2-step garage

[1] One of the primary characteristics of the 2-step sound – the term being coined to describe "a general rubric for all kinds of jittery, irregular rhythms that don't conform to garage's traditional four-on-the-floor pulse"[1] – is that the rhythm lacks the kick drum pattern found in many other styles of electronic music with a regular four-on-the-floor beat.

[citation needed] The primary synth basslines used in 2-step are similar to those in the style's progenitors such as UK garage, drum and bass, and jungle.

Much like other genres derived from UK garage, MCs are often featured, particularly in a live context, with a vocal style reminiscent of old school jungle.

[1] Influences from hip hop[2] and drum and bass, particularly as a reaction to the "melody-and-vocal-devoid bombast" of the techstep[1] subgenre, have been noted by critics.

Label owner and dubstep musician Steve Goodman commented on the Hyperdub website on the debut of Forward>>, a highly influential nightclub in 2-step and later derivatives of the "UK hardcore continuum" – a phrase coined by Goodman to sum up the constant evolution in the hardcore/jungle/garage sound,[4] and later adopted by other writers documenting the scene, such as Martin Clark.

[citation needed] Much like drum and bass before it, 2-step started to garner crossover appeal, with a collaboration between 2-step producers Artful Dodger and R&B vocalist Craig David reaching #2 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1999 with the song "Re-Rewind".