New book chronicles dubstep's origins through testimonies of scene figures

Music writer Lauren Martin has written Aftershock: The Seismic Impact of Dubstep, an oral history of dubstep published by Velocity Press.

The book will be available in shops on August 3, with pre-orders shipping in early July.

It draws on interviews with 28 figures from the scene, including Mala, Loefah, Coki, Kode9, Skream, Hatcha, Youngsta, Shackleton, Pearson Sound, and Pinch, plus covers the rise of labels and nights such as Hyperdub, Tempa, DMZ, FWD>>, and Skull Disco.

The book traces dubstep from its late '90s London origins through its spread into North America in the early 2010s, touching on the role of pirate radio, dub reggae soundsystem culture, record shops, and dubplate cutting houses across London, Bristol, and Leeds.

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Alongside the interviews, the book includes visual material from the personal archives of Kode9, Loefah, Hatcha, Shackleton, and others, plus original photography by Orson Sieverding, Georgina Cook, Stu Hammersley, and the late Shaun Bloodworth.

“This heavy, asymmetric music, informed by Jamaican soundsystem culture, garage, grime, breaks and more, could only have mutated in the UK, and Martin’s cast of characters take you back to the Croydon record shops, Shoreditch clubs and online forums where it came together,” describes Ben Beaumont-Thomas, Editor at Guardian Music.

Pre-order Aftershock: The Seismic Impact of Dubstep here.

Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.

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