What Is Post-Dubstep? Key Artists, Sound and Cultural Impact
UK Bass & Electronics · Updated May 2026
Post-dubstep is a term describing the experimental electronic music that emerged from the UK dubstep scene around 2009–2011, as producers began using the genre's structural elements — the 140 BPM grid, the 2-step influence, the bass weight — for more atmospheric and song-oriented ends. Key artists include Burial, James Blake, Jamie xx, Mount Kimbie and King Krule.
The Origins of Post-Dubstep
Dubstep proper — the genre as defined by Skream, Benga, Loefah and Digital Mystikz at the DMZ nights in Brixton from 2004 onwards — was built on the half-time grid and the maximum bass weight that the 140 BPM tempo could carry. Burial's self-titled debut (2006) and Untrue (2007) were products of the same South London ecosystem but used the structural elements of dubstep for something entirely different: atmosphere, melancholy, the feeling of post-urban Britain at four in the morning. By 2010–11, a generation of producers inspired by Burial rather than the DMZ sound were creating music that used the 140 BPM grid as a starting point rather than a destination — James Blake's debut album (2011) brought soul and gospel into the space; Mount Kimbie's Crooks & Lovers (2010) applied the template to fragmented beats and acoustic guitar; Jamie xx's production work with The xx demonstrated that the post-dubstep aesthetic could function in a pop context.
Key Artists and Records
Burial remains the defining figure — Untrue is the record that everything subsequent post-dubstep is in conversation with. James Blake: James Blake (2011). Mount Kimbie: Crooks & Lovers (2010). Jamie xx: In Colour (2015). King Krule: The OOZ (2017). Each extends the vocabulary in a different direction while maintaining the atmospheric and structural DNA of the original template.
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Post-Dubstep's Legacy
The post-dubstep moment was brief — approximately 2009 to 2014 — but its influence on UK electronic music has been permanent. The atmospheric production values, the emotional directness, the preference for mood over function that defined the best post-dubstep records are now the default aesthetic of the UK post-club space. The Floating Points and Four Tet catalogues both bear its influence, as does every producer working in the ambient and UK bass territories. Post-dubstep's most important contribution was demonstrating that UK club music could be chamber music without losing its physicality.