Brostep
Located in 1 route
Brostep is the maximal, aggressive, North American-facing branch of dubstep: distorted midrange bass, screeching growls, robotic drops, dramatic builds, and rock-show dynamics. It often keeps the 140 BPM half-time skeleton but foregrounds sound design spectacle, loudness, and mosh-pit impact over deep sub restraint.
History
Brostep grew from wobble dubstep, tearout tendencies, electro-house, metal aesthetics, and North American bass music as artists pushed dubstep toward festivals and massive drops. Skrillex's early-2010s breakthrough made the sound globally visible, while Excision, Datsik, Zomboy, Knife Party, Flux Pavilion, Doctor P, 12th Planet, Kill The Noise, and Barely Alive developed heavier and more technically complex versions. Though criticized by deep-dubstep purists, brostep massively expanded bass music's audience and directly fed riddim, tearout, deathstep, melodic dubstep, and festival bass.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- UKF
- Billboard Dance/Electronic charts
- AllMusic
- Discogs