BHM: Drumz Of The South

Last week, we kicked off our Black History Month series with an exclusive extract from Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music by Matt Anniss. If you haven’t checked it out yet, go dive into the origins of Bleep Techno and its Black sound system roots. Trust us, it’s a must-read.

This week, we’re moving forward to an era that defined a whole new wave of bass music: dubstep. This time, we’re shining a light on Georgina Cook’s legendary photography book, Drumz Of The South: The Dubstep Years (2004-2007). If you don’t know about this book, get to know. It’s the first of its kind, documenting the early days of dubstep through over 200 raw, iconic photos from nights like FWD>> at Plastic People, DMZ, and pirate radio sessions at Rinse FM. Featuring heavyweights like Skream, Benga, Mala & Coki, Burial, Loefah, Plastician, Kode9, Hatcha, Crazy D, Skepta, Wiley, and Sgt Pokes, this book captures the heart of the scene just as it was blowing up.

A new edition of the book has been released where Cook goes even deeper, featuring five “reflections” from key figures in the wider Drumz Of The South community—people she looks up to. These reflections tackle questions that often come up from students and researchers digging into the roots of dubstep and its surrounding culture.

This week, we’re giving you a taste of this special edition with an extract from a reflection by the legendary DJ and musician Charlie Dark. He shares his thoughts on the sense of community tied to Plastic People, a venue that holds a major place in both the book and the evolution of dubstep itself.

This collection brings us face-to-face with the raw energy and vibe of the early dubstep scene, and we’re thrilled to share it with you. Take a look the visual history of a movement that forever changed the sound of bass.

An Extract From Drumz Of The South by Georgina Cook.

A Basement Of Opportunities – Charlie Dark on Plastic People

“As a child of an immigrant, you are born into community. It’s within your DNA and imprinted in your soul at every family gathering and with every morsel of food. It’s no surprise that it seeps into your approach to business. A life spent navigating the opinions of aunties, uncles and extended family makes you hyper-aware of the power of listening and the magic that occurs when you bring people together and the bar of excellence is set high. 

When people ask me what I do for a living I used to tell them I build, nurture and grow communities but if I’m honest the word “community” doesn’t sit well with me anymore. It’s become a buzzword for brands to sell products by people who’ve never really been part of a community but are great at pushing numbers around. So, if anything these days I’m more concerned with building movements that empower people to bring change to themselves and by doing so, the people around them. Movements that can exist without the help of outsiders and are self-sufficient, much like Run Dem Crew, which is the movement I’m most known for. An Urban Run Collective I founded in 2007, it has since morphed into a global movement much like the music and scenes that came out of the basement incubator we fondly refer to as Plastic People.”