160-560: Various , or Various Production , is an English dubstep / electronic music duo formed in 2002. The group blends samples , acoustic and electronic instrumentation, and singing from a revolving cast of vocalists. Its members, Adam and Ian, purposefully give very little information about the group or themselves, and tend to do little in the way of self-promotion . Nevertheless, the group began winning critical acclaim with its single releases in 2005 and 2006, with singers Rachel Thomas Davies and Nicola Kearey. Their full-length for XL , The World
320-402: A MRK1 track, observing that listeners "have internalized the double-time rhythm" and the "track is so empty it makes [the listener] nervous, and you almost fill in the double time yourself, physically, to compensate". One characteristic of certain strands of dubstep is the wobble bass , often referred to as the "wub", where an extended bass note is manipulated rhythmically. This style of bass
480-667: A " poster boy " for the scene. In September 2011, a Spin Magazine EDM special referred to brostep as a "lurching and aggressive" variant of dubstep that has proven commercially successful in the United States. Unlike traditional dubstep production styles, which emphasise sub-bass content, brostep accentuates the middle register and features "robotic fluctuations and metal-esque aggression". According to Simon Reynolds , as dubstep gained larger audiences and moved from smaller club-based venues to larger outdoor events, sub-sonic content
640-523: A "cultural superpower", and London has been described as a world cultural capital. A global opinion poll for the BBC saw the UK ranked the third most positively viewed nation in the world (behind Germany and Canada) in 2013 and 2014. Throughout its history, the culture of Great Britain has primarily consisted of the separate native traditions of England, Scotland and Wales. With regard to cultural influences, prior to
800-484: A YouTube channel brand was founded by Luke Hood which introduced Dubstep to many young generations internationally at the time. UKF Dubstep has exploded in popularity as the music genre has hit the mainstream. In November 2010 the channel had 100,000 subscribers, and as of November 2019 has over one million. "UKF features established and up and coming producers from around the world, featuring artists from Flux Pavilion / Knife Party to Friction / Hybrid Minds. We're sent
960-475: A brilliant social satire, critiquing class structures and the courtship rituals of Regency England , and remains one of the most beloved novels in British Literature . Lord Byron ’s Don Juan (1819–1824) is a satirical epic poem that details the adventures of the legendary lover, displaying Byron's wit, irony, and irreverence toward societal norms. Sir Walter Scott ’s Waverley (1814), widely considered
1120-414: A crossover hit (in a similar manner to Skream's "Midnight Request Line") with the track "Night", which gained widespread play from DJs in a diverse range of genres. BBC Radio 1 DJ Gilles Peterson named it his record of 2007, and it was also a massive hit in the equally bassline-orientated, but decidedly more four-to-the-floor genre of bassline house , whilst Burial's late 2007 release Untrue (which
1280-582: A dark, clipped and minimal new direction in dubstep. At the end of 2003, running independently from the pioneering FWD night, an event called Filthy Dub, co promoted by Plastician , and partner David Carlisle started happening regularly. It was there that Skream, Benga, N Type, Walsh, Chef, Loefah, and Cyrus made their debuts as DJs. South London collective Digital Mystikz (Mala and Coki), along with labelmates and collaborators Loefah and MC Sgt Pokes soon came into their own, bringing sound system thinking, dub values, and appreciation of jungle bass weight to
1440-459: A drop for a dynamic peak – and in some instances do not feature a bass drop at all. Rewinds (or reloads) are another technique used by dubstep DJs. If a song seems to be especially popular then someone, most often the DJ, will rewind the record by hand without lifting the stylus and play the track again. Because the stylus has not been lifted (or, on electronic turntables , the channel has not been muted),
1600-504: A famous guest (called a " castaway ") chooses eight pieces of music, a book and a luxury item that they would take with them to a desert island. Currently presented by Lauren Laverne , it is the longest running music radio programme in British history. The idea for a Christmas message was conceived by one of the founders of the BBC. Delivered annually by the monarch, it was first broadcast on BBC Radio in 1932. An alternative Christmas message
1760-401: A genre standby." Benga and Coki's single "Night" still continued to be a popular track on the UK dance chart more than a year after its release in late 2007, still ranking in the top five at the start of April 2008 on Pete Tong 's BBC Radio 1 dance chart list. However, the year 2009 saw the dubstep sound gaining further worldwide recognition, often through the assimilation of elements of
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#17328696699081920-601: A huge amount of music so it's our job to pick the best to upload on the channel for our audience to listen to. In just over 3 years our channels now have more than 2m subscribers and 4 channels – UKF Dubstep, Drum & Bass, Music and Mixes. The audience is getting more and more International and younger." Luke said on the interview with SoSoActive. In a move foreshadowed by endorsements of the sound from R&B, hip-hop and recently, mainstream figures such as Rihanna , or The Bomb Squad 's Hank Shocklee, Snoop Dogg collaborated with dubstep producers Chase & Status , providing
2080-524: A landmark collection, emphasizing the beauty of nature and the primacy of emotion, and marking the official start of the Romantic Movement . Mary Shelley ’s Frankenstein (1818), one of the earliest science fiction novels, delves into themes of creation, responsibility, and the consequences of unchecked scientific ambition, framed within Gothic conventions. Jane Austen ’s Pride and Prejudice (1813) offered
2240-410: A large influence. Purple sound later led to the development of future bass . 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; critics observed a dubstep influence in the song "Freakshow", from the 2007 album Blackout , which Tom Ewing described as "built around the 'wobbler' effect that's
2400-628: A large number of national and local radio stations which cover a great variety of programming. The most listened to stations are the five main national BBC radio stations. BBC Radio 1 , a new music station aimed at the 16–24 age group. BBC Radio 2 , a varied popular music and chat station aimed at adults is consistently highest in the ratings. BBC Radio 4 , a varied talk station, is noted for its news, current affairs , drama and comedy output as well as The Archers , its long running soap opera, and other unique programmes, including Desert Island Discs (1942–present), an interview programme in which
2560-467: A leading figure in early British journalism. The Romantic Period was marked by a revival of poetry and a focus on emotion, nature, and individualism, responding to the growing rationalism of the Enlightenment. This era gave rise to many literary works that explored the tension between reason and imagination. William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge ’s Lyrical Ballads (1798) is considered
2720-691: A lot of people over here because it's a UK sound, but it's been someone with influences outside the original sound that has made it a lot bigger. The bad side of that is that a lot of people will just say 'dubstep equals Skrillex'. But in all honesty it genuinely doesn't bother me. I like the music he makes." Other North American artists that were initially associated with the brostep sound were Canadian producers Datsik and Excision . Their production style has been described by Mixmag as "a viciously harsh, yet brilliantly produced sound that appealed more to Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails fans than it did to lovers of UK garage". The brostep sound also attracted
2880-600: A lyrical drama, explores themes of rebellion, tyranny, and human freedom, standing as one of his most radical and imaginative works. Robert Burns , the famed Scottish poet, revived interest in Scots literature with works such as Auld Lang Syne , which celebrated the vernacular tradition. Lastly, Mary Wollstonecraft ’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) stands as one of the earliest and most influential works of feminist philosophy, advocating for women's education and equal rights in
3040-483: A main section (often incorporating a bass drop ), a midsection , a second main section similar to the first (often with another drop), and an outro . Many early dubstep tracks incorporate one or more "bass drops", a characteristic inherited from drum and bass. Typically, the percussion will pause, often reducing the track to silence, and then resume with more intensity, accompanied by a dominant sub-bass (often passing portamento through an entire octave or more, as in
