Speed garage

Speed garage (occasionally known as plus-8^[1]) is a genre of electronic dance music, associated with the UK garage scene, of which it is regarded as one of its subgenres.^[2]

Stylistic origins

Cultural originsEarly to mid-1990s, United Kingdom and United States

Derivative forms

Quick facts Stylistic origins, Cultural origins ...

Speed garage
Stylistic origins	Garage house jungle music
Cultural origins	Early to mid-1990s, United Kingdom and United States
Derivative forms	Bassline donk
Other topics
UK hard house

Characteristics

Speed garage features sped-up NY garage 4-to-the-floor rhythms that are combined with breakbeats.^[3] Snares are placed as over the 2nd and the 4th kickdrums, so in other places of the drum pattern.^[4] Speed garage tunes have warped, heavy basslines, influenced by jungle^[5] and reggae.^[6] Sweeping bass is typical for speed garage.^[7] It is also typical for speed garage tunes to have a breakdown.^[8] Speed garage tunes sometimes featured time-stretched vocals.^[9] As it is heavily influenced by jungle, speed garage makes heavy use of jungle and dub sound effects, such as gunshots and sirens.^[10]^[11]

Resurgence in the 2020s

In the early 2020s, speed garage experienced a notable resurgence within the UK music scene. This renewed interest in speed garage has been accompanied by a broader UK garage revival.^[12]

In November 2024, Interplanetary Criminal teamed up with Sammy Virji to release "Damager".^[13]

References

[1]
DJ magazine, 1996–97, "Raggage": "...earning the scene the slightly mocked nick-names of 'plus-8' or 'speed garage'."
[2]
History of Speed garage: "There are many different forms of garage music, most of these were of little interest to UK hard dance fans until the latest mutation came along, speed garage."
[3]
History of Speed garage: "Speed garage can be broadly defined as a mixture of slightly sped up garage beats..."
[4]
2Step: "In the original 1997 speed garage, the snares are fussy and clattering over the stomping 4-to-the-floor kickdrum."
[5]
History of Speed garage: "Speed garage can be broadly defined as a mixture of slightly sped up garage beats with a heavy almost junglistic bassline"
[6]
(2004) "Popular Music Genres: An Introduction", ISBN 0-7486-1745-0, ISBN 978-0-7486-1745-6, p.216: "Speed garage basslines were drawn from Jamaican reggae..."
[7]
(2004) "The Dance Music Manual", ISBN 0-240-51915-9, ISBN 978-0-240-51915-9, p.157: "The sweeping bass is typical of UK garage and speed garage tracks and consists of a tight yet deep bass that sweeps in pitch and/or frequencies"
[8]
History of Speed garage: "Speed garage can be broadly defined as a mixture of slightly sped up garage beats [...], and usually with a break in the middle where the beat is stripped down and then builds up for a long period of time."
[9]
History of Speed garage: "Speed garage can be broadly defined as a mixture of slightly sped up garage beats [...], sometimes with timestretched vocals"
[10]
(2004) "Popular Music Genres: An Introduction", ISBN 0-7486-1745-0, ISBN 978-0-7486-1745-6, p.216: "Jungle and ragga-style sound effects, such as the rash of gun shot volleys heard on popular speed garage tracks,..."
[11]
(2004) "Popular Music Genres: An Introduction", ISBN 0-7486-1745-0, ISBN 978-0-7486-1745-6, p.216: "Overall, two-step [..], less relied on the dub sound effects [...] of speed garage"
[12]
"How UK Garage Conquered 2021". Beatportal.
[13]
"Sammy Virji and Interplanetary Criminal Link Up for New Speed Garage Single 'Damager'". DJ Mag.

Characteristics

Resurgence in the 2020s

References

External links

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