El-B played a big part of crafting the original dubstep sound and then chipped before things got rinsed. That's classy. All he knows is how to be legit, so when he offered his endorsement of the upcoming This is the Roots of Dubstep compilation, we decided to shut up and get educated.The compilation features everyone from Horse Power Productions to Darqwan, not to mention B himself. It follows the trajectory of the sound from it's garage-affiliated roots to the early days of whomp. Check out El-B's compilation mix:The man himself gave us a bit of history:"Despite being given entry to clubs at the tender age of fifteen and being around early enough to catch the end of the hardcore scene and the beginnings of the drum & bass scene, nothing I'd seen before was anything like the champagne glam culture that I'd witnessed when walking in to Twice as Nice for the first time in 1996. This was the time house & garage (mostly from USA) became "UK Garage" and took London by storm.""From the cutting edge drums of Steve Gurley and the lush melodies of M.J.Cole this sound attracted newer crowd with different tastes and new ideas. These influences would be the start of the music now known as dubstep and grime, thus bringing us to the year 2000.""In 2000, a small number of young producers (Zed Bias, El-B/Ghost Recordings, Oris Jay, Horse power productions) broke away from the garage scene to start their own labels, intent on chasing a more Bass heavy adaptation. By the year 2004 the now officially named "Dubstep" would later produce international DJs, secure chart positions and would carve itself a name that would spread global."Indeed.
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