UK garage 101 for teh noob

[Zodiak]

Hey everyone! I have a weird question, but please help me our here. As I've mentioned somewhere already (don't want to bore you with this every time), I'm very much a newcomer to electronic music, all of it, and having started right away from dubstep and not something else, I naturally differentiate all other styles based on dubstep, the genre I'm relatively comfortable with. So, for example, I think about tracks: "This is faster/lighter/slower etc. than dubstep". This presents a problem because dubstep is a relatively new genre, and as such is in itself a result of a long "history" of EDM, well, the UK part of it anyway. So what I'd really appreciate is if someone gets kind enough to explain to me all the subtle and not so subtle differences between UK Garage (2-step and whatnot; going backwards) and dubstep, and dubstep and Future Garage (going forwards), based on dubstep, i.e. how they relate to dubstep, and NOT how dubstep came out of 2-step, if that makes any sense whatsoever... Hopefully it does. It's just that most of you naturally have been listening to EDM for quite some time now and are/were able to recognize all the changes right away, that's why dubstep got big, because it was a breath of fresh air, something different. My problem is that I can only appreciate it (dubstep) at face value, and not because it's something new, something different, something something. To me the only thing that matters right now is that dubstep is not rock music, cause that's where I come from. Same with Future Garage. I've been listening to some mixes and they're great and different but I can't quite explain how, why, when and what. So yeah, just a short lecture would be greatly appreciated! Especially considering I'm also very excited about production and want to avoid making redundant music when everyone else is firmly going forward (and I know you should make the music you like and not care about what's happening elsewhere, but I'm in a delicate position of being a total EDM virgin lacking the necessary vocabulary, so to speak). Please educate me, I'm in this for life

P.S. Just to be specific: I'm mostly interested in how they're different SOUND-WISE, not community-wise or history-wise. So meaning song structures themselves, the SOUND. Cheers!

[mashmash]

Okay, i'm probably not the best person to get an answer from but i think i know more or less. so basically, there are different styles of garage. early garage was basically house music sped up with a 4x4 beat. then there was speed garage, which to me is like house (it has a 4x4 beat) sometimes with slightly skippy drums with a jungle style bassline and , as it was a sort of breakaway from jungle. later on there was 2-step in the late 90s which i am probably most knowledgeable on. there were different types but all 2-step garage is characterised by it's jerky 'swing' in which the hi-hats are usually swung and off beat to give it this feeling. the more commercial friendly one was more r'n'b influenced with female r'n'b artists collaborating with producers. the more underground stuff was usually remixes and sample based but still all recognisable by its slinky rhythm. just read this and you'll get it http://www.garagemusic.co.uk/2step.html

housey garage-

speed garage

rnb 2-step

classic

[jack_swift]

I think its easier to look at it chronologicall!!! Mashman has got the right idea

Started with uk dj's playing house tracks from America 92-95 sorta time (Masters at work, Todd Edwards, Eric Morillo, Todd Terry etc etc)





In Around 94-96 UK producers like, Grant Nelson, Jeremy Slyvester (undermany Different aliases) Tuff Jam, r. purser, s. firmin started to make beats with their take on things





Come 96-97 lots of new Uk producers (Nu Horizons, Dem 2, Anthill Mob, MJ Cole, Ramsey and Fen, Groove Chronicals etc etc make a big impact on things and 2 step started to become more and more common







98-99 2 step starts to take over an the first big rnb remixes start hitting the shelves! Sunship and wookie start making a name for themselves!! This is where the split started in my opinion........... Darker stuff like Melody and Scrappy.........Happy stuff like sunships friendly pressure (Massive generalisation i know)







2000-2001 Breakbeat garage starts making a big impact! some say it was sparked by 138 trek


couldnt find a video without any1 chattin shit over it! so i apologise for making people listen to neutrino

2002- Some people started mentioning the word grime some say sparked by pulse x




cant be bothered to write anymore lol

[DZA]

Garage??

[icanicant]

big up the OP for asking this been thinking pretty much exactly the same this week lol. and also the people taking time to put long answers and vids.

What the forum should be all about

[dr hugo]

yea good thread cheers