3200-571: A male-dominated society. Although primarily associated with the Victorian Era , Lewis Carroll ’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) emerged from the later part of this broader Romantic tradition, blending imaginative fantasy with playful wordplay. This whimsical novel follows young Alice's journey through a dreamlike world populated by peculiar characters, exploring themes of logic, absurdity, and identity. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland remains
3360-589: A name coined by British producer Jakes around 2012. The name comes from the Jamaican Patois term riddim , which refers to the instrumental of dub , reggae and dancehall music. Riddim is characterised by repetitive and minimalist sub-bass and triplet percussion arrangements, similar to original dubstep, with a sound described as "wonky". Riddim is looked upon as a subgenre of dubstep, similarly to other sub genres like brostep, drum-step, and wobble-step. It started gaining significant popularity around 2015. It
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#17328696699083520-549: A new LP, an experimental collaboration with poet Gerry Mitchell called The Invisible Lodger and signed the first act to release on the Various Production label, Gold Panda . At some point during or prior to 2012, Ian Carter left the duo. He formed folk group Stick in the Wheel with previous Various collaborators Nicola Kearey and Rachel Thomas Davies, and has released music under the pseudonym EAN. Dubstep Dubstep
3680-720: A number of popular characters in children's animation, including The Wind in the Willows (based on the children's book by Kenneth Grahame ), Danger Mouse and Count Duckula . Other children's shows include Where's Wally? (a series based on books by author Martin Handford where readers are challenged to find Wally who is hidden in the group), Dennis the Menace and Gnasher , while Thunderbirds and Terrahawks by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson have been praised for creating Supermarionation . Debuting in 1982, The Snowman (featuring
3840-433: A number of women making headway into the scene in a variety of ways. Alongside Soulja of Ammunition Promotions and Mary Anne Hobbs, an influx of female producers, writers, photographers and DJs all have broken through in the up-til-then male orientated scene. With key 12" releases on Hyperdub , Immigrant and Hotflush Recordings, producers Vaccine , Subeena and Ikonika have introduced a palette of new sounds and influences to
4000-603: A pastoral turn under the influence of the British folk revival . Examplars of this period are Ralph Vaughan Williams ' English Folk Song Suite , and Sir Alexander Mackenzie 's Scottish Rhapsodies . Modern and contemporary classical music takes a variety of forms. Composers such as Benjamin Britten developed idiosyncratic and avant-garde styles, while the likes of William Walton produced more conventional ceremonial and patriotic music. The UK now has several major orchestras, including
4160-578: A pioneering work of literary nonsense, captivating readers with its inventive narrative and surreal exploration of the boundaries between reality and imagination. The late Georgian Era and Victorian era saw a renewed focus on the novel. A key theme of these novels was social commentary. Early in the period Jane Austen satirised the lifestyle of the gentry and nobility, while the later novels of Charles Dickens often used humour and keen observations to criticise poverty and social stratification. One of his novels, Oliver Twist describes Victorian Times and
4320-469: A resurgence as black British musicians created new fusions such as Acid Jazz . Indie rock was a reaction to the perceived saturation of the music industry by pop, exemplified by Stock Aitken Waterman 's domination of the charts. This continued in the 1990s, as boy bands , all-female and mixed groups dominated the singles chart, while the Madchester scene helped drive alternative rock and Britpop to
4480-493: A significant film industry for over a century. While many films focus on British culture, British cinema is also marked by its interaction and competition with American and continental European cinema . The UK was the location of the oldest surviving moving picture, Roundhay Garden Scene (1888), which was shot in Roundhay , Leeds by French inventor Louis Le Prince , while the first British film, Incident at Clovelly Cottage
4640-460: A similar impact on musical theatre with their comic operas . The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was opened in Shakespeare's birthplace Stratford upon Avon in 1879 and Herbert Beerbohm Tree founded an Academy of Dramatic Art at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1904. The early twentieth century was dominated by drawing-room plays produced by the likes of Noël Coward , which were then challenged by
4800-535: A variety of minority interest programming. The BBC and Channel 4 are state-owned, though they operate independently. Launched in 1955, ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK. Director Ridley Scott 's evocative 1973 Hovis bread television commercial captured the public imagination. Filmed on Gold Hill, Shaftesbury in Dorset, Scott's advert was voted the UK's favourite television advertisement of all time in 2006. Other notable British commercials include
4960-401: A variety of outside influences, from dub-influenced techno such as Basic Channel to classical music or heavy metal . Dubstep rhythms are usually syncopated , and often shuffled or incorporating tuplets . The tempo is nearly always in the range of 132–142 beats per minute , with a clap or snare usually inserted every third beat in a bar. With a large majority of releases at 140bpm,
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5120-593: A viable British popular music industry. Genres such as beat and British blues were re-exported to America by bands such as the Beatles and Rolling Stones , in a move that came to be called the British Invasion . The 1960s saw the development of heavy metal in Birmingham and the wider area. The development of blues rock helped differentiate rock and pop music, leading to the emergence of several sub-genres of rock in
5280-488: A vocal for their "underground anthem", "Eastern Jam". The 2011 Britney Spears track " Hold It Against Me " was also responsible for promoting dubstep tropes within pop music. Rihanna's Rated R album released such content the very year dubstep saw a spike, containing three dubstep tracks. Such events propelled the genre into the biggest radio markets overnight, with considerable airplay. Other hip-hop artists like Xzibit added their vocals to dubstep instrumental tracks for
5440-443: A way ... It's like someone screaming in your face ... you don't want that." According to a BBC review of his 2012 album Songs , the record was a muddled attempt by Rusko to realign his music with a "Jamaican inheritance" and distance it from the "belching, aggressive, resolutely macho" dubstep produced by his contemporaries. Commenting on the success of American producers such as Skrillex, Skream stated: "I think it hurts
5600-477: A whirring noise is produced. Rewinds are also an important live element in many of dubstep's precursors; the technique originates in dub reggae soundsystems , is widely employed by pirate radio stations and is also used at UK garage and jungle nights. Taking direct cues from Jamaica 's lyrically sparse deejay and toasting mic styles in the vein of reggae pioneers like U-Roy , the MC's role in dubstep's live experience
5760-420: A young Loefah regularly visited the shop as well. The shop and its record label have since closed. All throughout 2003, DJ Hatcha pioneered a new direction for dubstep on Rinse FM and through his sets at Forward>>. Playing sets cut to 10" one-off reggae-style dubplates , he drew exclusively from a pool of new South London producers—first Benga and Skream, then also Digital Mystikz and Loefah—to begin
5920-457: A young woman's quest for independence against the rigid structures of Victorian society . The three Brontë sisters and George Eliot commented on Northern England and the Midlands respectively, though all four women wrote under male pen names during their lifetimes, partly to deflect anti-feminist criticism. Nevertheless, openly female authors achieved considerable success in the period, such as
6080-547: Is Gone , arrived in July 2006. They have released a large number of vinyl EPs and 7" records, as well as digital exclusives for Rough Trade , iTunes , and Boomkat . They have released remixes of a large variety of artists (sometimes uncredited) such as Thom Yorke , Adele , Virus Syndicate , Dave Cloud , Cat Power , Emma Pollock and Ian Brown and participated with one track on the Vexille Movie Soundtrack. In 2002,
6240-549: Is a distinct entity, the individual cultures of England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland are diverse. There have been varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness between these four cultures. British literature is particularly esteemed. The modern novel was developed in Britain, and playwrights, poets, and authors are among its most prominent cultural figures. Britain has also made notable contributions to music , cinema , art , architecture and television . The UK
