When you think of the OG dubstep days, imagery that might come to mind is sweaty boys from Croydon in the club, like the artwork of Skream’s seminal debut album, or groups of lads packed into DJ booths and radio studios, from DMZ to the crew flanking Mary Anne Hobbs at BBC Radio 1’s notorious Dubstep Warz broadcast. But since foundational imprint Tempa relaunched last year after nearly a decade of inactivity, its release schedule has been dominated by women and non-binary artists, and producers raised outside of the UK, from the West Coast of America to Nairobi, Kenya. It’s no secret that dubstep’s influence has long outgrown its South London origins — we all know about brostep — but a new wave has emerged that has more in common with the roots of the genre, with notable updates, and femmes are leading the way. 

The latest outing from California-raised, London-based Carré is another needle-shifting release. Meditative sub-bass pressure and sparse percussion form the throughline from Tempa’s '00s output, which is built upon with pensive chords that twinkle like rays of light through the murk and the sultry tones of Inglewood rapper BbyAfricka, who brings Angeleno textures to the fore: “Feed me energy and sun, you're my solar panel … Calm me down when I'm hurting, you my oxycontin” she gently urges. Dubstep has emerged from the stale sweat and weed fug of the British basements it was born in, entering a new dawn, one that sounds fresher, lighter, and more sensual.

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The bassline rap hit factory that is West Yorkshire keeps on delivering with charver anthems, now backed by London labels in the slipstream of Bad Boy Chiller Crew’s crossover success. Here, Bradford’s Bailey Holmes and Huddersfield’s Meathead (one of Mixmag’s artists to watch in 2026) follow up the success of their ‘Numerous Bootings (Bro in a Coffee Shop)’ remix with another catchy heater that mythbust’s the stereotype of ‘England’s green and pleasant land’ for a more on-the-nose account of Britain Of The Moment™. The duo trade verses with curtain lifters like: “Hello, welcome to England / It's much more than fish and chips / We got chicks with the tits and the big filled lips / Ballied up kids in a RS6” and “Hello, welcome to England / It's much more than bangers and mash / We got guys with knives and masks, that are bashing up coke in council flats” above a bouncy beat from Birmingham’s Denon Reed.

The pick of Surgeons Girl’s mesmerising and much anticipated new EP on Livity Sound is opening cut ‘Under This Space’. Opening with echoey kicks and throbs, it gently lifts off as a synth-driven, enchanting textural dance, flowing and shimmering with arched beauty across an eight minute runtime. 

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DJ and production duo FAFF minted Forever, the label offshoot of their freshly rebranded party of the same name, with a three-track EP this month. Star of the show is title-track ‘Chiaroscuro’, an Italian word referring to an artistic interplay between light and dark, which duly delivers on contrasting moods with airy vocals underpinned by breakbeat, swelling synths that journey from jittery to shimmering, and grooving acid that will have your neck slaloming to the beat. 

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With its rampant kicks, twinkling hats and a rough-and-ready dose of bass, the title-track from Ciel and Mathis Ruffing’s ‘Hot Squid’ EP was already a lesson in club-angled buoyancy. Enter Roza Terenzi’s remix, which adds a whole new dimension of springiness with a dose of wobbly chug and fervent percussion. It’s less about making you want to move, and more about making you want to fling yourself around a dancefloor like a bouncy ball in a zero-gravity simulator. 

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Always inventive with a slick attention to detail, Yu Su has long been the go-to for sparkly, nimble productions – yet, if its title-track is anything to go by, we’re likely on the cusp of a revelation with her forthcoming eight-tracker, ‘Foundry’. Utilising bass squelch, fizzy synths and scuttling percussion, the Chinese musician manages to toe the very delicate line between vibrant and stripped-back, delving headlong into a hypnotic minimal soundscape while incorporating a distinctly retro heat. Bliss.

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While it seemingly missed the boat on being included as part of PinkPantheress’ ‘Fancy Some More’ remix package last year, Four Tet’s high-energy take on ‘Illegal’ has been worth the wait. Maintaining the original’s catchy hook, delivered in Pink’s trademark sugary vocals, Four Tet packs on a rampant array of bass on this peak-time reimagining. While its girly pop origins are a distant memory, the track remains evocative of early '00s floorfillers, particularly towards its conclusion as it pairs up quickfire electro with slightly off-beat Ibiza-inclined synth stabs. Remixes this good should probably be ‘Illegal’, to be honest. 

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Some things unexpectedly work in harmony, like this link-up between Commodo, a purveyor of doomy dubstep and 140, and Alfa Mist, a master of his craft in meditative jazz. When they come together on ‘Deep Harbour’, it’s like their disparate styles were always meant to be at one; warbling basslines are undercut by melodic piano chords and jazz-focused instrumentals. 

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Off the back of a run of releases on cult UK bass imprint White Peach, Glasgow’s Kami-O opts to go solo on his next three-track project featuring standout central track ‘Bruise’. Running for more than four minutes, ‘Bruise’ unfolds in a cinematic journey through psychedelic 140, tribal percussion and symphonic strings that swirl together effortlessly. 

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Though his productions are described as “low budget and fast-made” by 99CTS RCRDS, Paris’ Argo shows that high-tech tools and meticulous hours spent in the studio aren’t always the key to quality tunes with his latest outing on the label. On title-track ‘Guillotine’, Argo excels in rapturous bass sonics that seemingly pull a lot of influence from grime. 

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