UK Garage

Putting The Science Into Music

UK Garage developed in Britain during the 1990s from American Garage House, Jungle, Drum and Bass, Reggae, Dancehall and sound-system culture. British producers pushed the tempo up, introduced heavier bass and reshaped House rhythms with shuffled percussion, chopped vocals and broken drum patterns.

Early Speed Garage kept a four-to-the-floor kick while adding rolling basslines, pitch-shifted vocals and influences from Jungle and Dub. Producers including Armand Van Helden, Double 99, 187 Lockdown and Tuff Jam helped establish the sound in British clubs and pirate radio.

2-Step Garage later stripped out many of the regular kick drums, creating more syncopated rhythms with stronger space between percussion hits. Artists including MJ Cole, Artful Dodger, Wookie, Zed Bias and El-B developed soulful, darker and more experimental interpretations of the style.

MCs became increasingly important through pirate radio, club nights and crew-based performances. So Solid Crew, Heartless Crew, Pay As U Go Cartel and other collectives connected UK Garage with Rap, Dancehall and the emerging Grime scene.

UK Garage commonly features swinging drums, prominent basslines, chopped R&B vocals and tempos faster than most House Music. The category can include Speed Garage, 2-Step, Bassline, darker Garage and later revival productions.

The genre influenced Grime, Dubstep, UK Funky, Bass House and several forms of modern British club music. UK Garage is distinguished from U.S Garage by its faster rhythms, stronger sound-system influence and close connection with British pirate radio and MC culture.

At Scientific Sound Asia, uk garage is a defining feature of two shows: Ministry Of Breaks and Marco Mei.