6400-568: Is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken beat , grime , and drum and bass . In the United Kingdom, the origins of the genre can be traced back to the growth of the Jamaican sound system party scene in
6560-513: Is also the home of the Church of England , the state church and mother church of the Anglican Communion , the third-largest Christian denomination. Britain contains some of the world's oldest universities, has made many contributions to philosophy , science , technology and medicine , and is the birthplace of many prominent scientists and inventions . The Industrial Revolution began in
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6720-540: Is an English folk dance known to have existed at least as early as the mid-15th century. The bagpipes have long been a national symbol of Scotland, and the Great Highland Bagpipe is widely recognised. The English and Scottish Popular Ballads , are ballads of the British Isles from the later medieval period until the 19th century, demonstrating great regional variety, particularly local traditions such as
6880-567: Is approximately 130 beats per minute . The breadth of styles that have come to be associated with the term post-dubstep preclude it from being a specific musical genre. Pitchfork writer Martin Clark has suggested that "well-meaning attempts to loosely define the ground we're covering here are somewhat futile and almost certainly flawed. This is not one genre. However, given the links, interaction, and free-flowing ideas ... you can't dismiss all these acts as unrelated" The production duo Mount Kimbie
7040-470: Is considered to be classic piece of literature, and The Man Who Would Be King are both set in British India , showcasing the cultural and political impact of British rule in the region. His poem If— famously captures the concept of the “stiff upper lip,” a British ideal of stoicism and self-discipline. Additionally, The White Man’s Burden conveys a white supremacist and imperialist perspective, encouraging
7200-698: Is critically important to its impact. Notable mainstays in the live experience of the sound are MC Sgt Pokes and MC Crazy D from London, and Juakali from Trinidad. Production in a studio environment seems to lend itself to more experimentation. Kode9 collaborated extensively with the Spaceape , who MCed in a dread poet style. Kevin Martin 's experiments with the genre are almost exclusively collaborations with MCs such as Warrior Queen, Flowdan , and Tippa Irie . Skream has also featured Warrior Queen and grime artist JME on his debut album, Skream! . Plastician , who
7360-628: Is famous for its arts and crafts "makes". The show has been a staple for generations of British children. Popular live action TV shows include The Borrowers (based on Mary Norton books on little people), The Adventures of Black Beauty , The Famous Five (based on Enid Blyton books), The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (based on the C. S. Lewis novel), and Pride and Prejudice (starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy ). The actor David Jason has voiced
7520-738: Is hailed as one of the first true novels in English literature. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman is an experimental novel. Also linked to the Augustan period is Samuel Johnson 's A Dictionary of the English Language . Published in 1755, it was viewed as the pre-eminent British Dictionary until the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary 150 years later. Each word defined in detail, with descriptions of their various uses and numerous literary quotes as illustrations. This
7680-500: Is known as the Augustan Age and included the development of the novel. Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Moll Flanders (1722) are often seen as the first English novels. Alongside these works, poetry also flourished, with notable examples such as The Rape of the Lock (1712) by Alexander Pope , a mock-heroic poem that satirized the social mores of the time. However,
7840-436: Is not a genre in its own right and is instead just a style of dubstep. Riddim producer Oolacile states "A lot of people who have been around a lot longer have a different idea of what riddim is. Older fans consider riddim to be the swampy, repetitive sound, and newer fans will associate riddim with the sound of the underground." Beginning in mid-2014, dubstep began to decline drastically in mainstream popularity, particularly in
8000-560: Is noted for its chaotic, nihilistic humour and violent comedy slapstick. Steve Coogan created the character Alan Partridge , a tactless and inept television presenter who often insults his guests and whose inflated sense of celebrity drives him to shameless self-promotion. Da Ali G Show starred Sacha Baron Cohen as a faux-streetwise poseur Ali G from west London, who would conduct real interviews with unsuspecting people, many of whom are celebrities, during which they are asked absurd and ridiculous questions. Animator Nick Park created
8160-496: Is often associated with the origination of the term post-dubstep. English music producer Jamie xx released remixes which are considered post-dubstep, including We're New Here (2011), a Gil Scott-Heron remix album. In 2011, dubstep gained significant traction in the US market, by way of a post-dubstep style known as brostep , with the American producer Skrillex becoming something of
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#17328696699088320-491: Is often found in literature, for example Emily Brontë 's novel Wuthering Heights contains Yorkshire dialect. The United Kingdom inherited the literary traditions of England, Scotland and Wales. These include Arthurian literature and its Welsh origins, Norse-influenced Old English literature , the works of English authors Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare , and Scots works such as John Barbour 's The Brus . The early 18th century period of British literature
8480-470: Is said that those who enjoy this style of music describe it as the "dirtier, swaggier" side of dubstep, whereas those looking at this from the outside, claim that it is "repetitive and chaotic". Notable artists of the genre include Subfiltronik, Bukez Finezt, P0gman, Badklaat, 50 Carrot, Dubloadz and Coffi. Notable tracks of the genre include "Yasuo" by Bommer and Crowell, "Orgalorg" by Infekt, and "Jotaro" by Phiso. Some commentators have suggested that Riddim
8640-759: Is the Standard English accent in England and Wales, while in Scotland Scottish Standard English is a distinct dialect. Although these accents have a high social prestige , since the 1960s a greater permissiveness toward regional English varieties has taken hold in education. The great variety of British accents is often noted, with nearby regions often having highly distinct dialects and accents, for example there are large differences between Scouse and Mancunian despite Liverpool and Manchester being only 35 miles (56 km) apart. Dialectal English
8800-620: Is the pub in EastEnders , and the Woolpack in ITV's Emmerdale . The pub being a prominent setting in the three major television soap operas reflects the role pubs have as the focal point of the community in many towns and villages across the UK. Espionage and detective shows have long been a staple of British television, such as the 1960s series The Avengers featuring lady spy adventurer and cultural (and feminist) icon Emma Peel . The United Kingdom has
8960-614: Is typically produced by using a low-frequency oscillator to manipulate certain parameters of a synthesiser such as volume , distortion or filter cutoff . The resulting sound is a timbre that is punctuated by rhythmic variations in volume, filter cutoff, or distortion. This style of bass is a driving factor in some variations of dubstep, particularly at the more club-friendly end of the spectrum. Wobble bass has been nicknamed Wobble-step. Originally, dubstep releases had some structural similarities to other genres like drum and bass and UK garage. Typically, this would comprise an intro ,
9120-458: The Independent on Sunday commented on "a whole new sound", at a time when both genres were becoming popular, stating that "grime" and "dubstep" were two names for the same style, which was also known as "sublow", "8-bar", and "eskibeat". In the summer of 2005, Forward>> brought grime DJs to the fore of the line up. Building on the success of Skream's grimey anthem "Midnight Request Line",
9280-660: The 2-step garage sound. These experiments often ended up on the B-side of a white label or commercial garage release. Dubstep is generally instrumental . Similar to a vocal garage hybrid – grime – the genre's feel is commonly dark; tracks frequently use a minor key or the Phrygian mode , and can feature dissonant harmonies such as the tritone interval within a riff. Compared to other styles of garage music, dubstep tends to be more minimalistic, focusing on prominent sub-bass frequencies. Some dubstep artists have also incorporated
9440-582: The Anglo-Saxons , further influenced Britain's cultural landscape. The ancient Roman occupation of Britain , lasting almost 400 years, also impacted the linguistic and cultural identity of Great Britain. Following the expansion of the British Empire, England, Scotland and Wales absorbed different peoples from around the world, and, post-World War II, Britain developed a more diverse cultural landscape through higher levels of immigration. Furthermore, following
