2-step garage, or simply 2-step, is a genre of

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

and a subgenre of

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...

.
''A transcription of this article is availabl
here
as a PDF file.'' 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 four-on-the-floor pulse" – is that the

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

lacks the kick drum pattern found in many other styles of electronic music with a regular four-on-the-floor beat.

Characteristics

A typical 2-step drum pattern features syncopated kick drums that skip a beat, with shuffled rhythm or

triplets A multiple birth is the culmination of a multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such births ...

applied to other elements of the percussion, resulting in a sound noticeably distinct to those present in other

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

or techno music. Although rhythms with two kicks to a bar may be considered less energetic than the four on the floor pattern, 2-step rhythms maintain the listener's interest with off-beat

snare SNARE proteins – "Soluble NSF attachment protein, SNAP REceptors" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts and more than 60 members in mammalian and plant cells. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to m ...

placements and accents in the drumlines, scattered rimshots and woodblocks,

syncopated In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...

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, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

s, and the percussive use of other instruments such as pads or strings. Instrumentation usually includes keyboards, synthesizers, and

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

s. Other instruments are added to expand the musical palette, often in the form of acoustic recordings, which may be sampled. The primary synth basslines used in 2-step are similar to those in the style's progenitors such as UK garage, drum and bass, and jungle. Influences from

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

can also be heard.

Vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

in 2-step garage are usually female, and similar in style to those prevalent in

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

and

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...

. Some 2-step producers also

process A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic. Things called a process include: Business and management * Business process, activities that produce a specific s ...

and cut up elements of

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

vocals and use it as an element of the track. Much like other genres derived from UK garage, MCs are often featured, particularly in a live context, with a vocal style reminiscent of old school jungle. Influences from

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

, particularly as a reaction to the "melody-and-vocal-devoid bombast" of the techstep subgenre, have been noted by critics. The fact that the scene had a significantly different atmosphere to those that surrounded precursors with less

aggression Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...

at live events was also noted by some critics.

History

Early years

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 US garage producers such as Masters at Work and Todd Edwards, pitching up the imports to around 130 BPM to aid

beatmatching Beatmatching or pitch cue is a DJ technique of pitch shifting or time stretching an upcoming track to match its tempo to that of the currently playing track, and to adjust them such that the beats (and, usually, the bars) are synchronized� ...

. DJs favoured the

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

(or 'dub') versions of these tracks, because it was possible to play these versions faster without the vocal element of the track sounding odd. The sound of these pitched-up, imported records was quickly imitated by UK producers in their own music.

Growing popularity

As the popularity of the sound spread, nights dedicated to it began to crop up, especially in London and Southampton. Label owner and dubstep musician

Steve Goodman Steven Benjamin Goodman (July 25, 1948 – September 20, 1984) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Chicago. He wrote the song " City of New Orleans", which was recorded by artists including Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, The ...

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 sound,
An archived copy of this article may be foun
here
and later adopted by other writers documenting the scene, such as Martin Clark. 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, which was a No. 7 hit on the UK Singles Chart. Other notable 2-step hits released in 1997 include "

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

" by Dem 2 and "The Theme" by the Dreem Teem.

1999–2001: Mainstream success

Between 1999 and 2001, 2-step reached the peak of the genre's commercial success. Some critics noted that party organizers favoured 2-step events over nights themed around jungle, drum and bass or other musical precursors because the 2-step nights invited a larger female attendance, and a less aggressive crowd. 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 Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He 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, to great commercial success. In to ...

reaching #2 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1999 with the song " Re-Rewind". Group DJ Pied Piper and the Masters of Ceremonies had a number-one hit with " Do You Really Like It? in June 2001.

2001–present: Decline

After 2001, 2-step as a genre experienced a decline in popularity, but the more experimental releases in the genre from artists such as Horsepower Productions,

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 ...

, Wookie and Steve Gurley
An archived copy of this article may be foun
here
stripped away much of the R&B influence of the genre. This style took on a number of names including "dark 2-step", "new dark swing", and the more general term, "dark garage". This style became a major influence on later styles of UK garage influenced music, such as grime, as well as becoming a direct precursor to

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 ...

, which took the emphasis on bass and the instrumental nature of later 2-step compositions to their logical conclusion. In 2006, this latter, more experimental style experienced a resurgence in interest, due to the release of the ''Roots of Dubstep'' compilation on Tempa, and producers wishing to revisit the roots of the dubstep sound. Canadian singer

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

's 2016 song " Rockin'" makes use of 2-step sounds.

References

{{UK garage UK garage genres 20th-century music genres English styles of music Electronic dance music genres 1990s in music 1990s in British music 2000s in music 2000s in British music