Don’t look now but dubstep is in rude health. A rejuvenated this summer resonated with a new generation of sub-low warriors, while pivotal releases from artists such as , , , and beyond have spotlighted a fresh wave of energy in the sound.

25 years on from those initial London raves, dubstep is once more a pivotal sound in club culture. Two godfathers of the scene, Skream & Benga recently headlined a special all-star DIA/LOG event at Drumsheds in North London, easily one of the biggest bass events the city will see this year.

In amongst the new generation ravers, one old heads made their way. Photographer and bass advocate documented dubstep’s gestation and explosive rise, and her book Drumz of the South is a vivid cultural document for anyone interested in UK club culture.

Making her way to Tottenham for DIA/LOG with camera in tow, Georgina Cook followed the energy, and was left contemplating on how much had changed, and how much also remained the same.

Writing for CLASH, she explores her relationship with dubstep while also sharing some fantastic images from the night.

Photographing was quite a surreal experience. For starters, I’d never danced or worked at before. It felt enormous. Despite the scale, the feeling among the artists and wider early dubstep at the event was the one I knew from  the much smaller, more DIY dancefloors over two decades ago – that of camaraderie, friendship and community, but with the added element of time and life experience. 

Plus we’re all more physically scattered – around London and the UK and throughout Europe. Whereas before, the majority of us were firmly based in the borough of Croydon. I don’t think I’d ever imagined that in 2026, many of us would be reuniting in an old IKEA on the edge of the North Circular. Or that I’d see some of the early-dubstep community rocking up to the dance in a car that looks like a spaceship. The next day on Insta, I watched (who played at DIA/LOG) travelling to a gig in a driverless taxi in Texas. So much in our world that we were originally dancing (or nodding our heads) in, has changed. 

The effect of sub-bass on the senses and the body definitely hasn’t changed though. I was surprised at how much I loved hearing the kind of dubstep that began emerging around 2008, which I wasn’t so keen on back then. Dubstep that I used to think sounded like fighting robots and now I think sounds and feels closer to punk. 

I was also surprised by the RC-1 sound system in . As I stood there being lifted and rattled by the pressure of the sub-bass, my mind started searching for references – was in Leeds ever as heavy as this? Valve Sound System? Definitely as dark and as sweaty. I congratulated the engineers.

There wasn’t a single set that I didn’t enjoy at the event. And as ever, when I photograph electronic and bass music events these days, I’m always excited by how many women and non-binary people there are up front. On the decks and the mic. I particularly loved energy. 

Which brings me to how Skream and Benga kept MCs at the centre of the programming for their London reunion event. Dubstep wouldn’t be dubstep without the iconic and and putting grime greats like , and with newer voices like , and , shows how fluid genres have become. A mic passed from a dubstep MC to a grime MC, to a DnB vocalist, then to a UK rap/drill MC mirrors Skream and Benga’s own journeys with music and the way genre and audiences have been blending over the past decade.

Through much of the night, a French expression kept looping in my head: plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose – the more things change, the more they stay the same. The venues, the technology, the genre boundaries and where we all live have changed since those early dubstep dancefloors. But the pressure of the sub-bass, the spirit and power of the microphone and the feeling of community on the floor and backstage were exactly what I remembered.

Skream & Benga headlined Drumsheds as part of DIA/LOG, an ongoing collaboration between Spotify and Drumsheds, co-creating line-ups with iconic artists. Watch out for details of future events.