9600-592: The BBC 's Maida Vale studios for a show called Generation Bass . The show was the evolution from her seminal BBC Radio 1 Dubstepwarz Show in 2006, and further documented another set of dubstep's producers. Silkie and Quest, along with Kromestar and Heny G would all come through the Anti-Social Entertainment crew, with a show on Rinse FM and later Flex FM . As the genre has spread to become an international rather than UK-centric scene, it has also seen
9760-636: The BBC Symphony Orchestra , and the Philharmonia , while the establishment of the Opera North in 1977 sought to redress the balance of operatic institutions away from London. There are several classical festivals, such as Aldeburgh and Glydebourne , while the BBC Proms are an important annual fixture in the classical calendar. Popular commercial music in Britain can be traced back at least as far as
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#17328696699089920-549: The Birmingham Triennial Music Festival , which was the longest running classical music festival of its kind until the final concerts in 1912. Beyond this, the establishment of the London Philharmonic Society in 1813, Royal Academy of Music in 1822, and Irish Academy of Music in 1848 aided the professionalisation of British classical music and patronage of composers. The Philharmonic Society
10080-788: The Border ballads , which include the particularly influential Ballad of Chevy Chase . British folk groups, such as Fairport Convention , have drawn heavily from these ballads. Similarly, while the national anthem " God Save the King " and other patriotic songs such as " Rule, Britannia! " represent the United Kingdom, each of the four individual countries of the UK has its own patriotic hymns. For example, Jerusalem , Flower of Scotland , Land of My Fathers , and Danny Boy pertain exclusively to England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland respectively. These songs are often used at sporting events where each nation competes individually. Britain has had
10240-632: The British Film Institute consider the best and second-best British films respectively. Laurence Olivier 's 1948 Hamlet was the first British film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture . The 1950s saw a focus on popular domestic topics such as comedies, including the enduring Carry On series, and World War II epics such as The Dam Busters . At the end of the decade Hammer Films took advantage of relaxed censorship laws to begin their series of successful horror films. The beginning of
10400-550: The Commonwealth of Nations . A subset of these states form the Anglosphere , and are among Britain's closest allies. British colonies and dominions influenced British culture in turn, particularly British cuisine . Sport is an important part of British culture, and numerous sports originated in their organised, modern form in the country including cricket , football , boxing , tennis and rugby . The UK has been described as
10560-484: The Deep Medi Musik label, using 1970s funk and soul reference points, a departure from the familiar strains of dub and UK garage. The sound also continued to interest the mainstream press with key articles in magazines like Interview , New York , and The Wire , which featured producer Kode9 on its May 2009 cover. XLR8R put Joker on the cover of its December 2009 issue. In April 2009, UKF Dubstep ,
10720-619: The English language is the de facto official language of the UK, and is spoken monolingually by an estimated 95% of the British population . Seven other languages are recognised by the British Government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages – Welsh , Scottish Gaelic , Scots , Cornish , Irish , Ulster Scots , and British Sign Language . In Wales, all pupils at state schools must either be taught through
10880-518: The Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and EU enlargement in 2004 and 2007, the UK experienced a significant rise in immigration from Eastern Europe . Today, the UK has a sizable immigrant population, and encompasses the cultures of British people from various backgrounds, with South Asian , Continental European , African and Caribbean descent being most prevalent. First spoken in early medieval England ,
11040-582: The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in 1840, Manchester-based Hallé in 1858, the Scottish Orchestra in 1891 and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 1920. The most notable trend in classical music at the turn of the century was the nationalistic trend that developed. This was initially seen in works like The Masque at Kenilworth , which reconstructed an Elizabethan masque, but later took
11200-581: The Scottish Parliament in 2005, recognised Gaelic as an official language of Scotland and required the creation of a national plan for Gaelic to provide strategic direction for the development of the Gaelic language. The Cornish language is a revived language that became extinct as a first language in Cornwall in the late 18th century. Dialects and regional accents vary heavily amongst the four countries of
11360-503: The Wallace and Gromit characters at Aardman Animations studio in Bristol. They feature in A Grand Day Out (1989), The Wrong Trousers (1993) and A Close Shave (1995), which all have 100% positive ratings on the aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, while A Matter of Loaf and Death was the most watched television programme in the UK in 2008. Aardman also produce the kid's show Shaun
11520-733: The West End , London's major theatre district. The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the City of Westminster dates back to 1663, making it the oldest London theatre, however the Theatre Royal at the Bristol Old Vic is the oldest continually-operating theatre in the English speaking world, opening in 1768. The musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber have dominated the West End since the late 20th century, leading him to be dubbed "the most commercially successful composer in history". A National Theatre of Scotland
11680-584: The expansion of the British Empire , the island had been most notably influenced by French culture (via the Normans ), Scandinavian culture (via the Vikings ) and Italian culture (via the Romans ). The arrival of Celtic and Germanic tribes influenced Britain's early development. The Celtic peoples introduced unique languages, traditions, and social structures. Subsequently, the migrations of Germanic tribes, such as
11840-420: The kitchen sink realism and absurdist drama influenced by Irishman Samuel Beckett in the 1950s and 60s. Conversely 1952 saw the first performance of Agatha Christie 's The Mousetrap , a drawing-room murder mystery that has seen over 25,000 performances and is the longest-running West End show . At the same time the performing arts theatre Sadler's Wells , under Lilian Baylis , nurtured talent that led to
12000-593: The trenches . Initially idealistic and patriotic in tone, as the war progressed the tone of the movement became increasingly sombre and pacifistic. The beginning of the twentieth century also saw the Celtic Revival stimulate a new appreciation of traditional Irish literature , while the Scottish Renaissance brought modernism to Scottish literature as well as an interest in new forms in the literatures of Scottish Gaelic and Scots. The English novel developed in
12160-421: The (perhaps misnamed) Grime and Grime 2 . The first featured Plasticman, Mark One and Slaughter Mob, with Kode9, Loefah, and Digital Mystikz appearing on the second. These compilations helped to raise awareness of dubstep at a time when the grime sound was drawing more attention, and Digital Mystikz and Loefah's presence on the second release contributed to the success of their DMZ club night. Soon afterwards,
12320-479: The 1960s saw the British New Wave style develop, influenced by its French counterpart, that sought to depict a wider strata of society in a realistic manner. The 1960s also saw renewed American financial interest in British film, which particularly manifested itself in the development of historical epics , such as Best Picture winners Lawrence of Arabia and A Man for All Seasons ; spy thrillers , including
12480-473: The 1970s. Glam rock was a particularly British genre that emphasised outrageous costumes, while the end of the decade saw the rise of punk , new wave , and post-punk bands. The influence of immigration could also be seen in the increased prominence of World music , particularly Jamaican music . The 1980s were a successful decade in British pop, as a second British Invasion was witnessed and new technology enabled genres such as synthpop to form. Jazz saw
12640-474: The 1989 British Airways face advertisement , the 2005 noitulovE advert for Guinness , the 2007 Gorilla advertisement by Cadbury chocolate featuring a gorilla playing drums with Phil Collins' track " In the Air Tonight " playing in the background, and a 2013 advert for Galaxy chocolate bar featuring a computer-generated image of Audrey Hepburn . Christmas commercials are screened from early November in
