Speed garage (occasionally known as plus-8[1]) is a genre of electronic dance music, associated with the UK garage scene, of which it is regarded as one of its subgenres.[2]
Characteristics
Speed garage features sped-up NY garage4-to-the-floorrhythms that are combined with breakbeats.[3]Snares are placed as over the 2nd and the 4th kickdrums, so in other places of the drum pattern.[4] Speed garage tunes have warped, heavy basslines, influenced by jungle[5] and reggae.[6] Sweeping bass is typical for speed garage.[7] It is also typical for speed garage tunes to have a breakdown.[8] Speed garage tunes sometimes featured time-stretched vocals.[9] As it is heavily influenced by jungle, speed garage makes heavy use of jungle and dub sound effects, such as gunshots and sirens.[10][11]
In the early 2020s, speed garage experienced a notable resurgence within the UK music scene. This renewed interest in speed garage has been accompanied by a broader UK garage revival.[13]
The release of "B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All)" by Interplanetary Criminal and Eliza Rose in 2022. The track achieved the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart.[14]
In November 2024, Interplanetary Criminal teamed up with Sammy Virji to release "Damager".[15]
Notable songs/remixes
The following is a list of notable songs and official remixes which not only charted but were popular within the speed garage scene:
^DJ magazine, 1996–97, "Raggage": "...earning the scene the slightly mocked nick-names of 'plus-8' or 'speed garage'."
^History of Speed garage: "There are many different forms of garage music, most of these were of little interest to UK hard dance fans until the latest mutation came along, speed garage."
^History of Speed garage: "Speed garage can be broadly defined as a mixture of slightly sped up garage beats..."
^2Step: "In the original 1997 speed garage, the snares are fussy and clattering over the stomping 4-to-the-floor kickdrum."
^History of Speed garage: "Speed garage can be broadly defined as a mixture of slightly sped up garage beats with a heavy almost junglistic bassline"
^(2004) "Popular Music Genres: An Introduction", ISBN0-7486-1745-0, ISBN978-0-7486-1745-6, p.216: "Speed garage basslines were drawn from Jamaican reggae..."
^(2004) "The Dance Music Manual", ISBN0-240-51915-9, ISBN978-0-240-51915-9, p.157: "The sweeping bass is typical of UK garage and speed garage tracks and consists of a tight yet deep bass that sweeps in pitch and/or frequencies"
^History of Speed garage: "Speed garage can be broadly defined as a mixture of slightly sped up garage beats [...], and usually with a break in the middle where the beat is stripped down and then builds up for a long period of time."
^History of Speed garage: "Speed garage can be broadly defined as a mixture of slightly sped up garage beats [...], sometimes with timestretched vocals"
^(2004) "Popular Music Genres: An Introduction", ISBN0-7486-1745-0, ISBN978-0-7486-1745-6, p.216: "Jungle and ragga-style sound effects, such as the rash of gun shot volleys heard on popular speed garage tracks,..."
^(2004) "Popular Music Genres: An Introduction", ISBN0-7486-1745-0, ISBN978-0-7486-1745-6, p.216: "Overall, two-step [..], less relied on the dub sound effects [...] of speed garage"
