Techstep replaced DnB's Afrodiasporic cultural references with sci-fi soundscapes and industrial textures

Techstep is a DnB subgenre characterised by sci-fi soundscapes and samples from science fiction culture — harsh noise, tonal dissonance, and a discourse of sonic violence. Where earlier DnB and jungle drew heavily on Jamaican dub, reggae, and hip-hop cultural references, techstep deliberately replaced these with sci-fi and industrial aesthetics. Simon Reynolds described the shift: ‘intelligent drum and bass suffers from an obsessive-compulsive cleanliness, techstep production is deliberately dirty, all dense murk and noxious drones.’ Pioneers include Bad Company UK, Ed Rush, Optical, Dom & Roland, and Moving Shadow. Neurofunk later developed from techstep, adding jazz and funk elements.

Examples

Ed Rush & Optical’s ‘Wormhole’ album (1998): industrial kick sounds, metallic bass textures, dissonant pads, sci-fi samples — none of the ragga vocal traces of jungle. Compare to 1993 jungle: culturally opposite despite sharing the same BPM range.

Assessment

Identify the key sonic and cultural differences between techstep and its jungle precursor. What does the shift from reggae/dub to sci-fi aesthetics say about the cultural politics of DnB’s evolution?