12800-436: The 1989—99 UK lineage: bleep 'n' bass, jungle, techstep , Photek -style neurofunk , speed garage , [and] 2 step." Reynolds comments that the traces of pre-existing styles "worked through their intrinsic sonic effects but also as signifiers, tokenings-back addressed to those who know ". Dubstep's early roots are in the more experimental releases of UK garage producers, seeking to incorporate elements of drum and bass into
12960-562: The 1990s, and the success of Four Weddings and a Funeral saw romantic comedies rise in popularity. Merchant Ivory Productions , boosted by the Oscars success of the previous decade's period pieces, continued to produce films in the same vein. American studios also began to base the production of Hollywood films in the UK, encouraged by tax incentives. 1996's Trainspotting led to increased interest in regional, particularly Scottish, cinema. While American-funded films continued their influence in
13120-415: The 2000s and into the early 2010s, the genre started to become more commercially successful in the UK, with more singles and remixes entering the music charts. Music journalists and critics also noticed a dubstep influence in several pop artists' work. Around this time, producers also began to fuse elements of the original dubstep sound with other influences, creating fusion genres including future garage and
13280-519: The 2010s, domestic European co-productions also received acclaim. The Queen was British-French production for which Helen Mirren won Best Actress, while the UK Film Council funded The King's Speech , which won Best Picture in 2011. Asian British cinema has risen in prominence since 1999, when East is East was a mainstream success on a low budget. The UK has been at the forefront of developments in film, radio and television. Broadcasting in
13440-660: The 20th century into much greater variety and it remains today the dominant English literary form. The contemporary British literary scene is marked by awards such as the Booker Prize , created in 1969, and festivals including the Welsh Hay Festival , held since 1988. The prominent status of children's literature in the UK was demonstrated in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games , which contained sequence dedicated to prominent children's literary characters. In 2003
13600-420: The BBC carried out a British survey entitled The Big Read in order to find the "nation's best-loved novel", with works by English novelists J. R. R. Tolkien , Jane Austen , Philip Pullman , Douglas Adams and J. K. Rowling making up the top five on the list. More than 75% of the British public read at least one book annually. The UK is also among the largest publishers of books. As of 2017 , six firms in
13760-637: The Forward>;> sound as "b-lines to make your chest cavity shudder." Forward>> also ran a radio show on east London pirate station Rinse FM , hosted by Kode9 . The original Forward>> line ups included Hatcha , Youngsta, Kode 9, Zed Bias, Oris Jay, Slaughter Mob, Jay Da Flex, DJ Slimzee , and others, plus regular guests. The line up of residents has changed over the years to include Youngsta, Hatcha, Geeneus, and Plastician , with Crazy D as MC/host. Producers including D1, Skream and Benga make regular appearances. Another crucial element in
13920-538: The Mass venue, a converted church) saw fans attending from places as far away as Sweden , the United States, and Australia, leading to a queue of 600 people at the event. This forced the club to move from its regular 400-capacity space to Mass' main room, an event cited as a pivotal moment in dubstep's history. Later Mala would also found the influential label Deep Medi Musik . In 2004, Richard James ' label, Rephlex , released two compilations that included dubstep tracks –
14080-536: The Official UK Singles Chart. DJ Fresh and Nero both had number one singles in 2011 with " Louder " and " Promises ". Strong baselines imported from dubstep continued in popular music with the Taylor Swift song " I Knew You Were Trouble ", which made number 1 on Billboard's U.S. Mainstream Top 40 chart. In early 2011, the term "post-dubstep" (sometimes known as " UK bass " or simply "bass music")
14240-501: The Sheep . One of the most popular children's shows originating in the UK is Thomas & Friends (based on The Railway Series books by Wilbert Awdry ), which has become the number one licensed preschool property in the world. Other popular children's shows include Postman Pat , Fireman Sam , Teletubbies , Bob the Builder and Peppa Pig First airing in 1958, Blue Peter
14400-509: The Tempa Label. The sound's first North American ambassador, Baltimore DJ Joe Nice helped kickstart its spread into the continent. Regular Dubstep club nights started appearing in cities like New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Montreal, Houston, and Denver, while Mary Anne Hobbs curated a Dubstep showcase at 2007's Sónar festival in Barcelona. Non-British artists have also won praise within
14560-416: The UK and had a profound effect on socio-economic and cultural conditions around the world. British culture has been influenced by historical and modern migration, the historical invasions of Great Britain, and the British Empire. As a result of the British Empire, significant British influence can be observed in the language, law, culture and institutions of its former colonies, most of which are members of
14720-517: The UK has historically been dominated by the taxpayer-funded but independently run British Broadcasting Corporation (commonly known as the BBC ), although other independent radio and television ( ITV , Channel 4 , Five ) and satellite broadcasters (especially BSkyB which has over 10 million subscribers) have become more important in recent years. BBC television, and the other three main television channels are public service broadcasters who, as part of their licence allowing them to operate, broadcast
14880-624: The UK, with campaigns including the John Lewis Christmas advert for the department store chain. International football tournaments, such as the World Cup , are historically the most viewed sports events among the public, while Match of the Day is the most popular weekly football show. The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final and the Funeral of Princess Diana are the two most watched television events ever in
15040-412: The UK. Satire has been a prominent feature in British comedy for centuries. The British satire boom of the 1960s, which consisted of writers and performers such as Peter Cook , Dudley Moore , Alan Bennett , David Frost and Jonathan Miller , has heavily influenced British television, including the sketch comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus created in 1969 by Monty Python . Regarded as
15200-516: The United Kingdom is influenced by its combined nations' history ; its historically Christian religious life , its interaction with the cultures of Europe , the individual cultures of England , Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland , and the impact of the British Empire . The culture of the United Kingdom may also colloquially be referred to as British culture. Although British culture
15360-409: The United Kingdom , as well as within the countries themselves. This is partially the result of the long history of immigration to the UK, for example Northern English dialects contain many words with Old Norse roots. Scottish English , Welsh English , and Hiberno-Irish are varieties of English distinct from both English English and the native languages of those countries. Received Pronunciation
15520-831: The United Kingdom rank among the world's biggest publishers of books in terms of revenue: Bloomsbury , Cambridge University Press , Informa , Oxford University Press , Pearson , and RELX Group . From its formation in 1707 the United Kingdom has had a vibrant tradition of theatre, much of it inherited from England, Scotland and Wales. The Union of the Crowns coincided with the decline of highbrow and provocative Restoration comedy in favour of sentimental comedy, domestic tragedy such as George Lillo's The London Merchant (1731), and by an overwhelming interest in Italian opera. Popular entertainment became more important in this period than ever before, with fair-booth burlesque and mixed forms that are
15680-402: The United States, where many formerly successful dubstep artists became popular. Artists such as Skrillex, for instance, moved on to producing tracks for trap and pop artists, while artists such as Mount Kimbie and James Blake shifted their sounds from post-dubstep into more experimental or soulful electronic influenced music. Pioneers of dubstep such as Skream and Loefah moved away from
15840-476: The aggression and impact of brostep with the rich tonality and musicality of melodic dubstep, drawing on the best elements of both sides and fusing tonality with mid-range bass sound design. Artists like 501, Subscape, and Gemini have experimented upon this style of production in the earlier 2010s. English dubstep producer Chime coined the term " colour bass " describing this style of dubstep due to its focus on vibrant, bright and colourful production, and founded
