grime, dubstep would take a mostly instrumental stripped down form of dark garage and with it bring in production values and influences from

dub reggae Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican re ...

UK funky

Some UK garage/dubstep/grime/bassline producers have moved to a different sound called

, which takes production values from many different shades of soulful house music with elements of UK garage and blends them at a standard

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

tempo, and soca with tribal style percussion from

afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersectin ...

Future garage

A contemporary offshoot of dubstep heavily influenced by UK garage is

future garage Future garage is a genre of electronic music that incorporates a variety of influences from UK garage and softer elements from 2-step garage, leading to an off-kilter rhythmic style. Characteristic sounds are pitched vocal chops, warm filtered ree ...

References

External links

UK Garage History & Family Tree
''Music Is My Sanctuary'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Uk Garage Electronic dance music genres Black British music English styles of music 1990s in music 2000s in music 20th-century music genres 21st-century music genres

Origins

History

Relationship with jungle

Role of MCs

Speed garage

Two-step (1997–1999)

American influences

1999–2000: Role of pirate radio, UK chart success

2001 hits

2002: 2-step and grime

2007: Garage revival

2010s resurgence

2020s

Genres evolved from garage

Dubstep

UK funky

Future garage

See also

References

External links