Brostep

History and character

Brostep is the most aggressive, electronic and "metal" variant of dubstep, developed between the late 2000s and the early 2010s, mainly in the United States even though its roots are British. The pioneers cited by Wikipedia are Skrillex and Rusko; alongside them the Canadians Datsik and Excision, Caspa, Doctor P, Flux Pavilion, Borgore, Nero, Knife Party, Zomboy and Kill the Noise. The term was born as an often pejorative label ("bro"), and Rusko himself has said he regrets his role in the birth of the sound; when the reference to metal is explicit it is also called "metalstep".

Musically, brostep shifts the center of gravity from the sub to the mid register: distorted bass riffs resembling electric guitars, "robotic" and metallic timbres, growls, "yoi", screeches, timbre changes every half bar. It is the aesthetic of the American festival (EDC, Ultra, Lost Lands), of extreme compression and of drops built for shock. Key tracks: "Woo Boost" by Rusko (2010), the EP "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" by Skrillex (2010), "Bass Cannon" and "I Can't Stop" by Flux Pavilion (2011), "Sweet Shop" by Doctor P, "Bangarang" by Skrillex (2011–2012), "Internet Friends" by Knife Party (2011). Labels: OWSLA (Skrillex), Never Say Die, Circus Records (founded by, among others, Doctor P and Flux Pavilion), Dim Mak, Rottun.

From 2010 to 2014 brostep dominated American EDM popularity; then the sound fragmented into riddim, tearout, melodic dubstep, colour bass and "hybrid trap". The production technique (wavetables with Massive and later Serum, resampling, multiband distortion, OTT) influenced almost all subsequent bass music.

Scales and keys

Brostep uses dark scales but with a strong "rock/metal" component: power chords, Phrygian, chromaticism and the tritone; in breakdowns, often Aeolian with epic melodies. Examples on F (sub F1 = 43.65 Hz) and E. Roman numerals are relative to the natural minor.

Phrygian

• Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. S T T T S T T.
• On F: F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb.
• Characteristic note: b2 (Gb): the quintessential "metal riff".
• Chords: i Fm, bII Gb, III Ab, iv Bbm, v° C°, VI Db, vii Ebm.
• Use: F–Gb–F–Eb bass riffs, bII5–i5 power chords, stabs.
• Common mistakes: riffs that are too long; brostep lives on cells of 1–2 bars.

Natural minor (Aeolian)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. On F: F G Ab Bb C Db Eb.
• Chords: i Fm, ii° G°, III Ab, iv Bbm, v Cm, VI Db, VII Eb.
• Use: breakdowns and melodic intros (supersaw leads, piano), i–VI–III–VII loops; in the drop, the tonic and the b7.

Blues and "power chords" (rock)

• Minor pentatonic: 1 b3 4 5 b7 (on E: E G A B D); blues: 1 b3 4 b5 5 b7 (on E: E G A Bb B D).
• Use: "guitar-like" bass riffs, 4–b5–5 slides, power chords (root + fifth, e.g. E5 = E B).
• Listening example: the "guitar-like" bass riffs that Wikipedia associates with brostep (Skrillex, Excision).

Tritone

• Interval of 6 semitones (F–B): bass answers, sirens, horror stabs. Locrian on F: F Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb.

Harmonic minor (epic)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7. On F: F G Ab Bb C Db E. Chords: i Fm, ii° G°, III+ Ab+, iv Bbm, V C, VI Db, vii° E°.
• Use: epic leads in breakdowns, builds with a major V (C), "neoclassical" melodies.

How to choose

• Drop: Phrygian, chromaticism, tritone, power chords.
• Breakdown: Aeolian or harmonic minor with leads.
• "Rock" riffs: pentatonic and blues.

Harmony

• Drop: tonic pedal in the sub, "timbral" harmony in the mid bass; implied power chords (1 and 5).
• Breakdown: Aeolian progressions of 4 chords with supersaw, piano or strings; often very melodic, in contrast with the drop.
• Cadences: V–i (harmonic minor) at the end of the build.
• Harmonic rhythm: breakdown 1 chord per bar; static drop.
• Voicing: wide supersaws, power chords, octaves; no thirds in the drop.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

• Half time at 140–150, snare on beat 3; bass that changes timbre on sixteenths and triplets.
• Much more "straight" than UK dubstep: no shuffle on the hats, rigid grid.
• Drop with frequent bass "stops" and "fills"; variations every bar.
• Double time (kick and snare on 2 and 4 at 140) or "drumstep" sections (DnB at 170–175) as a variation in the second drop.

Drums

Convention: 16 sixteenth notes per bar; quarter notes on 1, 5, 9, 13.

Kick

• Sixteenth 1, often also 11 or 15; a kick with a very pronounced click (4–6 kHz) and body at 55–65 Hz, compressed and clipped to cut through a bass full of mids.

Snare and clap

• Sixteenth 9 (beat 3). A huge, layered snare (acoustic + electronic + clap + noise), body 200 Hz, crack 3–5 kHz; short or gated reverb.

Hi-hats and percussion

• Thin eighth- or sixteenth-note hats; crash and china for accents; metallic and "sound design" percussion (impacts, zaps).

Dynamics and groove

• Uniform velocities; no swing. The groove is in the bass–drums dialogue.

Interaction with the bass

• The bass plays in the gaps: sixteenths 3–8 and 11–16; it stops on the snare (sidechain or programmed silence).
• The drums often do a "fill" together with the bass (synchronized stops).

