Dubstep / Bass Music / 140
Dubstep / Bass Music / 140 is sound-system music centered on sub-bass weight, half-time swing, syncopated drums, dark space, and aggressive or meditative bass design. Its core tempo is around 138–142 BPM, but its feel ranges from meditative dub pressure and grime-adjacent instrumentals to maximal brostep, riddim, melodic bass, and hybrid trap.
History
The family began in South London from UK garage, 2-step, dub reggae, grime, and dark garage, with FWD>>, DMZ, Big Apple, Tempa, Hyperdub, and Rinse FM forming the early infrastructure. Skream, Benga, Digital Mystikz, Coki, Loefah, Kode9, Hatcha, and Burial defined the first era, while Rusko and Caspa pushed louder wobble styles and Skrillex, Excision, Flux Pavilion, and others drove the North American explosion. Later branches included deep dubstep revival, 140/grime hybrids, riddim, tearout, melodic dubstep, chillstep, future garage, colour bass, midtempo bass, deathstep, reggaestep, and hybrid trap.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- AllMusic
- Resident Advisor
- UKF
- Discogs