UK garage
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UK Garage (UKG), not to be confused with US Garage, is an umbrella term for the British version of garage house, which includes speed garage, 2 step, 4x4, dubstep, bassline house and grime.
The scene is characterized by both own productions and remixes of well-known songs. Remixers often use melodies and accapellas from the RnB and house genres. Increasingly, samples from soul classics of the 60s and 70s are also used in 2 step and 4x4 mixes.
The UK Garage genre had its commercial peak around the turn of the millennium. In the meantime, however, the music has become outdated according to widespread opinion. Critics cite a stereotypical beat, particularly of the 2 step and 4x4 subgenres, as an argument against the genre. However, the unchanging beat has done no harm to the commercial success of the house genre in urban areas.
Very few UK garage tracks enjoy commercial success today. However, some of the once popular performers such as Artful Dodger and Daniel Bedingfield were able to make a name for themselves with their Garage involvement, producing in the mainstream for Craig David, Madonna and Britney Spears.
Fans of the breakbeat tempo still get their money's worth musically in a few major cities in Germany. In Munich, the Sweet event of a group called Exquisit Promotions are among the rare occasions to hear UK Garage in public.
Representatives of the UK Garage scene were, for example, MJ Cole, So Solid Crew, The Streets, DJ Luck & MC Neat and DJ Density. Some of these artists are still active today, but UK Garage is mainly produced by hobby producers from England and Eastern Europe. Notable representatives are Duncan Powell, Dezz Jones, DJ Solution, MRP, Delinquent, Will Philips, One Dark Martian or Mask. Some of the active producers have previously appeared under other names. Wookie, for example, was one of the most influential artists in the genre from the late 1990s onwards, before he was able to build up a large fan base again with 4x4 remixes under the name Mask after a creative break of several years.