How it changes by section

• Intro: melodic, no drums or light half-time.
• Build: snare 1/4 → 1/8 → 1/16 → 1/32, pitch riser, "drop!" vocal and a quarter-note silence.
• Drop: drums + bass; variations every bar; in the second drop a different rhythm (double time or drumstep).
• Breakdown: melodic, light drums.

Fills and transitions

• Stutter of the whole mix (1/16, 1/32), reverses, vocal samples, metallic toms, triplet "bass fills".

Sound choice

• Hyper-processed, heavily compressed drums, clean modern samples.

Typical mistakes

• Snare that disappears under the bass; a kick without click; drums that are too complicated.

Bass

• Mid bass as the protagonist: distorted guitar-like riffs, growls, yoi, screech, "laser", "robot". Wavetable synthesis (Massive historically, then Serum), FM, chained resampling, multiband distortion, OTT, formant filter, comb filter.
• Sub: mono sine under the mid bass, following the tonic.
• Notes: tonic, b2, b7, b5; pitch bends and glides of 1–12 semitones, "dives" (pitch collapsing).
• Rhythm: sixteenths and triplets, timbre changes every 1/2 bar; LFOs synced to 1/8, 1/8T, 1/16, 1/32 for the wobble.
• Sidechain: strong (6–10 dB) from the kick and snare.
• Examples: Skrillex ("Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites"), Excision, Datsik, Flux Pavilion ("Bass Cannon").

Harmonic instruments

• Supersaws and epic leads in breakdowns; piano and strings in intros; distorted guitars (metalstep); orchestral stabs.
• In the drop the harmonic instruments almost disappear.

Melody and vocals

• Intros and breakdowns with melodic leads or pop vocals (samples or topline), vocal chops, "hype" samples ("drop it", shouts).
• Minor melodies with octave and fifth leaps; high register for contrast with the bass.
• Effects: hall reverbs and delays in breakdowns, pitch and formant shift, vocoder.

Instruments

• Hyper-processed drums; sub; wavetable/FM basses; supersaws; piano, strings; distorted guitars; vocal samples; cinematic FX.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Korg MS-20 V — Growl and wobble: Drive maxed, resonant high-pass and low-pass, LFO at 1/8T on the cutoff: "classic 2010" wobble.
• DX7 V — FM growl and yoi: 1:2 and 1:3 modulators with high feedback, modulator envelope as a "formant": resample and distort.
• Prophet-VS V — Digital mid bass: A vector moving between digital waves (LFO-modulated): metallic textures to distort.
• OP-Xa V — Breakdown supersaw: Unison and detune; open filter; medium release.
• ARP 2600 V — FX and lasers: Extreme pitch envelopes and sample & hold: lasers, zaps, robots.
• Mini V — Sub: Clean sine under the mid bass.

Song structure

• Typical length 3:30–4:30; radio versions are shorter.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

• Aggressive, "in-your-face" mids, constant sub, huge snare, very high loudness; strong contrast between melodic breakdown and drop.
• References: Skrillex, Excision, Zomboy, Virtual Riot.

Kick

• EQ: high-pass 30 Hz, +2 dB at 55 Hz, −4 dB at 300–400 Hz, +3 dB at 4–6 kHz; clipper 2–3 dB; mono.

Snare

• EQ: high-pass 150 Hz, +3 dB at 200 Hz, −3 dB at 600–800 Hz, +3 dB at 3–5 kHz, +2 dB shelf at 10 kHz.
• Serial compression + clipper; parallel; short reverb (0.5–0.8 s) with gate or ducking.

Hi-hats and percussion

• High-pass 500 Hz–1 kHz; wide panning; low volume.

Bass

• Sub: mono, low-pass 100 Hz, clipper.
• Mid bass: high-pass 100–150 Hz (48 dB/oct), multiband distortion, OTT 50–100%, dynamic EQ (Soothe 2 or Pro-Q 3) on resonances 300 Hz–4 kHz, de-esser 5–10 kHz; mono below 200–300 Hz; Haas/unison above.
• Bass bus compression + clipper; sidechain from kick and snare 6–10 dB.
• Automation: every bass variation with a calibrated volume (distorted patches have very different perceived loudness).

Supersaw, lead, pad

• High-pass 200 Hz, de-esser, width 130–150%, strong sidechain; hall reverb only in breakdowns.

Vocals and samples

• High-pass 120 Hz, heavy compression, saturation, presence at 3 kHz; delay and reverb in breakdowns; dry chops in the drop.

Backing vocals

• Rare; in breakdowns with long reverb.

FX

• Risers and impacts very strong but below the level of the drop; downlifter.

Buses and groups

• Drum bus with clipper; bass bus with glue and clipper; music bus with sidechain.

Sidechain

• Kick and snare on everything in the drop.

Master

• Chain: EQ → glue → clipper (3–6 dB) → limiter.
• Indicative targets: −4/−3 LUFS integrated in festival masters (among the loudest of all); short-term in the drops up to −3/−2; true peak −0.3 dBTP. For streaming, a master at −6/−7 avoids distortion after conversion to lossy.

Common mistakes

• Fixed resonances that cause fatigue; bass patches with different perceived volume; crushed snare; a sub that disappears because the mid bass "steals" headroom.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Skrillex — Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (2010); Flux Pavilion — Bass Cannon (2011); Knife Party — Internet Friends (2011).

Reference listening

• Rusko — Woo Boost (2010)
• Skrillex — Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (2010)
• Flux Pavilion — Bass Cannon (2011)
• Knife Party — Internet Friends (2011)
• Skrillex feat. Sirah — Bangarang (2011)
• Nero — Guilt (2011)