It is not death, but a way of life

It’s been 30 years since the rhythms and beats of garage music took the UK by storm.

The genre has continued to grow since the 1990s, becoming the initial sound of the party and influencing bassline, grime and dubstep.

Recent artists including AJ Tracey, Disclosure, PinkPantheress and Rudimental have all released tracks that contain elements of UK garage.

But for some icons of the genre, it’s more than just music.

“Garage is really a way of life,” says MC Bushkin of the Heartless Crew, which formed in the 90s.

“When I hear garage, I just think uplift, vibe and fun. Good music, dance and fashion,” he told BBC Newsbeat.

Neutrino from the So Solid Crew collective feels the influence of British garage as well as cultural movements from the 1970s and 80s.

“From ska punk rock, the New Romantic movement … there’s always something that resonates with the youth.

“If you go back to the late 90s, early noughties, you’ll see a fashion culture where it’s Moschino, Patrick Cox, Versace… you see a lot of throwbacks now where people take influence from the past.”

Although it has been three decades, those associated with the genre do not believe that its sound is fading, but feel that the grassroots need more attention in order for the culture to grow.

“Music never dies,” says MC Bushkin, although he admits garage may not be “as popular as it used to be”.

“The scene is still developing, there are still many events and festivals.”

While “festivals are great”, DJ Fonti of the Heartless Crew says the clubbing arena is also important.

“The real garage scene was built because people used to go out every week and go to certain places and hear the music.

“It’s not pushed anymore.”

The rise of grime, which was developed out of the garage in the early 2000s, finally saw the controversial connection he made between music and real-life violence, with traditional UK garage pushed underground because of the links some individuals have.

Fonti says there is a “stigma” in the garage because there are minorities causing problems, which has led to popularity.

“No one blames the football team when there is a problem (with the fans).

Lately the financial pressure has also hit, with suggestive data close to 400 clubs closed permanently between March 2020 and December 2023, according to the Nightlife Industry Association.

“I think the authorities … the government, should get involved, go down and check the grassroots and what’s going on,” Fonti said.

“It’s just an honest conversation​​​​​​and people aren’t afraid to take a chance and check things out.”

Taking chances is the motto the Heartless Crew has adopted while helping to develop the garage since the 1990s.

MC Bushkin described his contribution as “adding a little spice to it”, saying that previous MCs would be more “behind the music and hosting… but we changed”.

“We’re front and center, jumping and reloading songs, speeding it up.

“We brought other genres in. That’s why people see us as a garage change and start dirt,” he said.

Reflecting, Fonti name-checks individuals such as MC Creed as one of those who “suck the ears” and producers like M-Dubs and MJ Cole who have helped “develop and change the sound”.

When it first started, Fonti says the garage rhythm was “four on the floor”, which later evolved into “a 2-step sound”.

“And that’s where a lot of these producers start to get stuck in and develop their music in a great way.”

“At that time (in the beginning), there was no Instagram or even Facebook,” he said.

One of the pioneers of the 2-step genre is Ms Dynamite, with the track Booo! 2001.

“People like me can’t just jump on a certain trend,” he told the BBC Sounds podcast series Closed Music. “Because that’s not who I am or where I’m from.

“What I can do is join a little trend and mash it up a little bit and make something different with what I’m doing instead of trying to do what everyone else is doing.”

Ms Dynamite became a poster girl for the genre, even being recognized with an MBE for services to music, and was instrumental in inspiring other female artists.

“Listening to female vocalists in British garage allowed me to see that it could be done,” says DJ Eliza Rose, also speaking to Music Uncovered. His song BOTA went to number one in the UK in 2022.

He performed live at the MOBO Awards that year alongside garage legends Sonique and Sweet Woman Attitude.

“This is the first step in a life-changing moment,” he said.

“Being next to two amazing, talented, incredible women and feeling like I was there really helped my journey.

“Then I can walk to the place.”

Not all of the changes over the years have felt positive, according to So Solid Crew’s Oxide and Neutrino.

He feels that the genre has now evolved into less heavy DJing and more production DJing – a far cry from those pioneered by Heartless and So Solid.

“That’s a shame because that’s not where we’re coming from,” Neutrino said.

“It’s all about beats, basslines and stuff. So I feel like I’m a little lost.”

To reiterate, Oxide feels the need to be patient and remember “what people want”.

“There was another time when it was more MC-led. But people have taken a step back for the time.”

Aspiring garage artist BVNQUET agrees that times are different now.

“It’s like crossing over from rap and hip-hop culture and less like a classic garage MC,” he told Newsbeat.

“I think we’ll continue to work with rappers and MCs, but there’s definitely a culture shift.”

BVNQUET says he has been influenced by 90s soul garage and the sound of So Solid Crew since the early 2000s.

The 24-year-old has recently produced a remix of Sophie Ellis Bextor’s Murder on the Dancefloor, which he says has “garage soul” in it.

He also uses TikTok to promote his music, unlike the previous era with a more important emphasis now on self-promotion.

“You have to be an all-round, all-doing guy,” he said.

“I just try and focus on the music. But I always try and (have) some good edits on social media.

When BVNQUET thinks about the future for the garage and himself, he is optimistic.

He says he doesn’t seem to have as many people listening to garage as he does now.

“It will 100% continue to develop. There is a gap in the market there for sure.”

For continued success, Neutrino says it’s important to have a “real scene” that the younger generation can relate to – like BVNQUET.

“Old school and new school, if we can keep playing, I think it’s a long life.

“Different sounds come into vogue and we may tend to be like jazz … but that’s the beauty of sound,” he said.

Fontie added: “People might try to say the garage is dead or dying, but it has evolved since it arrived.

“That’s why you have other genres like grime, bassline, dubstep, which you can call garage kids.”

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