Dubstep can be traced back to South London, 1998. The better part of a decade was spent with dubstep tracks getting attached to 2-step singles as B-sides, and with the support of British DJ John Peel, the sound of dubstep would crystallize, it would gain commercial traction, and then splinter into sub-genres. Future Garage, post-dubstep, brostep, and trap can all be traced back to the original dubstep.

So what is dubstep? We chose this track as a good example, with some hints of trap thrown in for good measure. The beat tends to always be on the 1 and 3, there is a consistent primacy of that bass drum, and we have different layers of building - a slow crescendo, that then sets up a faster one, and then the ‘explosion’.

I think like rap before it, the current explosion of electronic genres can only be underestimated in its complexity. Andrew O'Shea is at the forefront of genre crossover, marrying elements of trap with the original dubstep sensibility.

Andrew O'Shea found his passion for music by taking a course in audio production. This song is featured on our Groovy Summer playlist.