Characteristic sounds are pitched vocal chops, warm filtered reese basses, dark atmospheres (including synth pads, field recordings and other atmospheric sounds) and vinyl crackle.
[1] The genre has been described as being influenced by UK garage, dark swing, 2-step garage and grime, producing so-called "futuristic", and often very off kilter modern rhythmic production styles.
[2] The name was coined by Whistla[3] before the appearance of Future Garage Forum in November 2009.
[4][5] In Issue 108 of MusicTech Magazine from March 2013,[6] it was suggested that future garage should employ re-pitched vocals, soft leads with a round attack or an acoustic lead, subbass or a square wave bass with a modulating filter, and a four-to-the-floor or 2-step garage drum beat with off-the-grid hi-hats.
The distinct swing in future garage drum beats is the focus on "late" or humanized hi-hats between the kick and snare patterns.