16000-615: The ancestors of the English music hall . These forms flourished at the expense of other forms of English drama, which went into a long period of decline. In Scotland the opposite occurred, with the emergence of specifically Scottish plays including John Home's Douglas and the works of Walter Scott , which included original plays as well as adaptations of his Waverley novels. The late 19th century saw revival of English theatre with arrival of Irishmen George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde , who influenced domestic English drama and revitalised it. Their contemporaries Gilbert and Sullivan had
16160-428: The attention of metal bands. Nu metal band Korn 's 2011 album The Path of Totality features several collaborations with electronic music producers, including Skrillex and Excision. This style of dubstep is sometimes known as metalstep . In the early 2010s, UK artists began to play with a style of dubstep reminiscent of a resurgence or continuation of original British dubstep styles. This became known as Riddim ,
16320-475: The audio example). It is very common for the bass to drop at or very close to 55 seconds into the song, because 55 seconds is just over 32 measures at the common tempo of 140 bpm. However, this (or the existence of a bass drop in general) is by no means a completely rigid characteristic, rather a trope; a large portion of seminal tunes from producers like Kode9 and Horsepower Productions have more experimental song structures which do not rely on
16480-419: The colonial domination of non-European peoples under the guise of a civilizing mission. Kipling's works, while celebrated for their literary qualities, remain controversial for their imperialist themes. World War I gave rise to British war poets and writers such as Wilfred Owen , Siegfried Sassoon , and Rupert Brooke , who wrote (often paradoxically ) of their expectations of war, and their experiences in
16640-487: The common tropes of the genre. The early sounds of proto-dubstep originally came out of productions during 1999–2000 by producers such as Oris Jay, El-B , Steve Gurley and Zed Bias . Neil Jolliffe of Tempa Recordings coined the term "dubstep" in 2002. Ammunition Promotions, who run the influential club night Forward>> and have managed many proto-dubstep record labels (including Tempa, Soulja, Road, Vehicle, Shelflife, Texture, Lifestyle and Bingo), began to use
16800-656: The development of an opera company, which became the English National Opera (ENO); a theatre company, which evolved into the National Theatre; and a ballet company, which eventually became the English Royal Ballet . Elsewhere the Royal Shakespeare Company was founded in 1959 at Stratford-upon-Avon , and continues to mainly stage Shakespeare's plays. Contemporary British theatre is focused on
16960-414: The development of dubstep. The term "dubstep" in reference to a genre of music began to be used by around 2002 by labels such as Big Apple , Ammunition , and Tempa , by which time stylistic trends used in these remixes became 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. In 2004,
17120-501: The development of the novel took place in a wider literary context that included the rise of prose satires – which reached a high point with Gulliver's Travels (1729) by Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift , and earlier foreign works like the Spanish Don Quixote . Other novels by Jonathan Swift include A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), and A Modest Proposal (1729). With
17280-629: The dubstep scene. Digital Mystikz brought an expanded palette of sounds and influences to the genre, most prominently reggae and dub, as well as orchestral melodies. After releasing 12-inch singles on Big Apple, they founded DMZ Records, which has released fourteen 12"s to date. They also began their night DMZ, held every two months in Brixton , a part of London already strongly associated with reggae. DMZ has showcased new dubstep artists such as Skream, Kode 9, Benga, Pinch , DJ Youngsta, Hijak, Joe Nice , and Vex'd. DMZ's first anniversary event (at
17440-467: The d’Urbervilles (1891) offers a tragic critique of Victorian society's treatment of women, sexuality, and class, while Oscar Wilde ’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) examines themes of aestheticism, morality, and vanity in a Gothic narrative where the protagonist's portrait ages as his soul corrupts. In Robert Louis Stevenson ’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), the novella delves into themes of duality, identity, and morality through
17600-442: The early 1980s. Dubstep is generally characterised by the use of syncopated rhythmic patterns , with prominent basslines , and a dark tone. In 2001, this underground sound and other strains of garage music began to be showcased and promoted at London's night club Plastic People, at the "Forward" night (sometimes stylised as FWD>>), and on the pirate radio station Rinse FM , which went on to be considerably influential to
17760-542: The early development of dubstep was the Big Apple Records record shop in Croydon . Key artists such as Hatcha and later Skream worked in the shop (which initially sold early UK Hardcore / Rave, Techno and House and later, garage and drum and bass, but evolved with the emerging dubstep scene in the area), while Digital Mystikz were frequent visitors. El-B, Zed Bias, Horsepower Productions , Plastician, N Type, Walsh and
17920-605: The festive song " Walking in the Air ") is annually screened at Christmas. Shown on the BBC, the UK holds two high-profile charity telethon events, Children in Need , held annually in November, and Comic Relief , which alternates with Sports Relief , every March. The 2011 edition of Comic Relief saw the first appearance of James Corden 's Carpool Karaoke sketch when he drove around London singing songs with George Michael . British programmes dominate
18080-550: The first Black British and British Asian films respectively. 1981's Chariots of Fire and 1982's Gandhi both won the Best Picture Oscar, the latter winning eight awards, prompting a resurgence in period films. 1982 also saw the creation of Channel 4 , which had a remit to promote films for minority audiences. Films with racial and LGBT themes were produced, while Channel 4's involvement saw television stars move into feature films. American investment again increased in
18240-488: The first films in the James Bond franchise; and films based on ' swinging London ' scene. The 1970s saw a withdrawal of American support and a retrenchment in British cinema, though the decade did see culturally important productions such as the horror The Wicker Man and Monty Python 's comedic films. The decade also saw the Commonwealth influence British film, as Pressure and A Private Enterprise are considered
18400-510: The first historical novel, vividly recreates the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, cementing Scott's place as a major figure in British literature. William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794) blends art and poetry to explore themes of innocence, experience, and societal corruption, providing a unique vision of the Romantic spirit. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound (1820),
18560-403: The genre (as well as others, including grime) is sometimes referred to as "140". In its early stages, dubstep was often more percussive, with more influences from two‑step drum patterns. Many producers were also experimenting with tribal drum samples, such as Loefah's early release "Truly Dread" and Mala's "Anti-War Dub". In an Invisible Jukebox interview with The Wire , Kode9 commented on
18720-454: The genre was receiving extensive coverage in music magazines such as The Wire and online publications such as Pitchfork , with a regular feature entitled The Month In: Grime/Dubstep . Interest in dubstep grew significantly after BBC Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs started championing the genre, beginning with a show devoted to it (entitled "Dubstep Warz") in January 2006. Towards the end of
18880-460: The genre, moving on to other genres instead. Loefah stopped playing and producing dubstep and moved on to UK bass, founding his record label Swamp81 in the process. Skream shifted away from dubstep, choosing to instead produce and play house and techno music in his DJ sets and releasing various techno songs on Alan Fitzpatrick's record label We Are The Brave. Around the early to mid 2010s, a niche development of dubstep began to emerge which combines
19040-402: The genre, such as double-time bass drums, 8-bit video game samples , hand percussion and lushly arranged strings. Mary Anne Hobbs commented that, unlike "Grime and drum 'n' bass raves, the mood at dubstep nights is less aggressive, or more meditative, leading to a larger female attendance at events than with the genre's precursors. You see the female-to-male ratio constantly going up – it's got
19200-472: The group started their own record label, called Various Records or Various Production, where they began releasing their own material, usually on 7" or 12" vinyl, or later as mp3 releases. In 2009 the duo started another label, called "Misc", this time for selling artworks and other products. The duo signed a publishing deal with the newly formed Fire Songs in November 2007, a division of eclectic London-based record label Fire Records . In early 2009 they released
