There’s a lot going round saying that dubstep was coined in 2002, or that its appearance in the Issue 60 of XLR8R (July 2002) was the first. I just want to give a whole bunch of evidence that this isn’t true: dubstep was used in 2001, even before FWD>> started in August 2001.
A snippet from the liner notes of Steppa’s Delight on Soul Jazz Records explaining the origin:
It was Hatcha, according to Arthur ‘Artwork’ Smith, who first coined the term dubstep. “Benny Ill used to come in the shop. Back in the early garage days he was trying to make garage but he was putting the snare on the wrong beat, on the three beat. He was making dub reggae garage. We were like ‘this is weird’ but Hatcha loved it and called it dubstep. It was very dubby, but it wasn’t 2-step. It was Benny Ill that started it, without a doubt.”
April 5, 2001 archive:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010407213954/http://www.hyperdub.com/softwar/el-b.cfm
With his crew of producers including DJ Jay De Flex, Roxy, Nude, Blaze and MC Juiceman, the Ghost crew are pushing a spooky yet warm dub step vibe, maintaining all the dynamic syncopations that 2step garage innovated, without falling back on the vibeless rigid ‘bloke step’ of much now filed under ‘breakbeat garage’.
August 11, 2001 archive:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010811182614/http://www.hyperdub.com/speedometer/default.cfm
kode9 - Dub Steppa Mix [break-step garage]
October 8, 2001 archive:
http://web.archive.org/web/20011008214940/http://www.hyperdub.com/kolony/default.cfm
Many of these rogue dubsteppas, lab technicians, and carriers operate under several different handles, runnin with a range of speed tribes, so keep your ears open for sonic clues, cross-hatching and double-agency.
Tempa dub step flava [alt for the Tempa image]
October 9, 2001 archive:
http://web.archive.org/web/20011009023305/http://www.hyperdub.com/kolony/tempa.cfm
With a dubsteppa sound emanating from the southside’s deepest recesses, comes the label TEMPA.
November 29, 2001:
http://www.riddim.ca/?p=80
With the other Ghost crew members, Roxy, Nude, Blaze and Es-G, El-B and J ‘Da’ Flex have spent the early 21st century pushing a spooky yet warm dub step vibe, maintaing all the dynamic syncopations and swing that 2step innovated.
Ghost 002 and 003 followed, carring the dub step vibe deeper with ‘Hesitation’, ‘Count it Off’, ‘Lyrical Tempo’, ‘Bison 2′, ‘the Spooks’ and ‘Assasin’.
Taking the Ghost thing even deeper, with their rootsy organ stabs, socatronic percussion and dread samplemania, the Horsepower productions crew (Benny ill, Nassis and Lev Jnr.) are pushing this vibe on the immaculate dubstep imprint Tempa
February 24, 2002 archive:
http://web.archive.org/web/20020224021850/http://www.hyperdub.com/kolony/shelflife.cfm
Roxy & Es-G increase the pressure on 002, 004 & 005, adding almost imperceptible, fleeting, glimmers of hip hop, reggae, soca & disco into the dark dubstep
March 13, 2002 radio description:
http://web.archive.org/web/20020605153510/http://www.dubplate.net/mixes.htm
Hosted by Kode9 and running since mid-2001, the Hyperdub Transmssion show on Groovetech.com has been pushing dubstep flavas to a worldwide audience. Check the most recent shows below. Hyperdub Transmission 13.03.02 with kode9 and guest El-B (Ghost) Hyperdub Transmission 13.02.02 with kode9 and guest Benny ill (Horsepower)
June 11, 2002 archive:
http://web.archive.org/web/20020611100245/http://www.dubplate.net/dubplates.htm
’Stick’n’Move’ - New Flesh (Horsepower dub mix) - The dubstep masters strip it down.
‘Swindle’ - Horsepower - Absolutely righteous. More cinematic sounds from the original dubsteppas.
Finally, the July 2002 issue of XLR8R
http://web.archive.org/web/20020808070045/http://xlr8r.com/issue/60/dubstep/index.html
(This is the one that gets labelled as the origin. In reality, it was just the magazine that popularized it. No point highlighting all the times it occurs, it’s on the cover for fuck’s sake…)
If anyone’s got more knowledge on the origin, it would great to hear it.
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