Ah, brostep. It’s likely that no single word more poignantly conjures up a specific time in dance music as “brostep” does. Popularly believed to have started with Caspa & Rusko’s legendary Fabriclive 37 mix from 2007, brostep is a style of dubstep that grew to be characterized by more harsh high frequencies and a less dark profile that its original counterpart. Most popular between 2010-2013, brostep was popularized by acts like Rusko, Skrillex, Kill The Noise, and basically everyone on Circus Records at the time.
Needless to say, it’s an important (and sometimes embarrassing) era of dance music history.
In celebration, or perhaps merely recognition, of brostep’s legacy, the reddit community r/electronicmusic asked subscribers to nominate the best and most iconic brostep tracks. Twenty songs were ultimately chosen; only one song per artist was chosen, including collaborations and remixes. The songs were not curated by genre, and therefore may bleed into related genres like drumstep or moombahcore.
Nevertheless, there are truly some classics on this list. Rusko’s “Woo Boost” is maybe the song that started it all, and Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” makes an appearance. Doctor P, Zomboy, Modestep, Eptic, Excision, Dubba Jonny, and Virtual Riot all also make the list.
Check out all the track below as well as the complete list.
The List
• Skrillex – Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
• Flux Pavilion – Bass Cannon
• Getter – Rip N Dip
• Rusko – Woo Boost
• Zomboy – Mind Control
• Modestep – Sunlight
• Nero – Innocence
• Doctor P ft. Eva Simons – Bulletproof
• Bear Grillz – Gurlz
• Excision – X Rated (ft. Messinian)
• Funtcase – 4 Bars of Fury (Barely Alive Remix)
• Feed Me – One Click Headshot *
• Moody Good – Hotplate (ft. Knyto)
• Eptic – Genesis
• Phase One – Circle Pit
• Spag Heddy – Permanent
• Virtual Riot – Degenerates
• Space Laces – Cruise Control
• Dubba Johnny – Not Another Dubstep Tutorial
• Bassnector – Wildstyle Method **
*May be Moombahcore
**May be Drumstep
Photo via Rukes.com | via r/electronicmusic