19360-536: The hype around the DMZ night and support from online forums (notably dubstepforum.com) and media, the scene gained prominence after Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs gathered top figures from the scene for one show, entitled "Dubstep Warz", (later releasing the compilation album Warrior Dubz ). The show created a new global audience for the scene, after years of exclusively UK underground buzz. Burial 's self-titled album appearing in many critics' "Best of ..." lists for
19520-715: The larger Dubstep community. The dynamic dubstep scene in Japan is growing quickly despite its cultural and geographical distance from the West. Such DJ/producers as Goth-Trad , Hyaku-mado, Ena and Doppelganger are major figures in the Tokyo scene. Joe Nice has played at DMZ, while the fifth instalment of Tempa's "Dubstep Allstars" mix series (released in 2007) included tracks by Finnish producer Tes La Rok and Americans JuJu and Matty G. Techno artists and DJs began assimilating dubstep into their sets and productions. Shackleton's "Blood on My Hands"
19680-516: The last year of his show, a listeners vote included songs by Distance , Digital Mystikz , and Plastician as the top 50 for the year. Dubstep started to enter mainstream British popular culture when it spread beyond small local scenes in late 2005 and early 2006; many websites devoted to the genre appeared on the Internet and aided the growth of the scene, such as dubstepforum, the download site Barefiles and blogs such as gutterbreakz. Simultaneously,
19840-774: The leading figure of the satire boom, Peter Cook was ranked number one in the Comedians' Comedian poll. The puppet show Spitting Image was a satire of the royal family , politics, entertainment, sport and British culture of the 1980s up to the mid-1990s. Have I Got News for You and Mock the Week are the two longest running satirical panel shows. Satire also features heavily in the Grand Theft Auto video game series which has been ranked among Britain's most successful exports. The slapstick and double entendre of Benny Hill also achieved very high ratings on British television, as did
20000-576: The list of TV's most watched shows in the UK, with the kitchen sink dramas , ITV's Coronation Street and BBC's EastEnders , both often ranking high on the ratings list compiled by BARB . The major soap operas each feature a pub , and these pubs have become household names throughout the UK. The Rovers Return is the pub in Coronation Street , the Queen Vic (short for the Queen Victoria )
20160-574: The mainstream. British soul saw a rise that continued into the 2000s, including the global success of Adele . Dance music also saw innovation, with genres such as dubstep and new rave emerging. In contrast to the comparatively homogeneous classical and pop genres, each nation of the UK has retained a distinct tradition of folk music. The traditional folk music of England has contributed to several genres, such as sea shanties , jigs , hornpipes and dance music . It has its own distinct variations and regional peculiarities, while musical Morris dancing
20320-671: The medium of Welsh or study it as an additional language until age 16, and the Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages should be treated equally in the public sector, so far as is reasonable and practicable. Irish and Ulster Scots enjoy limited use alongside English in Northern Ireland, mainly in publicly commissioned translations. The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act , passed by
20480-401: The mixtape project Mr Grustle & Tha Russian Dubstep LA Embrace The Renaissance Vol. 1 Mixed by Plastician . In summer 2009, rapper and actress Eve used Benga's "E Trips"; adding her own verses over the beat to create a new tune called "Me N My"; the first single from her unreleased album Flirt . The track was co-produced by Benga and hip hop producer Salaam Remi . Throughout 2010,
20640-536: The physical humour of Mr. Bean . Popular comedy duos in television include The Two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise , with both shows featuring memorable sketches. Jeeves and Wooster starred Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster , an airy, nonchalant, gormless, idle young gentleman and Stephen Fry as Jeeves , his calm, well-informed, and talented valet . Created by and starring Rik Mayall as Richie and Adrian Edmondson as Eddie, Bottom features two crude, perverted flatmates with no jobs and little money, which
20800-418: The potential to be 40:60". Purple sound emerged in Bristol in late 2008 out of the splintering dubstep scene and took inspiration from wonky , which it is sometimes considered a part of. It incorporates synth-funk from the 1980s and G-funk production from the 1990s into dubstep, while also introducing many aspects of grime and 8-bit music. Several prominent purple sound artists cite video game music as
20960-505: The predominantly religious poems of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Christina Rossetti . George Eliot ’s Middlemarch (1871–1872), often regarded as one of the greatest English novels, explores themes of politics, marriage, and ambition in the setting of a provincial English town. Elizabeth Gaskell ’s North and South (1854–1855) contrasts the industrial north with the agricultural south, addressing issues such as class conflict, industrialization, and gender roles. Thomas Hardy ’s Tess of
21120-400: The presence of dubstep in the pop charts was notable, 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 . " Katy on a Mission " by Katy B (produced by Benga) followed, debuting at number 5 in the UK singles chart, and stayed in
21280-493: The prologue to John Vanbrugh ’s The Mistake. Steele's major breakthrough came in 1709 with the creation of The Tatler , a tri-weekly periodical in which he wrote the majority of the essays under the pseudonym Isaac Bickerstaff , aiming to expose societal vices and promote simplicity. Despite its success, The Tatler was shut down in 1711 due to political pressure, prompting Steele and Addison to co-found The Spectator in 1711 and The Guardian in 1713, solidifying Steele's role as
21440-524: The publishing of these books, he gained literary fame and formed lifelong friendships with Alexander Pope, John Gay , and John Arbuthnot , who, with Swift, created the Martinus Scriblerus Club in 1713. Other novels made at this time are: Tom Jones (1749), by Henry Fielding ; Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740), by Samuel Richardson ; Laurence Sterne – The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759–1767). Pamela or Virtue Rewarded,
21600-482: The record label Rushdown in 2016 to promote it. Despite the overall declining popularity of dubstep in mainstream culture, colour bass has been promoted by veteran electronic labels like Monstercat around the early 2020s, with artists like Skybreak, Ace Aura , and Chime himself finding success in producing colour bass music. Culture of the United Kingdom Modern ethnicities The culture of
21760-489: The rise of Alfred Hitchcock , who soon moved to the US and become one of the twentieth century's most influential directors. During World War II the Crown Film Unit established a reputation for documentaries, while Powell and Pressburger began their influential and innovative collaboration. The post-war period was a particular high point for British filmmaking, producing The Third Man and Brief Encounter , which
21920-571: The role they play in language development. Richard Steele , another famous author known for comedies and pamphlets during the Augustan Period, began his literary career with The Christian Hero (1701), a moral pamphlet that was criticized due to his personal lifestyle, followed by the successful comedy The Funeral later that year. In 1703, he wrote The Lying Lover , an early sentimental comedy that failed on stage. In 1705, he collaborated with Joseph Addison on The Tender Husband and contributed
22080-483: The same film. Comedian Marty Feldman co-created the acclaimed BBC Radio comedy programme Round the Horne in 1965. The long running radio comedy Just a Minute first aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1967. Panellists must talk for sixty seconds on a given subject, "without hesitation, repetition or deviation". Guests over the years have included Stephen Fry , Eddie Izzard and Sue Perkins . First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978,
22240-449: The science fiction comedy radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was innovative in its use of music and sound effects. The BBC, as a public service broadcaster , also runs minority stations such as BBC Asian Network , BBC Radio 1Xtra and BBC Radio 6 Music , and local stations throughout the country. Rock music station Absolute Radio , and sports station Talksport , are among
22400-409: The seventeenth-century broadside ballad , and also encompasses brass band music and music hall . Popular music in the modern sense began to emerge in the 1950s, as the American styles of jazz and rock and roll became popular. The skiffle revival was an early attempt to create a British form of American music, but it was the emergence of British rock and roll by the early 1960s that established
