Melodic Dubstep
tagStarted 2010Peak 2012–2020Last big hit still active
Located in 1 route
Melodic Dubstep combines dubstep drops and half-time drums with emotional chord progressions, supersaws, vocal toplines, and trance-like uplift. It generally runs around 140 BPM but feels expansive and sentimental, using bass impact as a release after large, songlike builds.
History
The style emerged after brostep opened mainstream ears to dubstep while producers looked for more harmonic and vocal possibilities. Seven Lions, Adventure Club, Illenium, Said The Sky, Dabin, Trivecta, Nurko, Jason Ross, SLANDER, and Au5 fused dubstep with trance, emo-pop, future bass, and cinematic electronic textures. Melodic Dubstep became a core North American festival-bass language and deeply influenced future bass, melodic bass, and emotional EDM-pop.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Monstercat catalog
- Ophelia Records catalog
- UKF
- Discogs