{{Short description|Subgenre of drum and bass}} {{About|the drum and bass subgenre|the dubstep/hardstyle hybrid|dubstyle}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Hardstep | stylistic_origins = {{hlist|Oldschool jungle|breakbeat hardcore|darkcore}} | cultural_origins = Mid-1990s, United Kingdom | derivatives = Techstep }}
'''Hardstep''' is a subgenre of drum and bass which emerged in the mid-1990s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kmag.co.uk/editorial/features/top-10-stupid-music-genres.html|title=Top 10 Stupid Music Genre Names|date=20 May 2010|website=Kmag|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402131717/http://www.kmag.co.uk/editorial/features/top-10-stupid-music-genres.html|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=}}</ref> It is characterized by a gritty production style that consists of an inner-city feel. The breaks are less choppy than oldschool jungle, and have faster and harder simple electronic melodies. One characteristic is an accentuated, and yet sparse percussive beat.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ravelinks.com/raveradio/hardstepmusic.htm |title=Hard Step Music Definition |access-date=2008-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230215553/http://www.ravelinks.com/raveradio/hardstepmusic.htm |archive-date=2008-12-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The genre found favor with junglists, and though it has been overtaken in popularity by techstep, the fans of the style still remain. Early hardstep artists include DJ Hype, DJ Ellis Dee, Grooverider, Phantasy, Jumping Jack Frost and DJ Zinc.<ref>{{cite book |title=All music guide to electronica: the definitive guide to electronic music |last=Bogdanov |first=Vladimir |page=[https://archive.org/details/allmusicguidetoe00vlad/page/638 638] |year=2001 |publisher=Backbeat Books |isbn=978-0-87930-628-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/allmusicguidetoe00vlad/page/638 }}</ref>
== References == <references/>
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Category:Drum and bass genres Category:English styles of music
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