A brief history of Dubstep
The earliest dubstep releases date back to 1998 and were darker, more experimental and instrumental. In 2001, this and other strains of dark garage music began to be showcased and promoted at London's night club Plastic People, at the "Forward" night, which went on to be considerably influential to the development of dubstep. The term "dubstep" began to be used around 2002, when these remixes started to become more noticeable and distinct from 2-step and grime.
A very early supporter of the sound was BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, who started playing it from 2003 onwards. Dubstep started to spread beyond small local scenes in late 2005 and early 2006; many websites devoted to the genre appeared on the internet. Simultaneously, the genre was receiving extensive coverage in music magazines such as The Wire and online publications such as Pitchfork Media. Interest in dubstep grew significantly after BBC Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs started championing the genre, beginning with a show devoted to it in January 2006.
The influence of dubstep on more commercial or popular genres can be identified as far back as 2007, with artists such as Britney Spears using dubstep sounds. In 2009, the dubstep sound gained further worldwide recognition, often through the assimilation of elements of the sound into other genres. The sound also continued to interest the mainstream press with key articles in magazines like Interview, New York, and The Wire.
Throughout 2010, dubstep was beginning to hit the pop charts, with "I Need Air" by Magnetic Man reaching number 10 in the UK singles chart. This presented a turning point in the popularity of mainstream dubstep amongst UK listeners as it was placed on rotation on BBC Radio 1.
