Bristol Dubstep

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Bristol's Dubstep Scene

You can’t spell Dubstep without Bristol

While the first word in Dubstep’s history might be DMZ, the second is surely Bristol. London is the birthplace but the Bristol dubstep sound must be its most iconic regional variant. Bristol acts like Pinch and Vex’d were instrumental in the early days as well as RSD // Rob Smith from Smith & Mighty who straddle Bristol’s trip-hop lineage and its dubstep future. Although this is cruelly left out of the Wiki page on dubstep - Bristol continued to play a huge part, defining an iconic sound sometimes known as ‘purple wow’ or wonky that included Joker, Gemmy, Jakes, Guido and Julio Bashmore through nights like Subloaded. While many of these artists are making house or other club music, their place in Bristol dubstep (and electronic music) history is secured.

What we said in 2015...
Presently dubstep in Bristol enjoys such stellar success that the only thorn in the genre's side is it's quantity. With such a saturated market it only becomes harder to find genuine talent amongst the endless bandwagon of tag alongs. Fortunately for Bristol, the boundaries are being pushed rather than retrodden and Bristol's own dubstep has gained international recognition.

Local talent has been the springboard for Bristol to become second only to London in the depth and range of the offerings of the sound. Joker, Gemmy, Pinch, RSD, Peverelist, Hyetal, Appleblim and Guido are but a few of Bristol's most prevalent exports, while arguably the city's most successful dubstep nights (Dubloaded and Applepips) are products of Bristol's own talent (Pinch and Appleblim) respectively.

The accessibility of dubstep's sound has seen it eclipse drum and bass in its hold over nightclubs and dubstep luminaries such as Skream, Benga and Plastician are regulars in the Bristol. Like drum and bass, the big acts are found at the huge, multi genre raves in Lakota and Motion (aka In:motion) while Bristol houses a mix of dedicated dubstep nights that operate in the mid-sized venues such as Thekla, Dojos, Basement 45 and The Croft.

Promoters such as Crazylegs have sought to expose the UK Funky side of dubstep, bringing artists like Joy Orbison, Deadboy and Roska to the masses. Subloaded at The Croft is another reliable source for forward-thinking dubstep.

Buy tickets for dubstep events in Bristol

Our recent dubstep recommendations

Sell out warning! Crotch paints all corners of Trinity with queer party perfection like the 2025 fairy godpeople of good taste. With hi-NRG club niceness/nastiness from K-rush and Bendy Wendy + more keeping you moving alongside the dragged-up dancers from Bristol Ballroom and Cute Cartel. Chill out area, welfare team and Caribbean food on tap - you’ll never want to leave…. A diverse night for those who dare to challenge the norm and embrace the extraordinary

Sell out warning! Chewing Glass top a righteous year ploughing the extremes of soundsystem culture and bassbin metal with Deep Medi’s not-so-secret weapon, Kaiju. Rumbling Stokes Croft to the core a mere 50m from its Subloaded mecca with their Distance / DMZ / Bug-grade no-frills 140 bassweight. Hold onto your hoods, hair, and even your eyebrows, this will be…..HEAVY. One of Deep Medi's biggest and best pieces of sound system artillery comes to level Canteen for Stokes Croft Sub Sessions NYE Special

Bristol meets Paris in the battle for the bass-heavy technoid hybrids ft. the anointed don of dubstep futurism absolutely wrecking the Firmly Rooted substack. We wanna hear those exclusive and elusive Pinch plates as loud as they’ll possibly go, with Bait / Rinse France’s Beatrice M pushing classic Tectonic blueprints into feverish 150+BPM mutations. Amity & Bait present Pinch // Christian Coiffure (LIVE!) // Beatrice M b2b Amaia . Forward-thinking techno & dubstep bassweight explorations on the Firmly Rooted soundsystem

Proper ground-shaking bass bizniz awaits us at the Exchange, intensified by their rumble-to-the-core subloaded system. Furious Styles lays down his body twisting, chopped ‘n’ screwed triple deck vinyl grime tekkers and Yushh’s ultra tight leftfield sonics come engineered to make you whirl. BRING ON THE THUNDER. Dubstep, Garage, Grime, Techno and Breaks inspired by the early sound of the new millennium.

What our editors say

“Bristol based UKG duo Mileage take over Cosies this May along with some of their favourite talent in the scene right now. Expect a night full of UKG, Speed garage, House, 140 and more. This is not one to be missed! ”
From: MILEAGE TAKEOVER

“Pioneering dubstep duo Caspa & Rusko, renowned for their groundbreaking sound and genre-defining tracks that helped shape the electronic music landscape, are set to take over Motion on 22nd March. ”
From: In:Motion Presents - Caspa & Rusko & many more

“We welcome ATRIP to Clock Factory Bristol, a German-Polish DJ and producer based in South London, crafts emotive electronic music rooted in the city's diverse club culture. Raised in London, he's deeply entrenched in its vibrant music scene, drawing inspiration from genres like garage, jungle, bassline, and dubstep. His debut mixtape, "TANZPARTEI," released in May 2023, showcases his evolution since the launch of the ATRIP project in early '22. With support from notable artists like Disclosure, salute, and DJ Seinfeld, ATRIP is poised for an exciting journey in the music world.”
From: ATRIP • Bristol

“Spectral is a DJ + Producer based in Bristol, who came up through the EQ50 mentoring programme with Critical Music in 2020. Quickly gathering a reputation for delivering high energy bass music sets, her extensive music library integrates drum and bass and jungle with dubstep, grime and beyond. To date she has played across some of the UK’s most iconic venues such as Fabric and Printworks, as well as expanding internationally with performances in Albania, Amsterdam, Berlin, Croatia and Switzerland amongst others. After signing to Primary Talent late 2022, she now holds a radio residency at Bristol’s beloved “SWU FM”, and continues to work closely with Critical Music.”
From: Modulate Presents: Spectral

“SIS:DEM's individual and eclectic selections blend seemlessly between breaks, electro, dubstep, techno and everything in between - their hard-hitting yet dynamic b2bs pull no punches whilst their synergy will have you hooked. They have gained incredible momentum over the past couple of years appearing at Glastonbury, Boomtown and Shambala, as well as supporting the likes of Mike Skinner, Sicaria, DJ Spoony, Neffa-T, Sir Spyro, Ivy Lab, Bakey, Yung Singh and many more.”
From: SIS:DEM Curates IWD: Minty, Deselecta + more