22560-535: The slower and more experimental post-dubstep . The harsher electro-house and heavy metal -influenced variant brostep , led by American producers such as Skrillex , greatly contributed to dubstep's popularity in the United States. The music website AllMusic has described dubstep's overall sound as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals." According to Simon Reynolds , dubstep's constituents originally came from "different points in
22720-421: The sordid lives of criminals and exposes the cruel treatment of the many orphans in London . Another novel by Charles Dickens, Great Expectations (1861), is a bildungsroman that follows the life of Pip , an orphan navigating ambition, love, and personal growth while critiquing social mobility and class divisions. Charlotte Brontë ’s Jane Eyre (1847) blends Gothic romance with social commentary, focusing on
22880-480: The sound into other genres, in a manner similar to drum and bass before it. At the start of the year, UK electronic duo La Roux put their single " In for the Kill " in the remix hands of Skream . They then gave remix duties of " I'm Not Your Toy " to Nero and then again with their single " Bulletproof " being remixed by Zinc . The same year, London producer Silkie released an influential album, City Limits Vol. 1 , on
23040-427: The soundtrack to much of the second series of Dubplate Drama , which aired on Channel 4 with a soundtrack CD later released on Rinse Recordings . A track by Skream also featured in the second series of the teen drama Skins , which also aired on Channel 4 in early 2008. In the summer of 2008, Mary Anne Hobbs invited Cyrus, Starkey, Oneman , DJ Chef , Silkie , Quest, Joker , Nomad, Kulture and MC Sgt Pokes to
23200-469: The split personality of its protagonist. Arthur Conan Doyle ’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892), a group of short stories, which popularised the detective genre and introduced one of literature's most iconic characters: Sherlock Holmes. Rudyard Kipling 's literature exemplifies the British Empire ’s influence on British literature through his works that often reflect the ethos of imperialism and colonialism . His novels The Jungle Book , which
23360-561: The term "dubstep" to describe this style of music in around 2002. The term's use in a 2002 XLR8R cover story (featuring Horsepower Productions on the cover) contributed to it becoming established as the name of the genre. Forward>> was originally held at the Velvet Rooms in London's Soho and later moved to Plastic People in Shoreditch , east London. Founded in 2001, Forward>>
23520-553: The top 10 for five more weeks. Also, in 2010, American producer Skrillex had achieved moderate commercial success in North America with a dubstep-influenced sound. By 2011, his EP Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites had peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart. In February 2011, Chase & Status 's second album No More Idols reached No. 2 in the UK album chart. On 1 May 2011, Nero 's third single " Guilt " from their album reached number 8 in
23680-463: The work, although he had claimed he could finish it in three. A warm reception greeted Johnson's Dictionary as it was the first dictionary that could be read with pleasure. The definitions full of wit and depth of thought supported by passages from beloved poets and philosophers, meant a reader could be content spending an evening poring over its pages. Johnson's choice of structure and format has certainly shaped future English dictionaries and lexicons and
23840-407: The year, notably The Wire' s Best Album of 2006. The sound was also featured prominently in the soundtrack for the 2006 sci-fi film Children of Men , which included Digital Mystikz, Random Trio, Kode 9, Pressure and DJ Pinch. Ammunition also released the first retrospective compilation of the 2000–2004 era of dubstep called The Roots of Dubstep , co-compiled by Ammunition and Blackdown on
24000-467: Was a strong supporter of the German Felix Mendelssohn , an early Romantic composer who also strongly influenced British music. In Ireland, John Field invented the nocturne and may have been an influence on Chopin and Liszt. A notable development of the mid- to late-nineteenth century was the resurgence of English-language opera and the establishment of several prominent orchestras, including
24160-445: Was critical to the development of dubstep, providing the first venue devoted to the sound and an environment in which dubstep producers could premier new music. Around this time, Forward>> was also incubating several other strains of dark garage hybrids, so much so that in the early days of the club the coming together of these strains was referred to as the "Forward>> sound". An online flyer from around this time encapsulated
24320-482: Was first broadcast on Channel 4 in 1993. Broadcast from 1951 to 1960, radio comedy The Goon Show , starring Peter Sellers , Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe , mixed ludicrous plots with surreal humour, puns, catchphrases and an array of bizarre sound effects. The show has exerted considerable influence on British comedy and culture. As a film star Sellers in particular became influential to film actors by using different accents and guises and assuming multiple roles in
24480-420: Was gradually replaced by distorted bass riffs that function roughly in the same register as the electric guitar in heavy metal . The term brostep has been used by some as a pejorative descriptor for a style of popular dubstep developed in the United States. The producer known as Rusko himself claimed in an interview on BBC Radio 1Xtra that "brostep is sort of my fault, but now I've started to hate it in
24640-515: Was nominated for the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Music Prize in the UK) incorporated extensive use of heavily manipulated, mostly female, 'girl next door' vocal samples. Burial has spoken at length regarding his intent to reincorporate elements of musical precursors such as 2-step garage and house into his sound. Much like drum and bass before it, dubstep started to become incorporated into other media. In 2007, Benga, Skream, and other dubstep producers provided
24800-457: Was one of the first DJ's to mix the sound of grime and dubstep together, has worked with notable grime setup Boy Better Know as well as renowned Grime MC's such as Wiley, Dizzee Rascal and Lethal Bizzle. He has also released tracks with a dubstep foundation and grime verses over the beats. Dubstep artist and label co-owner Sam Shackleton has moved toward productions which fall outside the usual dubstep tempo, and sometimes entirely lack most of
24960-870: Was remixed by minimal techno producer Ricardo Villalobos (an act reciprocated when Villalobos included a Shackleton mix on his "Vasco" EP) and included on a mix CD by Panoramabar resident Cassy. Ellen Allien and Apparat 's 2006 song "Metric" (from the Orchestra of Bubbles album), Modeselektor 's "Godspeed" (from the 2007's Happy Birthday! album, among other tracks on that same album) and Roman Flugel's remix of Riton 's "Hammer of Thor" are other examples of dubstep-influenced techno. Berlin's Hard Wax record store (operated by influential dub techno artists Basic Channel) has also championed Shackleton's Skull Disco label, later broadening its focus to include other dubstep releases. The summer of 2007 saw dubstep's musical palette expand further, with Benga and Coki scoring
25120-403: Was set up in 2006. British Baroque music was heavily influenced by continental fashions. This is exemplified by George Frideric Handel , a German-born naturalised British citizen whose choral music set British taste for the next two centuries. His operas also helped Britain challenge Italy as a centre of operatic production. Classical music attracted much attention from 1784 with the formation of
25280-466: Was shot in 1895. The world's first colour motion picture was shot by Edward Raymond Turner in 1902. British film production suffered in the 1920s in face of competition from American imports and a legal requirement for cinemas to show a set quota of British films, which encouraged poor-quality, low-cost productions to meet this demand. This had changed by the 1940s, when the government encouraged fewer, higher-quality films to be made . This era also saw
25440-508: Was the first dictionary of its kind, containing 40,000 words and nearly 114,000 quotes packed together with Johnson's personal touch. It is among the most influential dictionaries , or among most authoritative, in the history of the English language and considered to be a monumental achievement in lexicography . A group of London booksellers contracted Johnson to write a dictionary for the sum of 1,500 guineas (£1,575), equivalent to about £310,000 in 2024. Johnson took seven years to complete
25600-555: Was used to describe club music that was influenced by certain aspects of dubstep. Such music often references earlier dubstep productions as well as UK garage , 2-step and other forms of underground electronic dance music . Artists producing music described as post-dubstep have also incorporated elements of ambient music and early R&B . The latter in particular is heavily sampled by three artists described as post-dubstep: Mount Kimbie , Fantastic Mr Fox and James Blake . The tempo of music typically characterised as post-dubstep
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