So Dubstep has taken the world by storm, introducing a shiny new style when no-one thought there was any life left in the British underground electronic scene.
But as always, it was individuals that brought innovation - let's see which people are responsible for us having heard of Dubstep...
El-B
One of the pioneers of Dubstep, he brought the wobbly sound to the fore, evolving it from his hip hop and UK garage roots.
Zed Bias
With a background in producing Broken Beat and UK garage, Zed, who incidentally was behind the 2000 single "Neighbourhood" if you remember back that far, was another founding father attributed to the birth of Dubstep.
Kode9
This founding father is more notably a DJ rather than a producer when it comes to Dubstep - Fronting the pirate radio station "Rinse FM"'s Dubstep Radio show. Kode9 also created the immensely influential Hyperdub record label, which would later go on to release the self titled album by "Burial" - arguably the most successful Dubstep album to date.
DJ Youngsta
Another DJ from Rinse FM, DJ Youngsta also took to the turntables at the important FWD>> club night that created the initial scene around Dubstep.
Benga
On the "Big Apple Records" label, Benga was another of the first producers to start bringing the style into view of the mainstream, with his massive collaborative effort "Night", produced with "Coki" of the Digital Mystikz.
Actually placing in the top 100 chart, and with over a million views on youtube, this tune is attributed to being the first big Dubstep hit to cross over into the mainstream.
Skream
Working at the "Big Apple Records" record shop - the vinyl store that was at the center of the growing Dubstep scene gave Skream an inside look into what was going to be the next big thing.
His productions with Benga in his early days were more obscure and less melodic, but his solo stuff such as massive crossover hit "Midnight Request Line" brought in a much catchier element, whilst still retaining the dark dubstep feel.
Rusko
One of the biggest proponents of the Dubstep genre at the moment, Rusko brought it to new audiences with a more upbeat, fun take on the style. His remix of Kid Cudi's "Day n night" along with his own club bangers such as "Cockney Thug" have earned him critical acclaim in the Dubstep scene.
Coki
This founding father is one half of production duo DMZ, along with Mala - these two run the "DMZ" club night, which gets hundreds of patrons coming in to feel the unnecessarily heavy basslines and lose themselves in the ambient noises. At this DMZ clubnight, a BBC DJ discovered the genre...
Founding Mother - Mary Anne Hobbs
It's not just a sausage fest any more - After Hobbs discovered Dubstep, she proceeded to champion it on her radio show which had promoted grime previously. She put the genre out to more people than ever before with her show "Dubstep Warz" on BBC Radio 1.
Joe Nice
A Dubstep DJ from America, attributed with bringing the genre to the continent. Bringing DJs such as Mala, Kode9 and Loefah to New York (Once again, the big apple features in the history of Dubstep!) for his "Dub War" club night, his passion for the genre certainly helped to push it to a wider audience.
Burial
An almost anonymous producer until mid-2008, Burial was responsible for the self-titled album released on Kode9's hyperdub label which was named "Album of the year" by Wire magazine, one small step for Dub, and one giant leap for... uh... Minimalistic dark electronica.
So there we have some of the most important and influential names in Dubstep – people that conceived the idea, people that took the genre to new audiences and people that turned Dubstep into what it is today.
If it wasn’t for all of these people, for all we know we could be sitting listening to up-tempo music right now, instead of bobbing our heads like our neck is Zebedee from the magic roundabout.
So who will be the next big name in Dubstep? Are there many more Founding Fathers to come? Who will sign the declaration of Dubdependence? (Okay, that’s one too many juxtapositions for this post) Keep your eyes on the scene and maybe you’ll see... or keep your eyes on your sequencer and maybe you’ll be the next name on the list!
