wellness

The unlikely origins of dubstep

2026-10-10

The unlikely origins of dubstep, slide 2

The unlikely origins of dubstep, slide 3

The unlikely origins of dubstep, slide 4

The unlikely origins of dubstep, slide 5

1/5

THE RECORD THAT CHANGED IT

THE SHOP

The future of dubstep was hanging out in a record shop

Big Apple Records sat next to a fruit and veg market in Croydon. Hatcha worked behind the counter, playing a darker kind of UK garage. Teenagers like Skream and Benga brought in their first tracks, made on a PlayStation music program. In 2002 the shop started its own label, and in 2003 it put out their record The Judgement.

THE NIGHT

Before anyone else heard it, one club night did

FWD>> started in 2001, and for years it was the only regular night playing this sound. Producers made tracks just to hear Hatcha play them there, cut to one-off dubplates nobody else had. By 2006 it was on Radio 1. Soon it was everywhere.

In the early 2000s it was a record shop in Croydon, a club night in London called FWD>>, and a few producers taking UK garage somewhere darker. That small circle made a sound that ended up all over the world.

Way before the festival drops and huge stages, it was people trying things out, a lot of sub-bass, and some nights a crowd of ten people.