Dubstep

It came glowering out of Croydon, with a mixed bag of garage, grime, dub, and techno slung over its shoulder — and now it's conquering the country, laying waste to moribund club nights and shattering bones with its broadswords of bass, otherworldly samples, and exotic rhythms. Dubstep is the sound of the streets. Kick off with pioneer and wonderboy Ollie Jones, a.k.a. Skream.

The bass has you hooked — now hurl yourself headlong into the dubstep maelstrom of Next Steps.

Much of dubstep is stripped down and darker than a concrete jungle on the shortest day of the year — witness the sequence of heart-puncturing sonic implosions in "Kingstown" by Kode 9, a.k.a. Steve Goodman, or the hollow electronic echoes and sharp synth splinters of "Angels" by Vex'd. Both artists have been showcased at the landmark Digital Mystikz DMZ club night in Brixton.

Only the hardcore can handle our dubstep Deep Cuts.

Just when you think you've got dubstep sussed, along comes a track to confound your expectations, twist your imagination, and cement your loyalty to the movement. Check out the regimental momentum of MarcAshken's "Size Three" as remixed by Skream or the laser-war backdrop to Boxcutter's "Skuff'd" or that incredible mix of automated monster-mosquito and Eastern exoticism captured by Distance on "Temptation".

Dubstep is the electronic firestorm we'd all been waiting for yet couldn't quite believe our ears when it happened. Born on the Croydon underground, and then championed into the mainstream by Radio 1 DJ Mary Ann Hobbs, dubstep couples the grit and authenticity of the urban street cadet with the far-reaching experimentalism of the wildest and most innovative techno beat scientist. It shocks you with bass and contorts you with rhythm, while keeping your brain on double speed so that you can bear lucid witness to some of the more complex possibilities of sound.